The entire Kathak world is mourning the loss of Sitara Devi. From the accounts I have read about her, she was a dynamic and charismatic personality. A lesser known fact was that she was a Bollywood star and had acted in many movies.
In his book “Stars from Another Sky” Saadat Hasan Manto says
Over the years, I have known and analysed many women but the more I learnt about her, the closer I came to the view that she was not a woman but a typhoon which did not blow in and out as typhoons do, but which retained its force and fury without showing any signs of weakening. She may have been a woman of average build but she was stronger than most people I have known. Had another woman suffered as many illnesses as she did, she could not have survived. Sitara was made of a different clay and was both brave and strong-minded. She never missed her morning dance exercises and spent at least an hour dancing as if there was no tomorrow.
Here are some (not exhaustive) vintage photos/stills and posters of Sitara Devi as a tribute to her that came in the Filmindia magazine in the late 30’s and early 40’s. Click on the images to see full-size.
Watan (1938)
Prithvi Putra (1938)
Professor Woman MSc (1938)
Achhut (1939)
India To-Day (1940)
Pagal (1940)
Puja (1940)
Roti (1942)
Dukh Sukh (1942)
Kalyug (1943)
Bhalai (1943)
Najma(1943)
Lekh (1949)
Hulchul (1949)
Bharathanatyam and the worldwide web 
Very nice post. Love the stills.
Uh huh I meant nice of course!
Thanks Anu! She is very charismatic in these photographs.
That color photo from Kalyug is beautifully processed/tinted! And it looks like she danced in Prithvi Putra–would love to get a hold of the video…
There are dances of her in Khel as well!
Thank you for these amazing visuals! It astonishes me how you locate them, I would never have recognized her from the pre-50s ones. The costumes look so strangely balletic, “oriental” contemporary and bollywood. (or am i a fossil?) This informs my understanding of kathak dance pre-6os.
Thanks for the comments, Prof. Coorlawala. I think when I came across the “Watan” still I found it hard to realize that it was the same SItara Devi. Then, coming across more movie stills, I started recognizing her cherubic face easily. I think, some of the costumes are contemporary as per the demands of the character. (No, I don’t think you are a fossil) 🙂