Farida Jalal: A lead actress with supporting roles

February 5, 2020June 7, 2020 Abhi

Farida Jalal: A lead actress with supporting roles – How many actresses of ’60s or ’70s are there who’s image flashes in your mind just after hearing their name. Only a few right. And what if I ask the same about supporting actors. One will have to think a lot. But Farida Jalal is one of such rare actresses who has worked as leads as well as supporting actress and embedded her everlasting mark in the mind of Bollywood audiences. Let us know what makes her the persona she is-

Farida Jalal :

Farida Jalal was born in 1949 on the 14th of March in Delhi India. From her childhood, she was very fond of movies and dancing. She also learned Kathak. Her career started with the legend, the ultimate Superstar of Indian Film Industry- Mr. Rajesh Khanna in the year 1960 as the winner of United Film Producers Talent Hunt. And thus she bagged a role in the movie TAQDEER, her Debut Movie.

Farida Jalal’s Rise to fame-

After a few films, she was offered a movie Aradhna opposite Mr.rajesh Khanna in the year 1969. The movie was a blockbuster and the career of Rajesh Khanna shot to new heights. This movie also helped Farida Jalal build her name. And she became a household name.

But this fame was short-lived. And Farida was typecasted as a supporting character. Farida was now offered roles of hero’s sister, fiancée, friend, etc. Not a single movie was offered to her as a lead. And it’s an irony as her many movies where blockbuster including Puraskar, Gopi, Paras, Amar Prem, etc.

Although in 1973 she worked in the movie Bobby opposite Rishi Kapoor, but that too was not a lead role.

She was a huge fan of Dilip Kumar. And when she was offered the role of his sister in the movie GOPI, she immediately accepted it. The movie was a huge hit. But again it backfired her career. She was now typecast in the roles of the only sister. Even other actors started demanding her as the role of their sister in the movie.

But Farida didn’t lose hope. Instead, she accepted the circumstance and took it as a challenge to use that to build her name. She started accepting such roles. Farida tried to choose such roles in which, although the role was supporting but had more screen presence than the female lead.

Frarida Jalal : An unsung Heroine

It is often said that Hard-Work always pays. And it was proved again. Farida won the “ Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award in the year 1971 for the movie “PARAS”. She again bagged the best-supporting actress award for the movie MAJBOOR, in which she played the sister of Amitabh Bachchan. And this was just a start and she won more than half a dozen more awards for her supporting roles. She became even famous than many lead actresses and was now recognized by the masses.

Her professionalism can be estimated by the fact that she had worked in more than 205 films and that too in more than 4 languages. It is also an irony that she acted as a lead against two known actors only, one against the Bollywood’s real superstar of all time Rajesh Khanna. And the other being TABREZ who she falls in love with her and later married her.

Facts about FARIDA JALAL-

Farida Jalal’s Birth Place- Delhi India
Date of Birth of Farida Jalal- 14/03/1949
Age as on 14th March 2020- 71 years
Height –152 cms
School- St Joseph’s Convent School, Panchgani Maharashtra.

2nd phase of Farida Jalal’s career in Television –

Farida Jalal’s transition from film to television was instant and smooth. She blended well into the television industry. She made her Television debut from the much renowned serial “Dekh Bhai Dekh”. The show had a huge star cast including Shekhar Suman. The show was a blockbuster and got a massive success. And her character got a huge pop in the audience. They accepted her open arms.

Later on, she worked in one other Fairy tale Tv serial “ Shararat”, in which she played the role of Grandmother. The Tv show revolved around her daughter and granddaughter, who by the way all are fairies with magic power. The show was a light-hearted comedy show and again she was massively popular. And it was unique in the sense that every kid started to fantasize about her as their grandmother to which she recalls as the sweetest thing she experienced in her television career.

Conclusion-

Farida Jalal has given over 5 decades of her life to the Indian film industry, which is commendable and worth appreciating. And there are very few actors who are popular in all age group and Farida is one of them. She is still active and is working in a few movies which are about to release like Jawani Janeman in 2020 etc.

HVP thanks for her contribution to the Indian film industry and hope to see more of her in the movies as well as on the television too. Hope you liked this article. If so, please comment & share and help us build the best community in entertainment. Don’t forget to check our article on the legendry comedian Asrani.