imported>KungfuPanda2008 at 17:48, 16 August 2021

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mehtab
| image = Mehtab_(actress).jpg
| caption = Screen shot from [[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]] (1953)
| birth_name = Najma Khan
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1913|4|28}}
| birth_place = [[Sachin, Gujarat]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1997|4|10|1913|4|28}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]]
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Bada Qabrastan, [[Marine Lines]], Mumbai
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1928–1969
| spouse = {{marriage|Ashraf Khan|reason=divorced}}<br>{{marriage|[[Sohrab Modi]]|1946|1984|reason=his death}}
| children = 2 Sons
}}

'''Mehtab''' (1913–1997) was an Indian actress of [[Hindi]]/[[Urdu]] films who worked from 1928 to 1969.<ref name=cineplot>{{cite web|title=Yesteryear actress Mehtab remembers her husband Sohrab Modi|url=http://cineplot.com/yesteryear-actress-mehtab-remembers-her-husband-sohrab-modi/|website=cineplot.com|publisher=Cineplot.com|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> She was born in [[Sachin, Gujarat]], to a Muslim family and named Najma. Her father, Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Mohammad Yakut Khan III, was the Nawab of Sachin, near [[Surat]] in the state of [[Gujarat]].<ref name=Cinegems>{{cite web|title=Mehtab-biography |url=http://cinegems.in/mehtab-biography/ |website=cinegems.in |publisher=Cinegems.in |access-date=25 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225135848/http://cinegems.in/mehtab-biography/ |archive-date=25 December 2014 }}</ref> Starting her career in the late 1920s with small roles in films like ''Second Wife'' (1928), ''Indira B. A.'' (1929) and ''Jayant'' (1929), she went on to do character roles before acting in the lead opposite Ashraf Khan in ''Veer Kunal'' (1932). After almost a decade of doing mainly action-oriented roles, she came into prominence with the Kidar Sharma-directed ''[[Chitralekha (1941 film)|Chitralekha]]'' (1941).

She married her early co-star Ashraf Khan with whom she had a son. They divorced later and she married [[Sohrab Modi]] in 1946. Modi cast her in the historical drama ''[[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]]'' (1953), which in spite of having spectacular scenes and lavish sets could not work well at the box office.<ref name="Garga2005">{{cite book|author=B D Garga|title=Art Of Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ITAnAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT57|access-date=18 December 2014|date=1 December 2005|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-431-5|pages=57–}}</ref> She stopped acting in films following 1953 except to act in her last role as a character artist in Modi's ''[[Samay Bada Balwan]]'' (1969). She died in Mumbai on 10 April 1997.<ref name=Muvyz>{{cite web|title=People-Mehtab|url=http://muvyz.com/people/ci842035|website=muvyz.com|publisher=Muvyz, Inc|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref>

==Career==
Mehtab acted in her early feature film ''Kamaal-e-Shamsheer'' (1930) with W. M. Khan, which was produced by her mother under Excelsior film company.<ref name=Cinegems /> Her other films at this time include ''Hamara Hindustan'' (1930), a silent film which starred [[Ruby Myers]], Jal Merchant and [[Mazhar Khan (actor, born 1905)|Mazhar Khan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chiloka.com/movie/hamara-hindustan-1930|title=Hamara Hindustan|publisher=Chiloka.com|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> She went on to act in several films mainly in action roles produced by the Sharda Film Company under different directors. Finally in 1932, she acted under the banner of Indian Art Productions as the main female lead in ''Veer Kunal'', opposite Ashraf Khan, an actor she was to marry and then divorce.<ref name=Cinegems /> She continued to work under different banners including [[Chandulal Shah]] for [[Ranjit Studios|Ranjit Movietone]] in ''Bhola Shika'' (1933), directed by [[Jayant Desai]], with E. Billimoria as hero, and ''Ranchandi'' directed by Babubhai Jani opposite Navin Chandra. She also acted in a couple of films directed by [[Jaddanbai]] like ''Moti Ka Haar'' and ''Jeevan Swapna'', both in 1937.<ref name=citwf>{{cite web|title=Person Detail-Mehtab|url=http://www.citwf.com/detailPerson.asp?personID=294507&sortOn=YEAR&sortBy=UP|website=citwf.com|publisher=Alan Goble|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref>

