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)
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) 🙂