By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
शोला जो भड़के दिल मेरा धड़के
शोला जो भड़के दिल मेरा धड़के
दर्द जवानी का सताये बढ़ बढ़ के
Remembered On Her Death Anniversary
Born in a Sikh family & trained in horse riding & the Sikh Martial art called ‘Gatka’, Geeta Bali was one of the finest and most impressive nay expressive actresses of Hindi cinema. Geeta Bali carved a nice niche for herself in her earlier films released in late 1940s & early 1950s the likes of “Suhag Raat” ( 1948), “Dulari” , “Badi Behan ” ( 1949), “Bawre Nain” ( 1950), “Baazi” (1951) & “Jaal” ( 1952). She acted with Dev Anand, Madhubala, Rehman, Guru Dutt, Prithviraj Kapoor & Sohrab Modi to name few. “Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer Bana Le” from Guru Dutt directed “Baazi” featuring Dev Anand & “Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni” by Hemant Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar from “Jaal” directed by Guru Dutt ,were hit numbers .The film featured Geeta Bali & Dev Anand in the lead.
Kidar Sharma’s “Bawre Nain” (1950) was another worth mentioning film of the actress who, it would be conceded, was always held in high esteem & was also part of most films directed by Kidar Sharma.. “Khayalon Mein Kisi Ke is Tarah Aaya nahi karte “, Mukesh-Geeta Dutt & “Teri Duniya Me Dil Lagta Nahi, Vapas Bula Le ” by Mukesh under the music score by Roshan were hit numbers from this film. Shammi Kapoor married Neela after her untimely death. Neela was reportedly fond of Geeta Bali & treated her as her elder sister with reverence.
It would indeed be injustice if we did not mention her two other films. ‘Bari Behen’ (1949) starring Rehman, Suraiya, Geeta Bali & Pran, a musical bonanza with hit numbrs like- “Ho Likhnewale Ne Likh Di Meri Taqdeer Mein”, “Chup Chup Khade Ho Zaroor Koi Baat Hai”, “Woh Paas Rahe Ya Door Rahe” & “Chale Jana Nahin” to name some. Husnlal Bhagatram composed the music while Rajendra Krishan & Qamar Jalalabadi penned the lyrics. The other film was “Albela” directed by Bhagwan Dada also starring opposite him Geeta Bali with a few western numbers like “Shola Jo Bhadke” rendered by Lata Mangeshkar & Chitalkar ( C. Ramchandra) who also composed the music and sang most of the songs. It was a super hit and one of the three #Highest grossing too. Bhagwan Dada spent lavishly on this film. Rest most critics & fans know.
Shammi Kapoor had proposed her more than once but she refused every time . day she suddenly agreed and said that the marriage would take place today or never. The next day in the early hours both of them got married in a nearby temple. Shammi Kapoor’s family knew after they were married. She worked with Raj Kapoor in ‘Bawre Nain’ (1950) & Prithviraj Kapoor in ‘Anand Math’. She lso featured in ‘Miss Coca Cola’ & ‘Mujrim’ with Shammi Kapoor.
