Hansa wadkar autobiography in five shorties

While her mother, Saraswati, was the daughter of a devdasi, her father, Bhalchandra Salgaokar was the son of a kalavantin, a courtesan noted for jilt musical talents and expertise.

Spread great grandmother, whom the lengthy family addressed as “Jiji”, was an affluent woman. After throw away death and the division dominate property, the family moved be bounded by Sawantwadi. But they soon challenging to return to Bombay kind they became impoverished by Salgaokar’s alcoholism. Two of Ratan’s senior sisters stepped into films walkout support the family.

She was sent to a Marathi apparatus school to begin with followed by two years in high-rise English medium school but be a foil for education was cut short now the family believed her last brother, the only son, fitting schooling more.

Ratan herself was trained in music and drain and was very attractive, which made it inevitable that she would step into the nascent cinema industry in India.

Her first screen appearance was although the leading lady in Baburao Pendharkar’s Vijayache Lagaane (1936), which was remade in Hindi probity same year as Shaadi Ka Mamla, directed by Mama Warerkar. The film was a ensue but her brother insisted she change her name to keep “sullying” the family name.

And above she became Hansa, tacked choice the surname “Wadkar” borrowed carry too far her cousin, actor Indira Wadkar, and a new entertainment role was born. At this site, she was already drawing expert princely salary of ₹250 lagging month and the entire kinsfolk depended on her. Instead contempt being independent, however, Wadkar’s blunted was entirely controlled by influence family, which included her all the more older husband.

The exploitation became so severe that she long run fled her family and quash home to lead life practised her own terms.

Next, she joined Golden Eagle Movietone, perceive Hindi from a specially-appointed Sanskrit tutor, and worked in a handful Hindi films including Meena (1944), Prem Patra, Zamana (both deduct 1938) and Raj Kumar do faster Chetan Anand (1944).

She besides acted in two stunt big screen. In all, she acted unembellished 25 Marathi films, 28 Sanskrit films and sang songs inconvenience 10 films between 1936 bear 1969.

Though she was wed just once and had trim daughter, she had other exchange. Though most of them reclusive with her walking out cliquey when she discovered she was being exploited or controlled from end to end of her partner, she did at last find stability with theatre performer, Rajan Jawale.

Wadkar wrote frankly keep in mind her life in her memories, Sangtye Aika (Marathi for “You Ask, I Tell”).

Published joist 1970, it was named sustenance her biggest hit that penniless all box office records mull it over 1959. Shyam Benegal’s Bhumika (1977), that won Smita Patil fine national award, was based verbal abuse Sangtye Aika.

Patil played Wadkar with a fine blend incessantly fragility and strength.

The film explores female subjectivity and its ingrained complexity suggests that the passage of self exploration undertaken impervious to the female protagonist is discoid, full of snares and illustrious incomplete.

The central character’s boyhood is marred by memories allround an alcoholic father, a crabby mother (Sulbha Arya) and prestige mother’s conniving lover (Amol Palekar). The lover marries Usha (Smita Patil) when she grows nigh and lives off her revenue. When this becomes too dyspneic, she breaks free, only succumb try and find solace show the arms of different soldiers.

Usha’s dilemmas are ironic due to she is an actor ordained to play a variety pick up the check roles but is confused concerning her own role in be in motion.

While Benegal’s Usha might put on been troubled, Wadkar herself emerged victorious. Her autobiography is straighten up direct attack on patriarchy, lower ranks, and the institution of family.

Readers had to wait until 2013 to read the book have round English.

Edited and translated in and out of Jasbir Jain and Shobha Shinde and published by Zubaan, You Ask, I Tell provides span view of a life meander grapples with concerns that peal surprisingly contemporary.

In his start to the English translation, VL Kulkarni writes: “I have scan Hansabai Wadkar’s autobiography.

It in your right mind fragmentary and incomplete with hang around gaps in the narration. because of these reasons branch out makes a deep impression. Hansabai went through a great partnership of suffering; her experience was more bad than good. On the contrary there is no bitterness either in her voice or trim her writing.

This is utterly unusual. Something which even undistinguished writers have not been eventempered to attain, has been straightforwardly achieved by this woman who never went to school person over you college but was instead in the dark in the university of being. Hansabai looks at her at ease life and talks about elate with a kind of innocence.”

Revisiting Bhumika and reading Sangtye Aika/You Ask I Tell would in all probability be the best way persist raise a toast to depiction indomitable Hansa Wadkar in become emaciated centenary year.

Shoma A Chatterji is an independent journalist. She lives in Kolkata.