Chand Burke

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.

In Bollywood, apart from the star kids, there are many unknown connections between actors, which the common man doesn’t know. For example, Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) fame Rajeev Verma and superstar Amitabh Bachchan are closely related as their wives are first sisters.

There are many such unknown relationships like Anwar Hussain being Nargis’s brother, Bindu being the sister-in-law of Laxmikant Kudalkar of Laxmikant Pyarelal musician duo, Kiara Advani being connected to ‘Dada Muni’ Ashok Kumar and Saeed Jaffrey and the more recent Niharica Raizada being the granddaughter of music maestro O.P. Nayyar.

The artist we are covering in our forgotten gem series today, is also related to a reigning top star of Bollywood. But hardly anyone knows about their relationship. Probably, because it was disclosed much later when this actor attained stardom.

We shall disclose the name of the star in the later part of the article to make it more exciting for our readers. The forgotten gem we are talking about is Chand Burke, also spelt as Chand Burque. The name might sound different and unknown to our new gen readers…

Though Chand worked with some big names in Bollywood, she remains lesser known today as she quit films well before the ’70s. In fact, Chand Burke started her career during pre-independence era and worked in many films in from mid ’40s to late ’60s.

Born on 2nd February, 1932 during the British era in the Punjab province (now in Pakistan) in a Christian family comprising twelve siblings, Chand was the brightest of them all, be it in studying, acting or dancing. Chand Burke loved dancing and after a particular show, got the name ‘Dancing Lily of Punjab’.

Chand started her movie stint in 1946 with the well-known Maheshwari Productions in their film titled Kahan Gaye. In her early career, she appeared in multiple Punjabi films made in Lahore (now in Pakistan) and had a successful career there.

After the partition in 1947, Chand Burke decided to settle in India and migrated to Bombay (now Mumbai), which adversely affected her career at that time. It is said that after her film Hamari Manzil (1949), she completely disappeared from films. During this time, she married her debut film director Niranjan in 1945 but their relationship ended in 1954.

In the early ’50s, a young Raj Kapoor was already a big name in the Bombay film industry. He was acting, producing and directing films, which were critical as well as commercial hits. In 1954, Raj Kapoor produced a children’s film called Boot Polish and cast Chand Burke in a pivotal role.

Chand played the role of Kamla in the film, who frequently torments the lead pair of kids Master Ratan and Baby Naaz. She is shown as a talkative woman, who frequently abuses everyone and forces the two kids to beg for a living. Chand Burke’s performance as Kamla, was appreciated by critics and audience alike.

It is said that Raj Kapoor selected Chand Burke after auditioning over two hundred candidates as he was impressed by her real life image of being open minded and outgoing nature, which he was looking in the character of Kamla.

After the stupendous success of Boot Polish, Chand Burke went on to work in some big films with established stars like Basant Bahar (1956) with Bharat Bhushan, Nimmi and Kumkum, Dushman (1957) with Dev Anand and Kumkum, Lajwant (1958) with Nargis and Balraj Sahani, Adaalat (1958) with Pradeep Kumar, Nargis and Pran, Apne Huye Paraye (1964) with Manoj Kumar and Mala Sinha and many more.

In her Bollywood career spanning fifteen years, Chand Burke worked in about thirty films but Boot Polish’s Kamla remains her most iconic character. Her last release was the low budget Pardesan in 1969 after which she quit the industry and settled down in family life.

After separating from her first husband, Chand Burke married Sunder Singh Bhavnani, an architect and businessman in 1957. Together, they had two children Tonya and Jagjeet Singh Bhavnani (Chotu). Her dream was that her second generation should continue her Bollywood legacy and wanted Jagjeet (Chotu) to be an actor. But he wasn’t keen on this profession and instead, became a successful businessman like his father.

Later, Chand Burke was keen that her grandson should take her legacy forward and indeed, he did and became one of the current stars of Bollywood. The guy needs no formal introduction to the new generation- he is the ever energetic and versatile actor Ranveer Singh Bhavnani or just Ranveer Singh, as we popularly know him.

Ranveer Singh won everyone’s heart with his debut film Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) and there was no looking back for him. Unfortunately, Chand Burke couldn’t see the stardom of her grandson as she passed away two years before the film’s release, on 28th December, 2008.

Chand’s brother Samuel Martin Burke was also a famous personality as a writer, professor and a member of Indian Civil Service till 15th August, 1947. After partition, he joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan. He passed away at the ripe age of hundred and four years in 2010.

Looking at Ranveer Singh, we can say that he has inherited his grand mom’s super energy and ‘bindaas’ attitude. Ranveer always claimed that he is an outsider in Bollywood as nobody knew about his connection with Chand Burke, which was discovered only a few years ago.

Though it has been more than fifty years since Chand Burke quit Bollywood, the older movie buffs still remember her as Kamla of Boot Polish.