Shyamlee

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.

The actor we are covering today was a beauty with talent, who appeared in a blockbuster hit and yet, is lost from public memory. In fact, there is hardly any information available about her and we had to do a thorough painstaking research to find out about her sordid life story.

Yes, we are talking about Shyamlee Nadkarni known simply as Shyamlee or Shamlee. Born in an upper middle class Maharashtrian family in Bombay (now Mumbai), Shyamlee’s father was a bank manager while her brother was also working in a plum managerial post in a reputed company. The young Shyamlee always dreamt of becoming an actress but she didn’t have any mentor or Godfather in the film industry.

Nevertheless, Shyamlee started to scout for roles in Bollywood. Fortunately, her parents were extremely supportive of her decision to join the movie world. Finally, after a little struggle, she signed her first film titled Bombay Town (1987) opposite Rakesh Pandey as the second lead heroine. This film was directed By Radha Kant, who was known for his B- grade flicks with Dara Singh. It was not a great start for Shyamlee and to make things worse, Bombay Town was supposed to release in 1975 but lay in the cans due to no buyers and finally, made it to theatres only in 1987.

The year 1977 proved to be a good year for Shyamlee as she bagged Rajshri Productions’ Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye. Shyamlee had a powerful role in this family drama and luckily, the film became a golden jubilee hit (fifty weeks run) at the box office. Shyamlee’s performance was appreciated by the critics and audience alike.

The next year, Shyamlee’s Pal Do Pal Ka Saath (1978) opposite then rank newcomer Shekhar Kapur released to a tepid response in theatres. The film, directed by veteran B.R. Ishaara, was in the making for more than two years.

One would have expected Shyamlee to sign big films after the success of Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye but she made some wrong career decisions. Her next release was Ramsay Brothers’ Darwaza (1978) opposite Anil Dhawan. Though this horror film was a semi-hit, Shyamlee didn’t get any scope to showcase her talent and was wasted in a thankless role.

During the shooting of Pal Do Pal Ka Saath, Shyamlee was signed by Bhisham Kohli for Dil Sey Miley Dil. She actually got this role on the recommendation of the legendary Kishore Kumar who was a customer of Shyamlee’s father’s bank in Juhu. Dil Sey Miley Dil was made on time unlike her previous two movies but unfortunately, it was a box office disaster.

Around this time, Shyamlee came in contact with veteran comedian Mehmood’s son Masood aka Pucky Ali who was a production controller. Love blossomed between them and despite strong parental opposition, the two got married in 1979. This was considered a wrong move by Shyamlee as audience of that time didn’t prefer married heroines.

To make matters worse, Pucky Ali turned out to be a drug addict and allegedly, passed on the habit to his wife Shyamlee as well. Though they were blessed with two children, Maahir and Maseeha, their marital life became a mess. Mehmood was incessantly pissed off with his son Pucky’s drug induced behaviour and one day in 1989, threw him and Shyamlee out of his house.

Pucky lived off Shyamlee’s money for some time and soon enough, they became completely broke with no work in hand. Shyamlee did a few obscure roles in films like Bandh Darwaza (1990) and Lambu Dada (1992) just to make ends meet but it wasn’t enough. She eventually went in to acute depression and sometime in 1992, died an unnatural death which was said to be suicide. The case remains unresolved till date and the exact cause of her death is unknown.

Shyamlee is an unsung actor today even for the movie buffs of ’70s and ’80s era. Known mainly for Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaaye, she worked in films like Kunwara Mama (1979), Ahinsa (1979), Room no 203 (1980), Parchhaeen (1989), Purani Haveli (1989) and Bandh Darwaza (1990). But no one remembers her today. Our article is a humble tribute to this totally forgotten gem. May her soul rest in peace.