However, since Priya’s dancing skills were zilch, Waheeda Rehman was considered to be the appropriate choice. Reason: Chetan was adamant on casting Priya as Rosie. However according to the grapevine of the times, there was a fall-out between the Anands. Both Dev Anand and Vijay Anand had wanted their elder brother to direct Guide (1965). Her fate was sealed, the offers stopped coming. Similarly Satyajit Ray was keen to cast her but because she didn’t have a secretary, it was assumed that her mentor would be supervising the details of her work with a hawk’s eye. That didn’t go down well with Raj Kapoor. Like it or not, rumors were rife within the trade that any film she would sign up for would have to be first approved by her mentor Chetan Anand. However, the showman snubbed her at a film party, leaving her baffled. She was excited beyond measure by an offer from Raj Kapoor conveyed to her by singer Mukesh. Quite inevitably, Priya Rajvansh was instantaneously submerged with film offers, including an actioner titled Hunterwalli, which she declined politely. The critics especially praised Madan Mohan’s music score and remarked favorably on the credible performances by the ensemble cast. As the New Year was around the corner, the response to Haqeeqat gained momentum and was appreciated by audiences throughout the nation. Subsequently, the film was released on December 30th, on her birthday. The distributors in Bombay had described it as “a dry war documentary”. She was overwhelmed by the attention even while she was nervous about how the audience would react to Haqeeqat, since it was devoid of the mandatory commercial ingredients. When Priya entered the auditorium, packed with army Jawans, the President conversed with her about her experience at London’s RADA. Radhakrishnan and Vijayalakshmi Pandit in attendance, as chief guests.
The black-and-white war drama was screened at the film festival in Delhi, with President Dr. Hence he penciled her in for a lead role in Haqeeqat (1964). Unfortunately, the ambitious project was taking a while to get off the ground. One look at her and he knew he had found his Heer.
RAJESH KHANNA MOVIE EYE REPLACED DRIVER
The director, known for his top-quality films like Neecha Nagar (winner of the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes film festival in 1946), Taxi Driver and Funtoosh, personally went to the airport to receive her. It was only Chetan Anand who contacted her via a telegram, inviting her to India for a screen test for his under-the-works musical love story Heer Raanjha. While in London, her photographs were clicked by a local photographer and on the insistence of a close friend she posted them to Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt and Chetan Anand. In fact, her photograph still adorns a wall of the acting school, as the only Indian student to have graduated from there at the time. Since her father was on an UN assignment, he was posted in Britain’s capital city. Spotted by chief guest Balraj Sahni during one of her inter-collegiate plays, he requested her father to allow her to pursue dramatics since she seemed like she was born to act.Ĭonsequently, she joined London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA). It was during this time that she gravitated towards acting and dramatics, participating in plays held at Shimla’s well-known theatre Gaiety. Bede’s College in 1953 and moved to the Bhargava Municipal College. Growing up with brothers Kamaljit and Padamjit Singh, Priya studied at Auckland House where she was the school captain and then at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Shimla. Her original name was Veera Sunder Singh and her father worked for the Imperial Forest Office in Shimla. Born on December 30th, 1936, if she were alive, she would have turned 84. She appeared only in seven films exclusively for her mentor and guide Chatan Anand.Ī tall statuesque woman, from a royal lineage, Priya Rajvansh was the classic head-turner. Her journey down the tracks of Bollywood was heartbreaking in sync with the roles she portrayed. By Dhruv Somani December 20 2020, 12:00 am Estimated Reading Time: 9 mins, 19 secsįilm historian, Dhruv Somani, recollects the tragic story of the charismatic star Priya Rajvansh, who if she were alive would have turned 84 on December 30 th
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