Rakhee Gulzar

"Raakhee" redirects here. For similar uses, see Rakhi.

Raakhee Gulzar (née Majumdar) (Bengali pronunciation: [rakʰi]; born 15 August 1947), professionally known as Raakhee, is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi and Bengali films. One of the leading and most popular actresses of the 1970s and early 1980s,^[1][2] Raakhee is a recipient of several awards including two National Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. In 2003, she received Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award.^[3]

Rakhee Gulzar
Rakhee Gulzar in 2024
Born	Rakhee Majumdar (1947-08-15) 15 August 1947 (age 77) Ranaghat, West Bengal, Dominion of India (present-day Republic of India)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1967–present
Spouse	Ajay Biswas ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1965)​ Gulzar ​ ​ (m. 1973; sep. 1974)​
Children	Meghna Gulzar (daughter)
Honors	Padma Shri

Raakhee made her film debut with the Bengali film Badhu Bharan (1967). She had her first Hindi film with Jeevan Mrityu (1970). Raakhee's career marked a turning point with Aankhon Aankhon Mein (1972), Daag: A Poem of Love (1973), for which she won her first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, and 27 Down (1974). She won her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actress for Tapasya (1976).

Raakhee went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema with films like - Blackmail (1973), Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Doosra Aadmi (1977), Trishna, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (both 1978), Kaala Patthar, Jurmana (both 1979), Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981), Shakti (1982), Ram Lakhan (1989), for which she won her second Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress, Baazigar (1993), Karan Arjun (1995), Border (1997), Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001) and Shubho Mahurat (2003). For the last of these, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Raakhee married poet, lyricist and author Gulzar in 1973 with whom she has a daughter, writer and director Meghna Gulzar.

Early life

Raakhee was born in a Bengali family at Ranaghat in the Nadia district of West Bengal in the early hours of 15 August 1947, just hours after the independence of India.^[4][5] She received her early education in a local girls' school. Her father had a flourishing shoe business in his native village located in Meherpur, East Bengal which was then a part of Nadia district of undivided India (modern-day Bangladesh), before the partition of India, and thereafter he settled in West Bengal.

Career

Early work and breakthrough (1967–1975)

In 1967, the 20-year-old Raakhee acted in her first Bengali film Bodhu Boron and Baghini, after which she was offered the lead role in Rajshri Productions' crime thriller Jeevan Mrityu (1970) opposite Dharmendra.^[6][7]

In 1971, Raakhee played a double role opposite Shashi Kapoor in the musical romance Sharmeelee, and also starred in the dramas Lal Patthar and Paras; all three films emerged as commercial successes and she quickly established herself as a leading actress of Hindi Cinema. Shehzada (1972) opposite Rajesh Khanna and Aankhon Aankhon Mein (1972) opposite a relative newcomer Rakesh Roshan showcased her comic abilities, though their box office returns was unsatisfactory.^[8] In 1973, she continued to display versatility even in relatively small roles in the romances Heera Panna and Daag: A Poem of Love, with her strong performances, earning her first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter.^[9] In 1974, Raakhee won a Special Souvenir prize at the National Film Awards for 27 Down. The Telegraph commended her "nuanced take on an independent working woman who has more steel in her than the film’s flawed protagonist – truly a break from the synthetic women in films of the era".^[10]

Widespread success and critical acclaim (1976–1984)

In 1976, Raakhee's career peaked after starring in two movies that garnered her widespread acclaim. The first was Yash Chopra's Kabhi Kabhie, for which she earned her second Filmfare Award for Best Actress nomination.^[11] The film had been written with Raakhee in mind, and she had agreed to do it during the making of Daag. Citing her as having "one of the most gorgeous faces to have been seen on the Hindi screen", Filmfare magazine retrospectively called it "a perfect ode to her exquisiteness: Her wine eyes, a prism of myriad emotions. Her poignant voice holding back the surging sadness. She played the beautiful muse, whose parting leaves poet Amitabh Bachchan devastated. [The film] threw open a second innings for the actress who then went on to star in blockbusters that left critics overwhelmed and art house actors envious. From initially being compared to actress Nimmi, given her hazel eyes, and later to Meena Kumari, given her proclivity towards the tragic, Raakhee cut through it all to stand apart".^[12]

