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Kamini Kaushal, Pioneering Actor of Hindi Cinema’s Golden Era, Passes Away at 98
The veteran actor leaves behind a legacy that began with 'Neecha Nagar' and continued across seven decades of Indian cinema.
Veteran Indian actor Kamini Kaushal passed away this morning at 98, leaving behind a presence that shaped Hindi cinema long before it became the industry we know today. Her career spanned more than seven decades, touching nearly every era of Hindi film.
Born Uma Kashyap in Lahore in 1927, Kamini Kaushal grew up in an academically rich household, learning music, dance, swimming, horse-riding and performing in radio plays long before she faced a camera. It was her voice on All India Radio that caught the attention of Chetan Anand, who cast her in Neecha Nagar (1946) and gave her the screen name the world would remember her by. The film went on to win the Palme d’Or at the first Cannes Film Festival, instantly placing the young debutante on the world stage.
What followed was a remarkable run of films through the late 1940s and ’50s — Do Bhai, Nadiya Ke Paar, Shaheed, Ziddi, Shabnam, Aarzoo, Godaan — roles that showcased her versatility and grace. Her on-screen pairing with Dilip Kumar became one of the most memorable pairings of early Hindi cinema.
Her off-screen life had its own dramatic turns. Still in her early twenties, she married her brother-in-law after her sister’s sudden death, and raising her nieces as her own. She continued to work, supported by a husband who understood both her artistic calling and the choices she had made. Years later, she spoke with rare candour about letting go of her romance with Dilip Kumar, simply saying, “Everyone falls in love. But I had taken on the girls.”
As the industry evolved, Kamini moved naturally into character roles, forming an unforgettable creative association with Manoj Kumar and later appearing in films like Do Raaste, Prem Nagar, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Chennai Express and, at 90-plus, Kabir Singh, where her brief but impactful performance became one of the film’s most quoted moments.
Even in her final years, she carried herself with the same dignity that marked her entire journey. With her passing, Hindi cinema loses not just an actor, but one of its earliest, purest ideals of what a leading lady could be.