Nutan, a glittering star from the black-and-white era of Hindi cinema, has a Google doodle dedicated to her today, being her 81st birth anniversary.
The doodle shows the iconic actor in different emotions, her faces making up the two O’s of Google. What stands out is her eyes, hard to forget for her fans. Nutan was born in 1936 and passed away in 1991.
An article from our archives states how celebrated the actor was in her era:
An article from our archives, from February 18, 2016, states how celebrated the actor was, even being a star of the black and white era:
Nutan was the eldest daughter of Kumarsen and Shobana Samarth. Educated in Europe, she imbibed the influences of both Indian and Western cultures. Tall and elegant, she was a photographer’s delight. According to late Subrata Mitra, a cinematographer acclaimed for his work in Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy, Nutan appeared photogenic from every angle. Nutan became an icon on a par with Meena Kumari, Nargis and Geeta Bali.
Nutan started her career in ‘Hamari Beti’ along with younger sister Tanuja. Films such as ‘Baarish,’ ‘Paying Guest,’ ‘Anari’ and ‘Chalia’ established her as a top actress. In ‘Seema,’ ‘Sone ki chidiya,’ ‘Sujata’ and ‘Bandini,’ she showcased her acting prowess.
Though popular as the ‘Queen of emotions,’ she was equally effective in breezy musicals and comedies such as ‘Dilli ka thug,’ ‘Dil hi to hai’ and ‘Tere ghar ke samne.’ She had acted with a number of male stars including Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra.
Nutan was a gifted singer and brilliantly rendered the number ‘Aye mere humsafar’ in ‘Chabilee’ and also sang in ‘Mayuri.’
Star of the black and white era