Pranna Shangloo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 (age 73–74) Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Education | Women's College Srinagar |
| Occupation | Actress (television, theatre, radio) |
| Years active | 1970s–1990s |
| Known for | The first Kashmiri television actress |
| Spouse(s) | Kidar Nath |
| Children | 2 |
Pranna Shangloo (born 1952) is an Indian former television, theatre, and radio actress, regarded as one of the earliest female television performers from the Kashmir Valley. She is also the first Kashmiri television actress and is known for her contributions to theatre and broadcasting during the initial years of Kashmiri media.
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Shangloo was born in 1952 into a Kashmiri Pandit family in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.[1] She received her early education at Vasant School in the Kral Khud area of Habba Kadal and later graduated in arts from Women's College, Srinagar.[1]
From an early age, she was interest in acting and participated in school and college performances, eventually deciding to pursue acting as a career.[1]
Career[edit | edit source]
Theatre and radio[edit | edit source]
Shangloo began her acting career in 1970s, performing in various stage productions in Kashmir and outside. Her early prominence came with the play Araam Haram Hai, which gained critical appreciation and helped establish her career as an actress.[1]
She later worked with Radio Kashmir, Srinagar (now AIR Srinagar) where she appeared in popular programs such as Zoon Dab. Her theatre background influenced her acting style, which she described as more natural due to live performance experience.[1]
Television and film[edit | edit source]
Following her success in theatre and radio, Shangloo moved to television, becoming one of the first women from Kashmir to appear on the medium. She worked in various television productions and also acted in feature films, including, Heera Lal Panna Lal, Baed Baav, Jyoti Baney Jawala.[1]
In Heera Lal Panna Lal, she portrayed former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. She also appeared in the television serial Katha Sagar, alongside actors such as Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah.[1]
Her performances earned recognition from prominent figures, including political leaders such as Afzal Beigh and Farooq Abdullah.[1]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
During the early years of her career, acting particularly for women in television, was socially stigmatized in Kashmir. Shangloo faced resistance after marriage, as her in-laws initially opposed her profession, though her husband supported her decision to continue acting.[1]
She continued her work through the turbulent 1990s in Kashmir, remaining in the Valley while many Kashmiri Pandits migrated.[1]
In the 1990s, during the period of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, Shangloo stopped her acting career and focused on family responsibilities. Following the marriage of her daughter, she and her husband, Kidar Nath, an employee in a semi-government department, sold their residential house in Srinagar and relocated to rented accommodation in Chadoora, Budgam district.[2]
After Nath's death in 2009 and the subsequent departure of their son from Kashmir in 2010, Shangloo experienced a decline in her financial circumstances. In the years that followed, she has lived in her daughter's house and faced ongoing health challenges.[2]