Here are two more anecdotes from the Golden Era as told by Annu Kapoor on 92.7 yesterday:
16. Balraj Sahni wanted to become a writer like his elder brother, the famous author Bhishm Sahni. He had started writing stories and they were getting published in the then most well-known magazine of Hindi literature - Hans. In fact, he was one of the few authors whose stories were never turned down by them. Then he got an offer to work for BBC in London. The pay was good, work was satisfying and of course, there was prestige associated with it. So he took the offer and worked in London for 4 years. During that time he didn't write much. At the end of four years he came back to India and thought of picking up where he had left off as far as writing goes. Unfortunately, the very first story that he sent to the magazine after returning to India was rejected by Hans. Balraj Sahni was devastated. He was so stung by that rejection that he made up his mind never to write again. That's how he turned to the Hindi film industry.
17. The second anecdote that I managed to listen to concerned the quintessential Mom of Hindi cinema - Nirupa Roy. I was surprised to hear that she was not Bengali, as her name would suggest, but came from a Gujarati family. Her maiden name was Kanta Chauhan. She hailed from a small village of Gujarat and came to Mumbai following her marriage with one Kamal Balsara, who was a rationing inspector. After marriage her name changed to Kokila Balsara. Her husband was very fond of acting and used to make it a point to go whenever auditions were conducted for movie roles. But he never managed to land any role under one of the big banners of the day. He took his wife along with him for auditions being conducted for a Gujarati movie called Raanak Devi. He wasn't selected but his wife was offered a role without any audition. Though she had full support of her husband, there was an uproar in the community as at that time it was believed that people from good families would never work in the film industry. In fact, that was the reason she was given the screen name of Nirupa Roy. Obviously her father was dead against the idea and warned her that should she work in the movie industry she would be forever banned from entering his house. But she completed her assignment and the movie was released in due course of time. The furor in the community died down soon after that. But her father remained true to his word and never saw her again as long as he lived.
16. Balraj Sahni wanted to become a writer like his elder brother, the famous author Bhishm Sahni. He had started writing stories and they were getting published in the then most well-known magazine of Hindi literature - Hans. In fact, he was one of the few authors whose stories were never turned down by them. Then he got an offer to work for BBC in London. The pay was good, work was satisfying and of course, there was prestige associated with it. So he took the offer and worked in London for 4 years. During that time he didn't write much. At the end of four years he came back to India and thought of picking up where he had left off as far as writing goes. Unfortunately, the very first story that he sent to the magazine after returning to India was rejected by Hans. Balraj Sahni was devastated. He was so stung by that rejection that he made up his mind never to write again. That's how he turned to the Hindi film industry.
17. The second anecdote that I managed to listen to concerned the quintessential Mom of Hindi cinema - Nirupa Roy. I was surprised to hear that she was not Bengali, as her name would suggest, but came from a Gujarati family. Her maiden name was Kanta Chauhan. She hailed from a small village of Gujarat and came to Mumbai following her marriage with one Kamal Balsara, who was a rationing inspector. After marriage her name changed to Kokila Balsara. Her husband was very fond of acting and used to make it a point to go whenever auditions were conducted for movie roles. But he never managed to land any role under one of the big banners of the day. He took his wife along with him for auditions being conducted for a Gujarati movie called Raanak Devi. He wasn't selected but his wife was offered a role without any audition. Though she had full support of her husband, there was an uproar in the community as at that time it was believed that people from good families would never work in the film industry. In fact, that was the reason she was given the screen name of Nirupa Roy. Obviously her father was dead against the idea and warned her that should she work in the movie industry she would be forever banned from entering his house. But she completed her assignment and the movie was released in due course of time. The furor in the community died down soon after that. But her father remained true to his word and never saw her again as long as he lived.
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