New Delhi. The date was 1975….The director was Ramesh Sippy sahab…now if your film knowledge is even a bit fine, then you must have understood which film we are going to talk about. Yes, you are understanding right…we are talking about the film Sholay…the film which broke all the old records and set a new record…the film which had rocked the box office… There were many characters who will be remembered forever. For example, Soorma Bhopali, Basanti, Jai-Veeru, Samba and Gabbar. It is difficult to describe in words the recognition that these characters have given to this film, but in the midst of all this, there was such a character in this film, which if we forget, then perhaps the film Sholay will prove to be faded and the character of that character The name was ‘Basanti Aunty’. Yes… you have recognized it well… you must have known the dialogue between Basanti Mausi and Jai Veeru, which is very famous even today. Today in this article we are going to tell you about Basanti Mausi only.
So Basanti Mausi’s original name was Leela Mishra. The actress was born on 1 January 1908 in Uttar Pradesh. The actress belonged to the zamindar family. The family members of the actress were very conservative. He did not like at all that the girls of his house should work in any film and anyway there was no existence of female actresses in films in those days. Not only this, in those days the roles of women in films were also played by male actors. So it would be easy to say that the family members of the actress were very conservative. Therefore, he married Leela Mishra at the age of just 12 to Ram Prasad Mishra, a resident of Banaras. But, it would be more appropriate to call the actress lucky that her husband Ramprasad Mishra was not of orthodox thinking. He was a modern person. He gave complete freedom to women. He used to advocate for women empowerment even during that period. Leela Mishra became the mother of two daughters at the age of 17.
Usually, Ramprasad used to travel to Mumbai. He used to work in Kashmiri drama companies there. So one day it happened that a friend of his came to his house, then after seeing Leela Mishra, he suggested Ramprasad to work in films, but Ramprasad did not like this suggestion of his friend and he flatly refused. . He had said that he did not like his wife to work in films at all, but later he agreed and he allowed his wife Leela Mishra to work in films. On the other hand, as soon as Leela came to know that her husband had given her permission to work in films, she was not happy. She also thanked her husband for this.
After this Ramprasad left for Mumbai with his wife Leela Mishra and there he had to make a lot of effort to ask for a lot of films. Although it was difficult for her to get work in the initial phase, but later she somehow got a chance to work in Sati Sulouchna in 1936. This was the first film of both of them. In which the audience appreciated the performance of Leela Mishra very much. For working in this film, where Ramprasad got Rs.150 as Mehtana, Leela Mishra got Rs.500.
He didn’t like to touch another man
Leela did not like that any other man should touch her. Therefore, before working in the film, she used to make it clear that she would not do any kind of romantic scenes in the film. She always liked to act in films with a pallu on her head. Although, he used to get offers from film directors for many films to do intimate scenes, but he turned down these films only because of the intimate scenes.
Got his acting iron in many films
Leela Mishra had proved her mettle by working in many films. He acted in more than 60 films during his career spanning five decades. In those days when films were made without technology, working in more than 60 films was a big deal for any artist. He acted in many films including ‘Anmol Ghadi’, ‘Awara’, ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Lajwanti’, ‘Sholay’, ‘Paheli’, ‘Chashme Baddoor’ and ‘Prem Rog’ and many more. But, the actress who ruled everyone’s hearts on the basis of her brilliant acting, left us all forever on the year 17 January 1988, but even today the dialogues spoken by her in films resonate in our ears. She will always be remembered for her stellar performances in films, but as a reader, what do you have to say about actress Leela Mishra? Don’t forget to tell us by commenting.