Durga Khote

Durga Khote (14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her time. She remained active in

In 2000, in a millennium issue,

She also ranks among the top ten actresses in mother roles in

Indian cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award

(1983), for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.

Early life

Khote was born as Vita Lad to a Konkan Brahmin family^[4] which hailed from Goa and spoke Konkani at home.^[5] Her father's name was Pandurang Shamrao Lad and her mother's name was Manjulabai.^[5] She grew up in a large Hindu joint family in Kandewadi. She was educated at Cathedral High School and St. Xavier's College where she studied for B.A. While still a college-going teenager, she married into the Khote family and settled down with her husband.^[6]

By the age of 26, Durga Khote was a widowed mother with two young sons; Bakul and Harin. She had to seek work in film to support her children. In doing so, she became a pioneer of sorts: She hailed from a traditional family and the film industry was regarded as the preserve of the base and the bawdy. Also, most of the female characters were played by men at the time.

Early career

Durga Khote debuted in a minor role in the obscure 1931 silent film Farebi Jaal, by the

In 1936, she played Saudamini in Amar Jyoti, which is one of her most memorable roles.^[8][9] The characters played by her were very much like her regal personality and she commanded a screen presence even in front of legendary actors like Chandra Mohan, Sohrab Modi and Prithviraj Kapoor.^[10]

In 1937, she produced and directed a film titled Saathi, making her one of the first women to step into this role in

Durga Khote remained active in the theatre circuit for many years, especially the

Durga Khote played a wide variety of roles over a career that was not only long, but also untouched by scandal. She was the inspiration for several generations of Indian actresses, including veterans such as the late Shobhna Samarth, who frequently spoke of how she had been inspired by Khote's example.

During later years, she played several important character roles, such as the mother of the protagonist. Her portrayal of

She acted in over 200 films in her career. By the 1980s she successfully diversified into production of short films, ad films and documentaries by setting up Fact Films and later, Durga Khote Productions, which produced the Doordarshan TV series Wagle Ki Duniya.

Personal life

Durga Khote was married when she was a teenager to Vishwanath Khote, of her own caste and similar social background, in a match arranged by their parents. It was a traditional marriage into an orthodox family, and the couple lived a harmonious and happy life. They had two sons. Vishwanath was a mechanical engineer who had graduated from Banaras Hindu University. His family was upper middle class , with modern English education and high social standing; his ancestors had been prominent bankers.

Unfortunately, Vishwanath Khote died young, when Durga was 26. She and her sons continued to reside with her in-laws, as is traditional in India, but she was not comfortable with her dependent, especially because her father-in-law was no more, and they were dependent on other family members financially. She thus felt compelled to make a living any which way she could, and the opening in films happened entirely by chance. The fact that she came from a modern and English-educated family meant that, even as a widow, she was able to act in films, which was derided as a disreputable profession in those days.

She thus raised her two sons, Bakul and Harin, single-handedly. Both of them went on to be well-settled in life. But she suffered the loss of her son Harin, who predeceased her and died in his 40s. Harin was married to

Durga Khote's brother-in-law, Nandu Khote (brother of Vishwanath), was a noted stage and silent movie actor. Two of Nandu's children also became actors in the film industry. His son Viju Khote (1941-2019) was an actor perhaps best known for his role of "Kalia" in Sholay (1975). Nandu's daughter is the actress Shubha Khote, who debuted in Seema (1955) and worked as a heroine in several films before moving to character roles. Still later, she moved to directing and producing Marathi films and also entered television in the '90s. Shubha's daughter, Bhavana Balsavar, is also an award-winning TV actress who appeared in sitcoms like Dekh Bhai Dekh and Zabaan Sambhalke before deciding to settle down and raise a family.^[19][20] Thus, the acting profession which was pioneered by Durga Khote in her family has been embraced by her late husband's family.

Durga Khote also had some rather improbable, distinguished relatives with no connection to films. The socialite and politician

Later in life, Durga Khote wrote an autobiography in

Awards

Honours and recognitions

A postage stamp, bearing her face, was released by India Post to honour her on 3 May 2013.

References

Further reading

• I, Durga Khote: An autobiography, translated into English by
  ISBN 0-19-567475-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Durga Khote.

• Durga Khote at
  IMDb
• Durga Khote filmography
• Film music history – First section titled Until 1935
• Mention of her role in theatre and ads