Crestfallen by the producer’s remark, Mala Sinha focused on Bengali films.
When Mala Sinha travelled to Bombay for a Bengali film, she met actress Geeta Bali who recommended her to filmmaker Kidar Sharma.
Veteran yesteryear actress Mala Sinha started her career in Hindi cinema at a time when the industry was being ruled by legends like Nargis, Nutan and Meena Kumari. In spite of that, she was able to make her way up to the top tier of actresses in Bollywood and ruled the screens and our hearts for almost 40 years.
Mala Sinha gained popularity over the course of a four-decade career with roles in films including Yash Chopra’s Dhool Ka Phool and Pyaasa, directed by Guru Dutt. She was referred to as the “daring diva” and “the torchbearer of women’s cinema” for portraying strong female protagonists in roles that were deemed out of the ordinary in a variety of films that were considered groundbreaking at the time. She was the highest-paid actress from 1958 to 1965 with Vyjayanthimala, and second with Vyjayanthimala from 1966 to 1967.
Mala Sinha had many more accolades to her credit. Not a lot of people know that the actress had to face humiliation during the early struggling days of her career. Mala Sinha had to take some jibes on her facial features. While her father was from Bengal, and her mother was from Nepal, due to which she was often called Nepali-Indian Bala. In her initial days, when she went to a producer with her portfolio, he reportedly made fun of her prominent Nepali features and said she could never become an actress with that nose. He even asked her to go look at herself in the mirror.
Initially, crestfallen because of the remark, Mala Sinha then directed her focus on Bengali films, starting with Roshanara. She travelled to Bombay for a Bengali film after appearing in a few films in Kolkata. She met renowned Bollywood actress Geeta Bali there, who was taken by her beauty and recommended her to filmmaker Kidar Sharma.
In his Rangeen Ratein, Sharma gave her the role of a heroine. Her debut Hindi film, Badshah, starred Pradeep Kumar and Trilok Kapoor. Next, she starred in the mythical drama Ekadashi. Soon, she was offered Pyaasa by Guru Dutt and she did not have to look back ever again. Mala Sinha also appeared in a few Nepali films in her career.
