Shanta Apte

Shanta Apte
Shanta in Gopal Krishna (1938)
Born
Shanta Apte

1916
Dudhni, Maharashtra, British India
Died1964 (aged 47–48)
Andheri, Bombay, Maharashtra, India
OccupationSinger-actress
Years active1932–1958

Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema.[1] Renowned for her roles in films like Duniya Na Mane/Kunku (1937) and Amar Jyoti (1936) under the Prabhat Films banner, she was active in Indian cinema from 1932 to 1958. Apte's impact on Marathi cinema "paralleled" that of Kanan Devi in Bengali cinema.[2] Along with Kanan Devi, Apte is cited as one of the "great singing stars" from before the playback singing era.[3] Apte began her career in films playing the role of a young Radha in the Marathi film Shyamsunder (1932). She joined Prabhat Films acting in her first Hindi language film Amrit Manthan in (1934).[4]

She brought a change in the static style of song renditions in films with her "spontaneous gestures and eye movements". A "woman of rare mettle", she staged a hunger strike in 1939 at the Prabhat Studios gate following a disagreement regarding a clause in her contract.[citation needed] Cited as a "domestic guerrilla" following her roles in films like Kunku/Duniya Na Mane, she became an inspirational role-model for a generation of college students.[5]

Claimed to be the highest paid female screen star in Marathi-language cinema, her "star" status with the audiences as early as 1937 was acknowledged by the cine-magazine editor Baburao Patel in the December 1937 issue of Filmindia, in an editorial titled "India Has No Star".[6]

She was also one of the earliest Indian cinema actors to write her autobiography Jau Mi Cinemat (Should I join Films) in Marathi.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Yves Thoraval (1 February 2000). The cinemas of India. Macmillan India. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-333-93410-4. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
  2. ^ Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen; Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). "Devi, Kanan". Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. pp. 88–. ISBN 978-1-135-94318-9. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Shanta Apte". wiki.indiancine.ma. Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  4. ^ "Shanta Apte". streeshakti.com. Streeshakti.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  5. ^ Lalit Mohan Joshi (2002). Bollywood: Popular Indian Cinema. Lucky Dissanayake. pp. 163–. ISBN 978-0-9537032-2-7. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  6. ^ Patel, Baburao (December 1937). "India Has No Star". Filmindia. 3 (8). Retrieved 26 June 2015.