Sitara Devi: There have been many actresses in Bollywood who ruled the hearts of people with their strong acting and dance on screen. However, the real life of many of these actresses was also very painful. Today in this article we will tell you about one such actress who was known as Kathak Queen. She gained a lot of fame with her dancing skills but her real life was full of thorns. This actress had married four times but she lived a lonely life.
Actually we are talking about Sitara Devi. Sitara Devi was a famous Indian Kathak dancer, singer and actress. She was the one who introduced Kathak in Bollywood. When she was sixteen years old, one day Rabindranath Tagore saw her performing and then he lovingly named her “Empress of Dance”.
After birth, the parents gave him to the maid
Sitara Devi was born on 8 November 1920 in Kolkata. Her real name was Dhanalakshmi. Actually, she was born on the festival of Dhanteras and hence her parents named her after the goddess of good fortune. Her Brahmin family was originally from Varanasi and settled in Kolkata. Her father, Sukhdev Maharaj, was a Vaishnav scholar and Kathak dancer. He passed on his passion for dance to his children. However, it is said that when Sitara Devi was born, her mouth was crooked, due to which her parents gave her to their maid, but later the maid returned her. Then Sitara Devi learnt Kathak from her father and mixed Banaras and Lucknow gharana in her style.
The first marriage took place at the age of eight
At the age of eight, Sitara was reportedly married off, which was common in those days. But she opposed the marriage and continued her education. However, her in-laws did not like this. This led to the breakdown of Sitari Devi’s first marriage. While in school, Sitara gave a dance performance which impressed the teachers and Sitara was then given the responsibility of teaching dance to all the children.
Sitara had worked in 23 films
Sitara later moved to Mumbai. Here, she mesmerized audiences, including Rabindranath Tagore, who praised her performance and gifted her a shawl and money. At the age of twelve, Sitara Devi began her film career and danced in several Hindi films, including Nagina (1951) and Mother India (1957). Sitara appeared in 23 films. However, she then stopped performing in films to focus on her classical Kathak training.
He married four times but none of them lasted
Sitara Devi married four times. Her first marriage broke up in her childhood. Then she married actor Nazir Ahmed Khan for the second time. But both of them got divorced. For this marriage, Sitara even converted to Islam. Her third marriage was with Nazir’s cousin film producer K. Asif but this too did not last and they too got divorced. Sitara Devi married Hindu Gujarati Pratap Barot for the fourth time, with whom she had a son, Ranjit Barot, who was born in 1950. However, Sitara Devi’s fourth marriage also did not last.
Sitara Devi was passionate about Kathak even in her last days
In her final days, Sitara Devi continued to teach and inspire a new generation of Kathak dancers. She remained passionate about dance until the end of her life. She received many awards and honours, including the Padma Shri in 1973. However, she declined the Padma Bhushan.
died at the age of 94
Sitara Devi died on 25 November 2014 at the age of 94. Her death marked the end of an era, but her legacy as the “Queen of Kathak” lives on. She left a rich cultural heritage and a profound impact on the world of Indian classical dance.
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