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Popularly known as the First Lady of the Hindi screen. Devika Rani was the grand-daughter of Rabindra Nath Tagore's sister, Sukumari Devi, and the only Indian actress to have gathered rave reviews from the hard-nosed English press: " Devika Rani is one of the most delicately glamorous cinema stars we have ever seen" - Sunday Pictorial, London. "You will never hear a lovelier voice or diction,or see a lovelier face.Devika Rani is a singular beauty" - The Star, London. "Devika Rani is lovely, she puts the stereotyped charms of Hollywood blondes completely in the shade" - Daily Despatch, Manchester .
In the 20s she left India to take up a scholarship to study architecture in London. Hindi films happened when she met Himanshu Rai and agreed to design sets for his first production - Light Of Asia. Soon after they got married, they left for Germany's famous UFA (Universal Films AG) studios. There Rai made 'A Throw of Dice' in collaboration with UFA and Devika studied film-making.
In 1933, Rai chose his young wife Devika as the heroine in his first talkie - 'Karma' which went on to become a great hit. Two years later, Rai started his studios, Bombay Talkies, and Devika Rani became its first heroine. With 'Achut Kanya' in 1936, she was acknowledged as an actress too. The success of this film made Devika the doyenne of Hindi cinema and by this time the scandal that had erupted about her elopement with her co-star, Najmal Hassan was forgotten. When Rai died in 1941, Devika took over the reins of the studio and became the first and only woman studio chief in Bombay. And she ruled with an iron hand.
Dilip Kumar, who was discovered by her, remembers how, when he had once played hookey from the sets, she caught him red-handed and promptly cut his salary. After a while, when she realised that they were not working on her husband Himanshu Rai's ideals, she withdrew from the scene. Later isolating herself from the industry, she married Svetoslav Roerich, a Russian painter and retired to their sprawling estate near Bangalore till her death in 1994. She was given full state honours at her funeral.
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