Edited By: Bohni Bandyopadhyay
Last Updated: February 20, 2023, 22:37 IST
Bela Bose was known for her dancing prowess in Hindi films in the 1960s. (Photo: Twitter)
Yesteryear actress Bela Bose passed away at the age of 79. She was trained in Manipuri dance and had acted in over 200 films.
Yesteryear actress and classical dancer Bela Bose, who had acted in more than 200 Hindi and regional Indian films, passed away on February 20. Trained in classical Manipuri, she had worked in the industry from 1950 to 1980. The actress was best known for her movies like Jeene Ki Raah, Shikhar, ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’ to name a few.
Bela Bose was born on 18 April, 1941, in Kolkata. She started her career as a schoolgirl as a group dancer in films to help support her family after her father’s death in a road accident. She was a known dancer and actress in Hindi cinema during the 1960s. She was among the most well-known dancers of that era, along with Helen and Aruna Irani. She was quite popular for playing small eye-catching roles of club dancers and vamps as well.
Her big break was through a dance number with Raj Kapoor in Main Nashe Mein Hoon, released in 1959. Her first leading role was in ‘Sautela Bhai’ in 1962 opposite Guru Dutt at the age of 21. Some of her other roles were in Bimal Roy’s Bandini (1963), F.C. Mehra’s Professor (1962) and Amrapali, Atmaram’s Shikar, etc.
Apart from being a good actor and a great classical dancer, Bela Bose also wrote poetry, was a skilled painter and a national level swimmer. The actress was married to actor and filmmaker Asis Kumar. She had served as the President of War Widows Association under the aegis of Smt. Mohini Giri.
