Chand Usmani

Chand Usmani Biography

Chand Usmani was a Bollywood actress of yesterdays who played both lead and supporting roles. She was most active in the era of 1950s, and also played supporting roles in Bollywood films in the 1960s and 1970s. She won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress trophy for 1970 film Pehchan, where she shared screen space with Manoj Kumar. It’s her single honour in her film journey. She marked her screen debut with 1953 film Jeewan Jyoti, which also marked the debut of Rockstar, Shammi Kapoor. However the movie was a flop. Chand passed away in 1989, aged only 56. She played only a few film roles in the 1980s.

Chand Usmani was born in Agra of present-day UP in year 1933. She belonged to a Pashtun family. She ran away from home to reach Mumbai in search of a career in films. She stood second at 'Kardar-Kolynos-Teresa Contest' in 1949, which helped her to earn early recognition. In 1953 she marked her screen debut opposite Shammi Kapoor through Jeewan Jyoti. The movie also starred Shashikala, Leela Mishra and Nazir Hussain in pivot roles. Though the movie got flopped, she received more offers from Bollywood, mostly in lead. She was paired with Kishore Kumar in 1955 comedy flick, Baap Re Baap, and with Bharat Bhushan in Amanat.

Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan was yet another memorable role of her career. Slowly she moved to character and supporting roles. She also played notable supporting roles in Rangeen Raten, Naya Daur, Prem Patra and Pehchan. Her role as a prostitute accepted as sister by Manoj Kumar in Pehchan earned her Filmfare award for best supporting actress. She earned this recognition after spending nearly 2 decades in the industry.

Published: November 07, 2019

Updated: November 07, 2019