Ameeta – Bollywood actress of ‘Tumsa Nahin Dekha’ fame

Ameeta is a former Bollywood actress who was most active in the 1950s and 1960s. After a string of hits in the 1950s she promised to have a great career ahead. But luck didn’t favour her and in the 1960s she was forced to take supporting and parallel lead roles, a few grey & negative shaded roles too. As a lead actress, Tumsa Nahin Dekha and Goonj Uthi Shehnai are her major hits. Her second lead in Mere Mehboob is equally memorable and the role helped her to bag her single nomination of her lifetime at Filmfare awards in Supporting Actress category. In early 1970s she quit films and settled with family life.

Her real name is Qamar Sultana. She was born into a Muslim family in Kolkata. Madhubala was her screen idol since young days. Once she was enacting the sword fight of Madhubala in the movie Baadal, she was noticed by Lekhraj Bhakhri who offered her the first film role. She played a side role in her debut flick, Thokar. As a lead actress, her first movie was Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in 1954. She was rechristened as Ameeta as well. Though the movie was a flop, she started getting offers.

After appearing in Amar Kirtan,    Munimji, Indrasabha etc, she got opportunity to share screen space with her screen idol in Shirin Farhad in 1956. The role gave her a major break. Throughout 1950s she became a part of several hit movies, and got paired with lead actors of her time. The owner of Flimistan Studios Tolaram Jalan promoted her. Tumsa Nahin Dekha became a major hit, but her co-star Shammi Kapoor who was a struggling actor till then got benefitted most. It was followed by the lead role of Goonj Uthi Shehnai.

A screen shot from Dekho Kasam Se song of Tumsa Nahin Dekha

Controversies associated with the movie have not settled down even after 60 years. Asha Parekh was initially signed by Vijay Bhatt for the lead role, a few scenes were also shot, after which she was replaced by Ameeta. The director even said that Asha Parekh is not star material. But time proved he was totally wrong and she went on to become one of the top heroines of 1960s of Bollywood ever while Ameeta couldn’t make it big despite owning acting skills and good looks. Ameeta’s career graph fell down after that.

In the 1960s she was seen playing negative roles in movies like Rishte Naate and Aasra. She played female lead to comedy actor Mehmood in movies like Chote Nawab, Pyase Panchhi etc, and also with Rajendra Nath in supporting roles. Her pairing with Kishore Kumar in Hum Sab Ustad Hai and supporting role in Mere Mehboob are her best roles of 1960s. In the second half of 1960s when young actresses like Rajshree and Babita joined films, she was forced to take less significant supporting roles. She was seen in Around the World, Haseena Maan Jayegi etc. She took a break in 1968 after Haseena Maan Jayegi got released.

Though she tried to make a comeback through Kabhi Dhoop Kabhi Chhaon in 1971, playing lead role opposite Dhara Singh, film’s failure prompted her to leave Bollywood forever. She belongs to the long list of those unlucky actresses who couldn’t convert their initial success to stardom, despite owning good looks and talents. Perhaps the luck factor was missing.

Ameeta – Some interesting and less-known facts

1. She used the screen name Jayjaywanti for her debut film.

2. She was offered a supporting role in the iconic movie, Mother India. She rejected the role as she felt that she won’t be noticed in Nargis’ presence. The role was done by Kumkum later. Same role was rejected by Mala Sinha too.

3. Ameeta and Asha Parekh shared screen space for the movie, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu a few years before the controversies surrounding Goonj Uthi Shehnai happened.

4. Following the drift with Vijay Bhat, Nassir Hussain (who directed her in Tumsa Nahin Dekha) promoted Asha Parekh’s career instead of Ameeta. It also harmed her career.

5. Mere Mehboob was one of the memorable roles of her career, where she played Sadhana’s friend. The director tried to highlight her beauty using luminous Technicolor close up shots and photography. Yet this movie couldn’t revive her career, and Sadhana and Rajendra Kumar got benefited.

6. For two of her career best films – Goonj Uthi Shehnai and Mere Mehmood, she was casted opposite Rajendra Kumar who was benefitted most by the success. Interestingly Goonj Uthi Shehnai was the first hit of Rajendra Kumar who was struggling till then, and Mere Mehmood established his position as a lead actor. After that he went on to become a huge actor, while Ameeta could earn nothing.

7. After 1965 she appeared in B-grade movies, and got paired with comic actors.

8. She received Lifetime Achievement Award by the Cine & TV Artistes Association in 2005.

9. Her daughter Sabeeha tried her hand in Bollywood, but remained successful. She was seen in Anokha Rishta (1986) in a lead role opposite Rajesh Khanna and Khiladi (1992) in a supporting role. Sabeeha played the memorable but brief role of the college student Sheetal Nath (Ayesha Jhulka and Akshay Kumar’s friend) who got killed, when her friends fake a kidnap scene.

10. She played female lead opposite Mehmood in less-known 1961 film, Pyaase Panchhi. The movie included a popular duet, Tumhi Mere Meet Ho in the voices of Suman Kalyanpur and Hemant Kumar, pictured on the lead pair and composed by Kalyanji Anandji.