Divya Rana

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

Some actors get a perfect movie launch; yet they fail to make it big. We have already covered some of them in our series like Kumar Gaurav, Suneil Anand and Ritu Shivpuri, who were accorded a grand launch but still couldn’t build a successful acting career. Our today’s forgotten gem also had a promising start in Bollywood but lady luck wasn’t on her side.

She was a beautiful face launched along with a star-kid in a big banner film boasting of melodious music yet, her career didn’t soar; this actress is none other than Divya Rana.

The name might be new for our young readers, but movie buffs of the ’80s will definitely remember Divya Rana as the lovely young girl from Ek Jaan Hain Hum (1983) and Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985).

The ’80s decade saw the launch of star-sons in Bollywood, which included Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Kumar Gaurav, Mohnish Bahl, Suneil Anand and many more. Divya Rana got a chance to debut opposite the legendary Raj Kapoor’s youngest son Rajiv in a F.C. Mehra production.

Divya was born on 24th February, 1966 in Bombay (now Mumbai) in a well-to-do Muslim family. Her father was partner of Dawood Shoes while mother belonged to a royal family. Divya completed her education at Elphinstone College, Mumbai and it was during her college days that she bagged her first film.

Divya wasn’t too interested in movies but would participate in her college functions and plays. During one of her plays, noted director Rajiv Mehra spotted her and offered the lead role in his next film. Divya Rana couldn’t let this golden opportunity pass as she was being launched opposite showman Raj Kapoor’s handsome son Rajiv Kapoor.

The film was obviously Ek Jaan Hain Hum (1983); a love story of college going kids (played by Rajiv and Divya), who fall in love but their parents have reservations about their marriage. The movie was highly anticipated as Rajiv Kapoor was getting launched in the ‘Yahoo’ style of his uncle Shammi Kapoor.

Unfortunately, Ek Jaan Hain Hum didn’t set the box office on fire as its mundane script didn’t appeal to the audience. The film’s lukewarm response impacted both the debutant’s careers adversely.

During the shooting, Divya and Rajiv got close to each other and were rumoured to be a couple. Divya Rana’s second release also featured Rajiv Kapoor in the lead but this one turned out to be the utterly forgettable Aasman (1984), which came and left the theatres faster than you could look at the sky.

It was during this time, showman Raj Kapoor decided to resurrect Rajiv’s fledgling career and cast him in his dream project Ram Teri Ganga Maili with newcomer Mandakini in the titular role and Divya Rana as the second heroine.

Sure enough, Ram Teri Ganga Maili became an all-time blockbuster but the entire credit went to Mandakini, who wowed the audience with her scintillating looks and unabashed bold scenes. Divya Rana was largely kept away from the film promotions and even her role was said to be heavily edited out in the final cut.

Ram Teri Ganga Maili’s mega success didn’t benefit Divya at all and her steady downfall started from here. She started getting character roles instead of leads and within two years, she got reduced to secondary roles in movies like Maa Kasam (1985) opposite Mithun Chakraborty, which further sunk her career.

Divya Rana’s subsequent films hardly had any scope for her and most of these did not work at the box office either. These include Woh Din Aayega (1987), Watan Ke Rakhwale (1987), Param Dharam (1987) Himmat Aur Mehnat (1987), Andha Yudh (1988) and Aakhri Muqabla (1988). Divya’s final release was Ek Hi Maqsad in 1988. She was part of four films with Mithun Chakraborty, who was a top star at that time but still, couldn’t capitalize on their pairing. Their popular disco number ‘Romeo’ in the sleeper hit Muddat (1986) is still fondly remembered but it did nothing to further Divya’s career.

Finally after being around for six years, Divya quit Bollywood and stayed away from its limelight. A few years later, she married a businessman called Fazal and settled with him in Dubai. She went by her name Salma Manekia now.

To keep herself busy, Divya Rana tried her hand in different artistic fields in the Gulf. She started photography and went on to photograph women from Kutch. She also worked on ceramic sculptures. Her sculptures are made with combination of wheel thrown and hand-built techniques. In 2012, Divya displayed her work in the Potter market at Gauhar Mahal.

Divya also tried her hand at painting but stopped it after her mother’s demise. Her mother’s unfinished portrait remains her last work. She never painted again. Later, she also quit her ceramic sculpture activities to concentrate on her health. Her love for textiles helped her build up a career in textile designing, which she continues till date.