Laxmi Chhaya

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 the recent cricket world test championship, the point of debate during India versus Australia match was about R. Ashwin being dropped from the Indian squad. Instantly, various memes started circulating with his pictures and a tagline “Kaam kuch aisa karo ki char log yaad kare” (Work in such a manner that people will miss your absence).

The same phrase is perfectly applicable to our film industry as well, where one unforgettable character lends immortality to an actor. Best example is of course Gabbar Singh from Sholay (1975), which almost became an alter ego of the late great Amjad Khan. There have been many such characters like Shakaal (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) in Shaan (1980), Seema (Pervin Dastur) in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Saamri (Anirudh Agarwal) in Purana Mandir (1984), Pyarelal (Ram Sethi) in Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), etc.

The above list can extend to cover an entire article but we will stick to one actor – our forgotten gem for this week- called Laxmi Chhaya, who did numerous dance numbers and played the vamp in several films but one character which people remember her forever is Munnibai from Raj Khosla’s Mera Gaon Mera Desh (1971). And of course, who can forget the song ‘Maar diya jaye…ki chod diya jaaye’.

Laxmi Chhaya was born on 7th January, 1948 in a Maharashtrian family in Mumbai. Though very little is known about her family background, Laxmi started her career as a child artist in 1958 with the film Talaq (1958). She played a school girl in the movie, which was an uncredited appearance. She landed the role after being spotted by director Mahesh Kaul on a film set.

Until 1961, Laxmi did not have a release and was seen next in Bada Aadmi. She got noticed for her dancing moves and started getting more movie offers.

The glamorous Laxmi Chhaya was always known for dancing in night clubs or in villain’s den. On the acting front, she either played the vamp or the heroine’s friend. In between these character roles, she was also offered two films as the leading lady – Jahan Jagey Wahan Savera with Kunwar Ajit Singh Deol (Dharmendra’s brother) and Jinki Duniya Mein Roshni Nahi Hoti with Vikram. Unfortunately, both these films got shelved.

In her early career as an actress and dancer, Laxmi Chhaya was seen in movies like Umeed (1962), Naughty Boy (1962), Bluffmaster (1963), Holiday In Bombay (1963), Roop Sundari (1964), Aandhi Aur Toofan (1964) and others.

Her claim to fame came in 1965 with the multistarrer thriller Gumnaam, where she played the masked dancer and grooved with Herman Benjamin to the song ‘Jaan pechaan ho…jeena aasan ho’ just after the opening credits. The Beatles inspired song became a chartbuster and Laxmi Chhaya went on to sign many big films. In fact, 1965 was an awesome year for her with twelve releases and Gumnaam coming at the end, gave her immense appreciation.

In the following year 1966, Laxmi was part of Vijay Anand’s musical thriller Teesri Manzil in which she played a sweet and funny character named Meena – a close friend of the heroine Asha Parekh. The same year, she appeared in another successful film Phool Aur Patthar starring Dharmendra and Meena Kumari and with these strong hits in her kitty, there was no looking back for Laxmi Chhaya as she entered the league of top dancers like Helen, Madhumati and Bela Bose.

Between 1966 and 1971, Laxmi appeared in many big films working with top stars like Dilip Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Dharmendra and Shammi Kapoor, either as a dancer or in a supporting role.

In the 1967 Nargis starrer Raat Aur Din, Laxmi Chhaya played the pivotal character of Peggy, an attractive cabaret dancer which the heroine Nargis gets inspired from and starts living a split personality life of Peggy in the night.

Laxmi Chhaya was doing well in her Bollywood journey so far but her best was yet to come. That happened in 1971 with Mera Gaon Mera Desh, a film which became her identity.

Mera Gaon Mera Desh was one of the biggest hits of the year and till date, is considered one of the best dacoit movies ever made in Hindi cinema apart from Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975). It had a stellar cast comprising Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Asha Parekh and Jayant.

Laxmi Chhaya was initially signed to play a small role as Munnibai, the sexy spy of villain Jabbar Singh (Vinod Khanna). The climax song ‘Maar diya jaye’, which is a chartbuster even today, was shot with Laxmi much before the other scenes. Incidentally, director Raj Khosla was so impressed by her performance in this song that he decided to add two more songs to be shot with Laxmi Chhaya – ‘Apni prem kahaniyaan’ and ‘Aaya atariya pe’ besides increasing her role in the movie. These two songs also went on to become hits.

Post release, the audience loved Laxmi’s glamorous performance trying to woo the hero Dharmendra while spying on him. In the climax, she is shown sacrificing her life for Dharmendra and gets killed by the villain Vinod Khanna, which also won her sympathy. Laxmi Chhaya’s potent performance in Mera Gaon Mera Desh sidelined even the lead actress Asha Parekh and became her career best act, which is fondly remembered till date even after fifty two years of the film’s release.

Laxmi’s next was the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Raaste Kaa Patthar (1972) in which played a drunkard and once again received claps and ‘ceetis’ for her performance in the song ‘Main sharaab bechti hoon’.