Following the birth of her son, and subsequent divorce from Ashraf Khan, Mehtab acted in the Film Corporation of India film ''[[Qaidi (1940 film)|Qaidi]]'' (1940), which had Ramola, Madhuri, Wasti and Nandrekar co-starring along with her. She got a chance in the film Chitralekha (1941). ''Chitralekha'' was also the debut of actor [[Bharat Bhushan]], though in a small role.<ref name=Raheja>{{cite web|last1=Raheja|first1=Dinesh|title=Bharat Bhushan, the tragic hero|url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/2003/apr/22dinesh.htm|work=Rediff.com|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> Mehtab was cast in ''[[Sharda (1942 film)|Sharda]]'' (1942), along with Wasti, Ulhas and Nirmala Devi by A. R. Kardar for his Kardar Productions. The film is famous for the thirteen-year-old [[Suraiya]], who became famous giving playback singing for a much older Mehtab.<ref name="RajadhyakshaWillemen2014">{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|author3=Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLkABAAAQBAJ&pg=PT220|access-date=25 December 2014|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-94318-9|pages=224–}}</ref> 1943 saw her acting in two more Kardar directed films; ''[[Kanoon (1943 film)|Kanoon]]'' with [[Shahu Modak]], [[Nirmala Devi]] and [[Gajanan Jagirdar|Jagirdar]] and ''[[Sanjog (1943 film)|Sanjog]]'' a comedy film opposite [[Noor Mohammed Charlie]], Wasti and Ulhas. The same year she did a Wadia Productions film directed by [[Homi Wadia]], ''[[Vishwas (1943 film)|Vishwas]]'' (1943), which also starred [[Surendra (actor)|Surendra]], and [[Trilok Kapoor]], with composer Firoz Nizami debuting as the music director.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hindilyrics.net/lyrics/hindi-lyrics-of-Vishwas%20(1943).html |title=Lyrics of Vishwas (1943)|publisher=Hindilyrics.net|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref>

In 1944, Sohrab Modi cast Mehtab in the Central Studio production ''[[Parakh (1944 film)|Parakh]]''. Mehtab recalled in an interview that it was while shooting for this film that the two had grown closer.<ref name=cineplot /> Modi did not act in the film which starred Mehtab with Yakub and Balwant Singh. ''Parakh'' had music by [[Khwaja Khurshid Anwar|Khursheed Anwar]] and [[Saraswati Devi (music director)|Saraswati Devi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hindigeetmala.net/movie/parakh.htm|title=Parakh|publisher=Hindi Geetmala|access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> Mehtab acted in films like ''Ismat'' (1944), ''Ek Din Ka Sultan'' (1945), ''Saathi'' (1946) and ''Shama'' (1946). In 1953, Modi produced, directed and acted in ''Jhansi Ki Rani'', which starred a now ageing Mehtab as the young [[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]].<ref name=Gangar>{{cite book|last1=Gangar|first1=Amrit|title=Sohrab Modi The Great Mughal of Historicals|date=2008|publisher=Wisdom Tree|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=9788183281089|pages=111}}</ref> The film was a big financial disaster and the last starring role of Mehtab. Mehtab acted in Modi's ''Samay Bada Balwan'' (1969) in a character role.

