Mala Sinha has been one name in Indian cinema that has made its worth all the more honorary and distinguished. The diva ruled the silver screens in the golden decade of the 70s and charmed millions of fans with her mesmerising beauty and versatile acting mettle. Interestingly, while much is known about her professional achievements, it is a lesser-known fact that the actress had kept her personal life sorted and to herself, and was never tainted with any gossip about the same. Well then, let us take a trip down memory lane and take a look at her unique journey!
To begin with, Mala had her roots in Nepal as she was born in a Nepali-Christian family. However, she was later raised in Kolkata, a city which paved the way for her acting spree. While she was originally named as Alda Sinha, but she was renamed as Baby Nazma when she entered into the film industry as a child artist. She was a skilled dancer and a proficient singer, making her one of the certified singers of All India Radio. Interestingly, Mala had once recounted how she was mocked in school for her birth name, Alda. Recalling how her school friends mocked her, she mentioned:
“My parents christened me Alda Sinha. Everybody in school called me Dalda Sinha. How I hated my name. Dad and mum never called me Alda though. To them, I was always their little ‘Baby’. Soon, the entire school was calling me ‘Baby Sinha’ too.”
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While she later went on to create a magnanimous name for herself in the Hindi film industry, she never actually wanted to be a part of it in the first place itself. Since she was proficient as a singer, she had built dreams of being a full-time singer and had idolised Lata Mangeshkar for the same. Recalling the initial phase of her career, Mala in an interview with the Deccan Chronicle once mentioned:
“With a sense of deep joy, gratitude and disbelief! I was nothing. I didn’t want to be an actress. I wanted to be a singer. Right from childhood, I would copy Lataji’s songs right down to most minute nuances. As a child, I lived in Bhawanipur in Kolkata, where I was known as ‘Baby Lata’. I’d be called to sing at Durga Puja or at birthday parties. I wasn’t a trained singer. I had a god-gifted ability to sing. How was I to know that one day Lataji would sing for me! I feel blessed.”
Having had a preliminary experience of shooting on the sets in her very childhood, adjusting to the same few years later as an actress was not much work for Mala. But it did not either mean that her journey began smoothly. Like most other actors, she had to face her fair share of struggles, rejections and disappointments before she could make it big. She got her first project under eminent filmmaker, Amiya Chakravarty, who was mesmerised by her pictures in the Filmfare magazine.
Thereafter, Amiya offered Mala to sign a three-film contract almost immediately, the first of whom, Badshah flopped at the box office in 1954. Sadly, it led to Amiya calling off the contract and rendering Mala jobless. Nevertheless, as destiny would have wanted otherwise, the actress landed in the film, Pyaasa in 1957 offered by Geeta Dutt. Needless to say, this film went on to create an iconic success for the actress, post which she never looked back.
After Pyaasa’s blockbuster success, Mala Sinha started riding high on success, which led to her to be recognised on a pan-Asian level. Fate called her to her roots in Nepal once again when a film director from the neighbouring company called for her a film titled, Maitighar. Well, this project turned out to be a life-changing chapter for the actress as she met her soulmate, Chidambar Prasad Lohani through the course of the film. For the unversed, Chidambar was a customs officer, but had landed into the role of Mala’s co-star for his good looks. While the actress wrapped up her shooting schedule, nevertheless deep in her heart, she was already smitten by Lohani.
After her return to India, Mala Sinha wasted no time and penned her feeling for C.P. Lohani in a letter addressed to him. The letter reached its destination a month later, where Mala had confessed to falling in love with him. Obviously, Chidambar was equally besotted with the actress and reciprocated her feelings by flying down to India. Thereafter, the duo regularly met one another, and after getting to know themselves better, decided to settle down in marriage. In an interview with Filmfare, Mala Sinha once opened about her marriage and recalled:
“My parents wanted me to get married as I had turned 26. Baba (father Albert Sinha) believed the industry boys were not trustworthy. Also, ego problems could creep in. Baba wanted a pahadi, a Nepali like us. Baba liked CP.”
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As the families were much pleased with their common connection to Nepal, they agreed to the match of Mala with Chidambar, and the duo got married in 1968. The duo celebrated their union in a Hindu marriage followed by a white Christian wedding. For her wedding, Mala looked radiant in a white saree teamed with a white veil and a bouquet of flowers. On the other hand, Chidambar looked handsome in a black tuxedo. A few years after their marriage, they were blessed with their daughter, Pratibha Sinha, who later went onto follow in her mother’s footsteps in acting.
Well, the nature of Mala’s marriage with Chidambar was quite unique since it was a case of a long-distance marriage. While Mala was settled in India with a prosperous future for her acting career, elsewhere in Nepal, Chidambar was busy with his business back in Kathmandu. But thankfully, the couple had no problems in tackling this bit of hurdle since their love superseded everything. In an interview with Filmfare, Mala once opened up on how her husband understood her passion for work and adjusted to their long-distance marriage. In her words:
“My husband understood my passion for work. And that I couldn’t be confined to the kitchen. I was not the club going type either. I’d have gone crazy. There would have been friction. So, he let me work. Distance, in fact, fostered love.”
While Chidambar appeared to be the perfect soulmate for Mala, however, he was initially hesitant to let Mala pursue acting post marriage, something which enticed them to stay separately. Nevertheless, it was her passion for acting which her husband understood and respected, that led him to give in finally. Recalling the same in an interview, Mala Sinha once mentioned:
“Of course, my husband had laid down a pre-condition that I quit films after marriage. I had even agreed. But good offers continued to pour in, even after the wedding. I became ‘lalchi’ (avaricious) and continued to accept the offers. Initially, my husband was a bit upset. Fortunately, he wasn’t a nag. So, he let me pursue my career”.
After more than 50 years of their marriage, Mala and Chidambar are still living through a distance marriage. But it has not stopped them from happily settling down and keeping their love and regard intact. In an interview, Mala said:
“He stays in Kathmandu. I visit him and sometimes he visits me. Because of this function honouring Maitighar I got a chance to be in Nepal with my husband for four months. I even celebrated my birthday [on November 11] in Nepal this time.”
Veteran actress, Mala Sinha has been away from the silver screen for a long time now. Obviously, while her fans terribly miss her charming persona on-screen, the actress also misses going back to her first love. Narrating her experience of the same, she mentioned that though she misses the sets and the camera, nevertheless, she has no regrets staying away from it. In her words:
“I miss being in front of the camera. For 20 years, I did nothing but work work work. Then it stopped. I got married, my daughter was born. My life changed. But no complaints”.
Another lesser-known anecdote about the actress has been the fact that she had even rejected the honour of being conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In 2013, Mala Sinha’s rejection for the honour was termed as one of the most widely debated topics, since the actress had mentioned that her name was not even enlisted on the invitation cards to the ceremony, whereas Asha Bhosle and Pamela Chopra’s were there. In her words:
“They had informed me that I was to get the award a month ago. Though I don't go out too much these days I did agree to come. They had a press conference in a small restaurant on Linking Road to announce the awards. None of their winners not Ashaji not Pam Chopra, came to the press conference. I went. They came home with the invitation last week. Only to insult me in this way. Forget my picture they haven't even put my name in the invitation card. I told them to pick up their invitation cards and leave. I don't want their award. This is an insult to me as an artiste. I can't tell you how upset I am about it. I agree Asha Bhosle and Yash Chopra are great artistes. But am I so small an artiste that my name should be left out? Then don't give me the award. I don't want it."
What do you think about Mala Sinha’s inspirational life story?
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