Snehprabha Pradhan

Snehprabha Pradhan Biography

SnehprabhaPradhan was one of the earliest heroines of Bollywood who rose to fame with 1942 super hit film – Khilona. She was also known as a singer, screenplay writer and biographer. She entered films in the year 1940 to financially support the family and has been a leading singing actress of 1940s. She is credited to singing the first duet with legendary Lata Mangeshkar, for the movie, Paahili Mangalaagaur (1942). The song was pictured on both and Lata made Lata's acting debut as a child actress through this movie. The film was awarded an ‘A’ certificate for its suggestive bed sequence.

She was born in the 1920s to Vitthalrao Pradhan and Tarabai. Her childhood was spent in different places - Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Lahore and many more. By the age of 18, she was already fluent in 4 languages. She was an animal lover too who considered birds, cats and dogs are her best friends. In her younger days she wanted to become a doctor to treat animals. But she was not able to complete her studies. Her father left the family years ago and the family’s responsibilities were on the shoulders of her mother. Her mom Tarabai also became ill. Thus it became the responsibility of Snehprabha to take the responsibility of the family and that’s how she got into films, a time when films were considered a taboo to conservative society.

She joined Bombay talkies, and made her film debut as lead actress through 1940 film – Punarmilan. She was paired opposite Kishore Sahu, and she rendered her voice for the popular song, “Naacho naacho pyaare man ke mor”. Punarmilan became a major hit establishing her as an actress. She fell in love with her co-star Kishore Sahu and they tied knot. But they parted after one year and it was great news for tabloids.

She returned to films and played female lead in Paahili Mangalaagaur (1942) opposite Shahu Modak. For its bedroom sequence, the film was given an adult certificate. People watched the movie again and again, carrying strong flashlights in hope to get more out of that one scene that was shot in dark lights. Paahili Mangalaagaur marked acting debut of Lata Mangeshkar as a child actress and Lata and Snehprabha sang a duet for the movie. She married Dr. Shirodhkar in the 1950s and took a break from films, though was associated with theater. She passed away in 1993.

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Updated: April 25, 2016