==Personal life==
Mehtab a [[Muslim]], married Sohrab Modi, a [[Parsi]], on 28 April 1946, her birthday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmtvguildindia.org/founders.html|title=Founders-Sohrab Modi|publisher=Film and TV Guild India|access-date=25 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330062416/http://www.filmtvguildindia.org/founders.html|archive-date=30 March 2015}}</ref> According to Mehtab, the marriage was not approved of by Modi's family.<ref name=cineplot /> This was Mehtab's second marriage and she had an eight-year-old son Ismail, from the previous marriage to her first co-star Ashraf Khan. Her condition for marrying Modi was that her son, Ismail, stay with them. Modi talked the situation over with her ex-husband, regarding Ismail, who then lived with Mehtab and Modi following their marriage. Modi was twenty years older at 46 years and had just finished his relationship with [[Naseem Banu]].<ref name="MishraDivision2006">{{cite book|author1=D. P. Mishra|author2=India. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Publications Division|title=Great masters of Indian cinema: the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winners|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=whtmAAAAMAAJ|access-date=25 December 2014|date=1 September 2006|publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India|isbn=978-81-230-1361-9}}</ref> Mehtab and Modi had one child together called Mehelli, who they brought up as a Parsi. Sohrab Modi died on 28 January 1984, at the age of 85 years. Mehtab died on 10 April 1997 in [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]] and was buried at the Bada Qabrastan, [[Marine Lines]], Mumbai.<ref name=Cinegems /><ref name=Muvyz />

==Awards==
Mehtab received the Best Actress award in a Hindi film for ''Parakh'' at the [[8th Annual BFJA Awards]].<ref name=BFJA>{{cite web|title=BFJA Award winners 1945|url=http://www.bfjaaward.com/award-winners.php?year=1945|website=bfjaaward.com|publisher=Bengal Film Journalists' Association|access-date=27 December 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227092743/http://www.bfjaaward.com/award-winners.php?year=1945|archive-date=27 December 2014}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* Second Wife (1928)
* Jayant (1929)
* Indira B. A. (1929)
* Kamaal-e-Shamsheer (1930)
* Hamara Hindustan (1930)
* Prithviraj (1931)
* Virni Vibhuti (1931)
* Diwano (1931)
* Husn Pari (1931)
* Shooro Sainik (1931)
* Jange Davlat (1931)
* Shaliwahan (1931)
* Khubsoorat Khawasan (1932)
* Veer Kunal (1932)
* Bhola Shikar (1933)
* Krishna Sudama (1933)
* Miss 1933 (1933)
* Pardesi Preetam (1933)
* Ranchandi (1933)
* Cinema Queen (1934)
* Prem Pariksha (1934)
* Veer Pujan (1934)
* Laheri Jawan (1935)
* Magic Horse (1935)
* Stree Dharma (1935)
* Taqdeer (1935)
* Bholi Bhikharan (1936)
* Moti Ka Haar (1937)
* Jeevan Swapna (1937)
* Devbala (1938)
* Baghi (1939)
* [[Leatherface (1939 film)|Leatherface]] (1939)
* [[Ek Hi Bhool (1940 film)|Ek Hi Bhool]] (1940)
* [[Qaidi (1940 film)|Qaidi]] (1940)
* [[Chitralekha (1941 film)|Chitralekha]] (1941)
* [[Masoom (1941 film)|Masoom]] (1941)
* [[Bhakta Kabir]] (1942)
* Chaurangee (1942)
* [[Sharda (1942 film)|Sharda]] (1942)
* [[Kanoon (1943 film)|Kanoon]] (1943)
* [[Sanjog (1943 film)|Sanjog]] (1943)
* [[Vishwas (1943 film)|Vishwas]] (1943)
* Bahar (1944)
* [[Jeevan (1944 film)|Jeevan]] (1944)
* Ismat (1944)
* [[Parakh (1944 film)|Parakh]] (1944)
* [[Ek Din Ka Sultan]] (1945)
* [[Behram Khan]] (1946)
* Sathi (1946)
* [[Shama (film)|Shama]] (1946)
* [[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]] (1953)
* [[Samay Bada Balwan]] (1969)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0576591}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehtab}}
[[Category:1918 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses from Gujarat]]
[[Category:People from Surat district]]
[[Category:Actresses in Urdu cinema]]

Mehtab (actress) - Revision history

imported>KungfuPanda2008 at 17:48, 16 August 2021