Saturday Superstar: India’s first ‘crorepati’ actress, fee of Rs 5 lakh for a film, had a painful death
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Kanan Devi was born on 22 April 1916 in a poor family in Howrah, West Bengal. Not much is known about his real parents. According to her biography, Kanan Devi was brought up by a couple named Ratan Chandra Das and Rajobala, so she considered them as her parents. Ratan Chandra treated Kanan Devi like his own daughter and taught her music, but she died after a few years.
Had to work in rich houses
Kanan Devi
Ratan Chandra was the only earning member of the family and after his death the family faced financial crisis. Were eager to eat. Kanan Devi and her mother Rajobala were thrown out of their rented house. Rajobala started working with daughter Kanan in the houses of the rich people of Kolkata to earn two times bread.
Kanan had become a maid
Kanan became a maid at a very young age. Taking pity on the condition of Kanan Devi and her mother, a relative brought them home, but instead of keeping them like family, the relative used to make them work for long hours and ill-treat them. Kanan Devi could not tolerate his misbehavior and decided that she would no longer live in anyone’s house. At that time Kanan Devi was only 7 years old.
People used to take off their slippers outside the cinema hall to watch the film.
Mother-daughter started living near the brothel
Kanan Devi
After leaving relatives’ house, Kanan and Rajobala returned to Howrah and lived near a brothel. Family friend Tulsi Banerjee (stage artist) felt pity on the financial condition of Kanan Devi and her mother. Kanan used to call him Kaka Babu. He introduced 10-year-old Kanan to Madan Theater and Jyoti Theatre. Kanan was a very beautiful and sharp minded girl since childhood.
This is how I got my first film, Rs 5 per month salary
Madan Movie Studio got impressed by the beauty of Kanan Devi and signed her in the film ‘Jayadev’ at a salary of Rs.5 per month. Kanan Devi got a small role in the film. Kanan acted in a few films from 1928–31 and during this time he also recorded some songs with music composer Hiren Bose, lyricist Dhiren Das and poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Got recognition at the age of 21
Kanan Devi worked in many best films like ‘Shankaracharya’, ‘Rishi Prem’, ‘Jorebarat’, ‘Vishnu Maya’, ‘Prahlad’. Kanan Devi played lead roles in the films ‘Vishnu Maya’ and ‘Prahlad’. Kanan was named Kanan Bala in Manmayi Girls’ School and then she changed her name to Kanan Devi. At the age of 21, Kanan Devi became famous for her beauty and excellent performance.
In those days fees used to be Rs 5 lakh.
Kanan Devi became a superstar while working with Radha Film Company. She was the highest paid actress of her time. When the film budget used to be Rs 15000-20000, Kanan used to charge Rs 1 lakh for a song and Rs 5 lakh for a film.
People used to call me ‘madam’
Kanan Devi acted in a total of 57 films and she sang about 40 songs. She was the first woman in the film industry to be called ‘madam’ in a male-dominated industry. In Hindi cinema, Kanan Devi also worked with veteran actors KL Sehgal, Pankaj Malik, Prathamesh Baruah, Pahari Sanyal, Chhavi Biswas and Ashok Kumar.
Marriage broke in five years
Kanan Devi married Ashok Maitra in December 1940. He was the son of Heramba Chandra Maitra, an educationist of the Brahmo Samaj. The then conservative society did not like this marriage. This marriage did not last long and Kanan Devi filed for divorce in 1945.
Second marriage, loneliness and death
In 1949, Kanan Devi married Haridas Bhattacharjee, who was then ADC to the Governor of Bengal. Haridas later became a director, but he was always known as Kanan Devi’s husband and this later became a point of contention between the couple. Haridas moved out of Kanan’s house on 4 April 1987, but did not divorce her. Kanan Devi died on 17 July 1992 at the age of 76, but Haridas did not attend her funeral. Some reports claim that Kanan Devi felt lonely during her last days and was sad that Haridas was not with her at that time.
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