Ramola Devi was one of the most beautiful actresses of the 1930s and 1940s Indian cinema, appearing in films like Khazanchi (1941), Albeli (1945), Shukria (1944), Hum Bhi Insaan Hain (1948), Sawan Aya Re (1949), Actor (1951), Stage (1951), and many more.
Early Life and Career
Ramola Devi was born Rachel Cohen on July 7, 1917, in Bombay, into a Baghdadi Jewish family. Her father, Haim Cohen, was a school principal who moved the family to Calcutta, where Devi completed her schooling. Alongside her sisters, she took to the stage as an amateur, which sowed the seeds for her future career in films. After graduating, she pursued her passion for acting, which led her to the burgeoning film industry in India.
She started her film career with Bengali films like “Graher Pher (1937),” “Rikta (1939),” and “Pathik (1939).” Incidentally, Ramola first met Kidar Sharma through Jagdish Sethi and asked him to somehow arrange a meeting with Nitin Bose, who was in New Theatres at the time, and Kidar Sharma was working with Nitin Bose as a writer.
Bose rejected Ramola because of her short height, but Kidar Sharma gave her word that he would cast her in his film. And true to his word, he cast her in his first film, “Dil Hi To Hai (1939).”
However, it was Dalsukh Pancholi’s 1941 film “Khazanchi” directed by Moti B. Gidwani, that catapulted her to stardom. The film also stars M. Ismail, Manorama and Pran. Her portrayal of the character Madhuri in this murder mystery was pivotal to the film’s success, making it one of the biggest hits of the early 1940s in India.
Ramola Devi The Star
Ramola’s impact on Indian cinema was significant. She worked with some of the leading directors of the time, including Moti Gidwani, A. M. Khan, and Kidar Sharma, to name a few. Some of her most memorable performances came in films like Khamoshi (1942), Shukriya (1944), Albeli (1945), Hum Bhi Insan Hain (1948), and Jhooti Kasmen (1948). She also acted in R. C. Talwar’s Punjabi film Pardesi Dhola (1941).
Her other notable films include “Man Chali (1943),” “Kaliyan (1944),” “Lalkar (1944),” “Shukria (1944),” “Ameeree (1945),” “Zid (1945),” “Parbat Ki Rani (1948),” “Do Baaten (1949),” “Rimjhim (1949),” “Sawan Aya Re (1949),” “Maang (1950),” “Basera (1950),” “Jawani Ki Aag (1951),” “Actor (1951),” “Stage (1951),” and “Street Singer(1966).”
Ramola also sang in a few of her films, which include songs like “Bansuriya Brijraj Tihari Man Ko Lubhaye,” “Kaamaniya Kanchan Ki Tori Kaaya,” and “Nirali Nirali Nirali Preet Ki Reet Nirali,” Dil Hi To Hai,” “Chandni Hain Mausamen Barsaat Hain,” “Jaana Nindiya,” and “Saramast Fizayein Hain,” in Khamoshi, “Cycle Ki Sawari Hai,” “Dhoop Hai Dhalti,” “Kyun Mann Mein Uthat Hai Shor,” in Man Chali, and “Hawa Tu Unse Jaakar Keh De,” in Rim Jhim.
Personal Life
Ramola married twice; from her first marriage, she had a son, Sam, who later migrated to Israel. She later married a British Air Force captain, “Leslie Rondeau,” and together they had two daughters, Dena and Linda. Leslie was known for training Indian pilots in the Indian Air Force after independence. Her daughter Dena worked in GP Sippy’s Ahsaas (1979), but now settled in London. Her other daughter, Linda, worked as an air hostess for Air India and was based in Mumbai.
Ramola is also known for her generosity. She adopted many families during her life and gave them all kinds of support. She passed away on December 1, 1988, in Bombay.
Ramola Devi on IMDB
