103.77.139.36 at 11:29, 27 June 2021

2021-06-27T11:29:29Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Naseem Banu
| image = Naseem_Banu.jpg
| caption = Screen shot from [[Pukar (1939 film)|Pukar]] (1939)
| birth_name = Roshan Ara Begum
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1916|7|4}}
| birth_place = [[Delhi]], [[British Raj|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2002|6|18|1916|7|4}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| death_cause =
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1935–1966
| notable_works = [[Pukar (1939 film)|Pukar]] (1939)

[[Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)|Sheesh Mahal]] (1950)
| spouse = Ehsan-ul-Haq
| children = [[Saira Banu]] (daughter)<br />Sultan Ahmed (son)
}}
'''Naseem Banu''' (4 July 1916–18 June 2002) was an Indian film actress. She was referred to as Naseem and known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema.<ref name="Pandya">{{cite news|last1=Pandya|first1=Haresh|title=Naseem Banu First female superstar of Indian Cinema|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/sep/04/guardianobituaries.filmnews|access-date=10 October 2014|agency=The Guardian|publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited|date=4 September 2002}}</ref> Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s she continued to act till mid-1950s. Her first film was ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (Hamlet) (1935) with [[Sohrab Modi]] under whose Minerva Movietone banner she acted for several years. Her high-point came with Modi's ''[[Pukar (1939 film)|Pukar]]'' (1939) in which she played the role of Empress [[Nur Jahan]]. According to composer [[Naushad]] she got the sobriquet Pari-Chehra (fairy face) Naseem through the publicity advertisements of her films.<ref name=rediff>{{cite web|last1=Khubchandani|first1=Lata|title=They called her Pari Chehra Naseem|url=http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/jun/19banu.htm|work=Rediff.com|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> She was the mother of actress [[Saira Banu]] and mother-in-law to the actor [[Dilip Kumar]].<ref name=Tribune>{{cite news|last1=Kaur|first1=Devinder Bir|title=Original Beauty Queen of Hindi films|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020621/art-trib.htm#1|access-date=10 October 2014|agency=The Tribune, Chandigarh|work=The Tribune|date=21 June 2002}}</ref>

==Early years==
Naseem Banu was born as Roshan Ara Begum in [[Old Delhi]], India, into a community of performers and entertainers. Her mother, Shamshad Begum,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.streeshakti.com/bookN.aspx?author=10|title=Naseem Banu|publisher=StreeShakti|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> was a famous and well-earning singer of those days. Years later, when Naseem was in her prime, and earning a salary of {{Indian Rupees}} 3500, she stated that her mother was, even at that time in her old age, earning more than she was.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cineplot.com/naseem-bano-interview/|title=Naseem Banu Stardust interview from 1971|publisher=Cineplot|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> Naseem's father was the head of a wealthy, land-owning, aristocratic family and descended from royalty. He was Nawab Abdul Waheed Khan of Hasanpur.

Naseem, then named Roshan Ara Begum, studied at Queen Mary's High School, Delhi; her mother Shamshad Begum wanted her to become a doctor.<ref name=Patel>{{cite book|last1=Patel|first1=Sushila Rani Baburao|title=Stars of the Indian Screen|date=1952|publisher=Parker &Sons Limited|location=India|pages=15}}</ref> Naseem was keen on films and admired the actress Sulochana ([[Ruby Myers]]), ever since she had seen a film of hers, but her mother was against the idea of films.<ref name=Patel /> On a visit to Bombay, Naseem got interested in seeing the film shootings and at one of the sets she was approached by Sohrab Modi to play Ophelia in his film Hamlet. Her mother refused permission and Naseem went on a hunger-strike till her mother agreed. Having played the role, Naseem was unable to continue her education as the school was shocked at her acting in films, then considered a lowly profession.<ref name=Pandya />

