Mumbai, Sep 19 (IANS) Veteran Hindi film actress Kalpana Kartik turned 94 on Saturday, and Bollywood star Jackie Shroff took to his social media account to mark the occasion with a vintage black-and-white picture of the actress.
The picture shows a young Kalpana Kartik resting her arms on a railing and dressed in a traditional outfit and accessorised with earrings and bangles.
The post carried the song “Aaj Ki Raat Piya Dil Na Todo” by Geeta Dutt from her 1951 debut film Baazi as its music.
The tribute read, “Wishing Kalpana Kartik ji good health and happiness always! Happy Birthday!”
The song was composed by S.D. Burman with lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi and was picturised on Kalpana Kartik and Dev Anand.
Born as Mona Singha on September 19, 1931, in Lahore, Kalpana Kartik later moved to Shimla with her family after Partition.
She was studying in college, where she won the Miss Shimla contest, which brought her to the attention of filmmaker Chetan Anand.
He introduced her to Navketan Films and gave her the screen name Kalpana Kartik. She made her acting debut with Baazi in 1951, directed by Guru Dutt.
Kalpana Kartik went on to become one of the familiar faces of 1950s Hindi cinema, appearing in a limited but memorable movies that included Aandhiyan released in 1952, Humsafar in 1953, Taxi Driver in 1954, House No. 44 in 1955 and Nau Do Gyarah in 1957.
She was paired with Dev Anand in all of these films, making their onscreen pairing one of the notable romantic pairings associated with that era. The two eventually married and remained husband and wife till 2011, till Dev Anand passed away. They were parents to two kids, late Suniel Anand and Devina Anand.
A lot of songs from Kalpana Kartik's films have remained associated with her. Apart from “Aaj Ki Raat Piya Dil Na Todo” from Baazi, the Dev Anand-Kalpana Kartik starrer Taxi Driver featured the memorable “Jayen To Jayen Kahan”, while House No. 44 included songs such as “Teri Duniya Mein Jeene Se”.
–IANS
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