10-12-2006, 05:33 AM
My Webpage<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Jaddanbai (1892 or 1908-????) was an early singer, composer, actress and filmmaker of Bollywood and was one of the many pioneers of Indian cinema. She was the mother of well-known actress Nargis.
<b>Jaddanbai was born in Benares, Uttar Pradesh in 1892 or 1908. Jaddanbai was rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of Motilal Nehru and famous courtesan Daleepabai, for the senior Nehru was said to have been enamoured by Daleepabai. Jaddanbai later even tied a rakhi to Jawaharlal Nehru. </b>Her mother (before becoming a courtesan) hailed from a Brahmin family but was abducted by a group who trained "tawaifs". <b>Jaddanbai was born a Hindu, picked from a mela of "kothawalas" and "kothewalis" when she was a child and groomed a "tawaif". </b>Though Jaddan was born in Benares, she was brought up in Allahabad. Jaddanbai, became a disciple of noted thumri singer Ustad Moijuddin Khan and the equally noted Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, younger brother of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Jaddanbai became a very famous singer/composer/actress/filmmaker and was a good friend of Mehboob Khan who later became Nargis's mentor. Jaddanbai had three children from three different men. Fatima A. Rashid was named by her father (and Jaddanbai's husband Uttamchand Mohanchand, known as Mohanbabu) and adopted the name Nargis for her films. The story of the union of she and Mohanbabu is that high-flown Uttamchand Mohanchand belonged to an orthodox Mohyal Brahmin family of Rawalpindi. He was to go to England to study medicine but heard the voice of Jaddanbai and fell for her. His family refused to accept Jaddanbai as their daughter-in-law but that did not deter him from marrying her and dedicating his entire life to her. Anyhow, her second child Akhtar became a director and actor, however chose not to be as involved as his siblings, while Anwar Hussain kept his name and made films in Bollywood. She cast her daughter in Talashe Haq (1935) becoming the first female music composer of Indian cinema. In 1936, Jaddanbai started Sangeet Films with films featuring her daughter Nargis as a child artiste. But then, failing family fortunes forced Jaddanbai to cast her daughter in leading roles from the young age of 14 and Nargis became the sole bread-earner for the family
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<b>Jaddanbai was born in Benares, Uttar Pradesh in 1892 or 1908. Jaddanbai was rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of Motilal Nehru and famous courtesan Daleepabai, for the senior Nehru was said to have been enamoured by Daleepabai. Jaddanbai later even tied a rakhi to Jawaharlal Nehru. </b>Her mother (before becoming a courtesan) hailed from a Brahmin family but was abducted by a group who trained "tawaifs". <b>Jaddanbai was born a Hindu, picked from a mela of "kothawalas" and "kothewalis" when she was a child and groomed a "tawaif". </b>Though Jaddan was born in Benares, she was brought up in Allahabad. Jaddanbai, became a disciple of noted thumri singer Ustad Moijuddin Khan and the equally noted Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, younger brother of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Jaddanbai became a very famous singer/composer/actress/filmmaker and was a good friend of Mehboob Khan who later became Nargis's mentor. Jaddanbai had three children from three different men. Fatima A. Rashid was named by her father (and Jaddanbai's husband Uttamchand Mohanchand, known as Mohanbabu) and adopted the name Nargis for her films. The story of the union of she and Mohanbabu is that high-flown Uttamchand Mohanchand belonged to an orthodox Mohyal Brahmin family of Rawalpindi. He was to go to England to study medicine but heard the voice of Jaddanbai and fell for her. His family refused to accept Jaddanbai as their daughter-in-law but that did not deter him from marrying her and dedicating his entire life to her. Anyhow, her second child Akhtar became a director and actor, however chose not to be as involved as his siblings, while Anwar Hussain kept his name and made films in Bollywood. She cast her daughter in Talashe Haq (1935) becoming the first female music composer of Indian cinema. In 1936, Jaddanbai started Sangeet Films with films featuring her daughter Nargis as a child artiste. But then, failing family fortunes forced Jaddanbai to cast her daughter in leading roles from the young age of 14 and Nargis became the sole bread-earner for the family
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