==Career==
Naseem returned to Bombay and signed a contract with Sohrab Modi. She had started her career with ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (Hamlet) (1935){{citation needed|date=January 2017}} and went on to make several films with Modi under the Minerva Movietone banner. After acting in films like "Khan Bahadur" (1937), ''[[Talaq (1938 film)|Talaq]]'' (Divorce) (1938), ''[[Meetha Zahar]]'' and ''Vasanti'' (1938) she started work in what became known as her most famous film ''Pukar'' in the role of [[Nur Jahan|Noor Jahan]]. To prepare for the film she went riding every day and learnt singing. The film took over a year to complete and brought Naseem into prominence in a spectacular manner.<ref name=Malik>{{cite web|last1=Malik|first1=Saeed|title=Naseem Bano|url=http://cineplot.com/naseem-bano/|website=cineplot.com|publisher=Cineplot.com|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> One of her songs, "Zindagi Ka Saaz Bhi Kya Saaz Hai" became popular with the audiences.<ref name="Rishi2012">{{cite book|author=Tilak Rishi|title=Bless You Bollywood!: A Tribute to Hindi Cinema on Completing 100 Years|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r623sWyGm0sC&pg=PA168|access-date=10 October 2014|year=2012|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1-4669-3963-9|pages=168–}}</ref> The publicity of the film dealt on her beauty calling her Beauty Queen and Pari Chehra a name that was to endure over the years before passing on to her daughter Saira Banu.<ref name=Tribune />
[[File:Portrait Naseem Banu.jpg|thumb|Naseem Banu's portrait in 1949]]
After the classic ''Pukar'', the demand for Naseem as an actress increased and she was approached by several film studios to act with them. But Sohrab Modi refused to release her from her contract. This caused some uneasiness between the two. ''Sheesh Mahal'' (1950), produced by Minerva show-cased her acting talents devoid of make-up and jewellery and clad only in simple sarees.<ref name=Pandya /> From Minerva Movietone, Naseem moved to Circo and then Filmistan studios where she performed in ''Chal Chal Re Naujawan'' with Ashok Kumar.

Married to Ehsan by now, the husband-wife team started Taj Mahal Pictures<ref name="Narwekar2012">{{cite book|author=Sanjit Narwekar|title=DILIP KUMAR THE LAST EMPEROR|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ub6eAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT113|access-date=10 October 2014|date=21 December 2012|publisher=Rupa Publications|isbn=978-81-291-3365-6|pages=113–}}</ref> and made several films like ''Ujala'' (1942), ''Begum'' (1945), ''Mulaqat'' (1947), ''Chandni Raat'' (1949) and ''Ajeeb Ladki'' (1942) under the home banner. The last two were also directed by her husband, Mohammed Ehsan.<ref name=NaseemBanu>{{cite web|title=Naseem|url=http://www.citwf.com/detailPerson.asp?personID=312976&sortOn=YEAR&sortBy=UP|website=citwf.com|publisher=Alan Goble|access-date=9 April 2015|ref=Person information}}</ref> However she did a couple of action and fantasy films ("low-grade films") like ''Sinbad Jahazi'' (1952) and ''Baghi'' (1953), in which she was not accepted by the audiences. She acted in Minerva’s ''[[Nausherwan-E-Adil]]'' (1957) in a small role and then quit acting.<ref name=Rishi2012 /> She continued to remain active, first trying her hand as a producer, and then as her daughter’s dress-designer when Saira entered films with ''[[Junglee (1961 film)|Junglee]]'' (1961).

Some of her best films are ''[[Pukar (1939 film)|Pukar]]'' (1939), ''[[Chal Chal Re Naujawan]]'' (1944), ''[[Anokhi Ada (1948 film)|Anokhi Ada]]'' (1948), ''[[Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)|Sheesh Mahal]]'' (1950) and ''Shabistan'' (1951).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://muvyz.com/people/kt495866 |title=Naseem Banu|publisher=Muvyz, Inc|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> She co-starred with most of the top stars of those days like Sohrab Modi, [[Chandra Mohan (Hindi film actor)|Chandra Mohan]], [[Prithviraj Kapoor]], [[Ashok Kumar]], [[Shyam (actor)|Shyam]], [[Surendra (actor)|Surendra]], Navin Yagnik, [[Prem Adib]], and [[Rehman (actor)|Rehman]]. It was during the shooting of ''Shabistan'' (1951) that the famous actor Shyam had a fall from the horseback and died.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upperstall.com/people/shyam|title=Shyam|publisher=The Rest|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> She was one of the costume designers for the film ''Purab Aur Paschim (1970).''

==Personal life==
Naseem married her childhood friend an architect, Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq, with whom she started the Taj Mahal Pictures banner. They had two children, a daughter [[Saira Banu]]<ref>However, according to some sources, Saira Banu was the love-child of Naseem and her lover Nawab Sir [[Liaqat Hayat Khan]], former Prime Minister of [[Patiala State]]</ref> and a son, Late Sultan Ahmed ( 1939 - 2016 ). Naseem’s husband opted to leave India and settle in [[Pakistan]] following [[Partition of India|Partition]]. Naseem stayed back in [[India]] with her children. Ehsan took the negatives of her films releasing the films in [[Pakistan]] where she had a following because of it.<ref name=Cineplot>{{cite web|title=Naseem Banu Stardust interview from 1971}}</ref>{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Naseem moved to England and stayed there for some time with both her son and daughter studying there for a while.<ref name=Narwekar2012 /> Naseem helped [[Dilip Kumar]] and [[Saira Banu]] get married according to the ''[[Times of India]]'' report with the 44-year-old Kumar marrying a 22-year-old Saira Banu.<ref name=TOI>{{cite news|title=Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu's love story|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Dilip-Kumar-and-Saira-Banus-love-story/articleshow/23285634.cms|access-date=10 October 2014|agency=Times of India|issue=Mumbai Mirror|publisher=Bennett &Coleman Limited|date=30 September 2013}}</ref> However, in the Stardust interview Naseem stated that she was surprised at the two getting married as she thought that Dilip Kumar was a "confirmed bachelor" though she had noted the interest Kumar was taking in Saira Banu.<ref name=Cineplot>{{cite web|title=Naseem Banu Stardust interview from 1971}}</ref>

Naseem died on 18 June 2002 in Mumbai at the age of 85.<ref name=Pandya />

Her great-granddaughter is [[Sayyesha]] through Sultan Ahmed.

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| 1935
| ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]''
| Ophelia
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Khan Bahadur (film)|Khan Bahadur]]''
|
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Meetha Zahar]]''
|
|
|-
| 1938
| ''[[Talaq (1938 film)|Talaq]]''
| Roopa
|
|-
| 1938
| ''Vasanti''
| Vasanti
|
|-
| 1939
| ''[[Pukar (1939 film)|Pukar]]''
| [[Nur Jahan]]
|
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Main Hari]]''
| Naseem
|
|-
| 1942
| ''Ujala''
|
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Chal Chal Re Naujawan]]''
| Sumitra
|
|-
| 1944
| ''Begum''
|
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Jeevan Swapna]]''
|
|
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Door Chalen]]''
|
|
|-
| 1947
| ''Mulaqat''
| Saeeda
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Anokhi Ada (1948 film)|Anokhi Ada]]''
| Kamini
|
|-
| 1949
| ''Chandni Raat''
|
|
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)|Sheesh Mahal]]''
| Ranjana
|
|-
| 1951
| ''Shabistan''
|
|
|-
| 1952
| ''Ajeeb Ladki''
|
|
|-
| 1952
| ''Betaab''
|
|
|-
| 1952
| ''Sinbad Jahazi''
|
|
|-
| 1953
| ''Baghi''
|
|
|-
| 1957
| ''[[Nausherwan-E-Adil]]''
| Malika-E-Iran
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Chaddian Di Doli]]''
|
| [[Punjabi film]]
|-
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0052568}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banu, Naseem}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Indian Muslims]]
[[Category:Actresses from Delhi]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]

Naseem Banu - Revision history

103.77.139.36 at 11:29, 27 June 2021