The phenomenal success of Rajshri Productions' Tapasya (1976), a heroine-dominated drama, established Raakhee as a box-office name to reckon with. Starring opposite Asrani and Parikshit Sahni, her portrayal of a family breadwinner who sacrifices her dreams and ambitions for the future of her younger siblings, earned Raakhee her first and only Filmfare Award for Best Actress. The Hindu acknowledged her role as a "calculated risk", which required her to be shown in a "mature, somewhat middle aged role", and praised her "amazing restraint and conviction" in it.^[13] She later described the film as "one of the most important films of my career" and regards her performances in Blackmail (1973), Tapasya and Aanchal (1980) as her best.^[14][15]

Raakhee starred with Dev Anand in Heera Panna, Banarasi Babu (1973), Joshila (1973) and Lootmaar (1980). She starred opposite Shashi Kapoor in 10 released films: Sharmeelee, Jaanwar Aur Insaan (1972), Kabhie Kabhie (1976), Doosra Aadmi (1977), the critically acclaimed Trishna (1978), Baseraa (1981),^[16] Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka (1983), Zameen Aasmaan (1984), and Pighalta Aasman (1985) and the unreleased Ek Do Teen Chaar.^[17] Her exemplary chemistry with Amitabh Bachchan was showcased in eight films: Kabhie Kabhie, Muqaddar Ka Sikander (1978), Kasme Vaade (1978), Trishul (1978), Kaala Patthar (1979), Jurmana (1979), Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981), and Bemisal (1982). In some films such as Jurmana, her name is even credited ahead of the hero. She also formed a popular pair with Sanjeev Kumar in films like Hamare Tumhare (1979) and Shriman Shrimati (1982).^[18][19]

In 1981, a 23-year-old aspiring director Anil Sharma asked her to star in an out-and-out female oriented role in his debut film Shradhanjali. After the success of the film, Raakhee was flooded by strong heroine-dominated roles. At the peak of her career as a popular heroine, she surprised everyone by accepting strong character roles as sister-in-law to Rajesh Khanna in Aanchal, Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh in Shaan (1980), Mithun Chakraborty in Dhuan (1981), and mother to Amitabh in Shakti and Rishi Kapoor in Yeh Vaada Raha (1982). She also starred in several Bengali films at the time, with Paroma (1984) earning her the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for Best Actress (Hindi).^[20]

Supporting parts and sporadic work (1985–present)

Towards the late 1980s, 1990s and 2000's, she played strong character roles as the elderly mother or a woman of principles in commercially successful films such as Ram Lakhan (1989),^[21] Anari (1993), Khalnayak (1993), Baazigar (1993), Karan Arjun (1995), Border (1997), Soldier (1998), Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love (2001) and Dil Ka Rishta (2002).^[22][23] In 2003, she appeared in Rituparno Ghosh's mystery thriller Shubho Mahurat, which earned her the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[24][25] In a 2012 interview, she said that her favourite heroes were Rajesh Khanna and Shashi Kapoor. In 2019, Kolkata International Film Festival the film Nirbon directed by Goutam Halder was premiered, where Raakhee portrayed the role of Bijolibala, a 70 year old lady with a strong conviction. "Doing films is not on my agenda right now, but the story fascinated me" said Raakhee said about the adaptation of Moti Nandi's novel Bijolibalar Mukti.^[26]

Other work

Apart from her acting career, Raakhee delved into various other field, some of which include costume designing (for Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998)) and dress assistance (for Dil Kya Kare (1999)). In 1982, she lent her voice for the film Taaqat in the song "Teri Nindiya Ko Lag Jaaye Aag Re" sung alongside Kishore Kumar.^[27]

Personal life

Whilst still a teenager, Raakhee had an arranged marriage to Bengali journalist/film director Ajay Biswas, which ended shortly afterwards.

At the start of her film career, she dropped her surname and was mentioned in film credits only as "Raakhee", by which name she attained stardom, but upon marrying lyricist-director, Sampooran Singh Kalra professionally known as Gulzar, she took his pen name as her surname and is credited thereafter as Raakhee Gulzar. The couple has a daughter, Meghna Gulzar. When their daughter was only one year old, they separated.^[28]

After completing her graduation in films from New York University, Meghna went on to become a director of films including Filhaal... (2002), Just Married (2007) and Dus Kahaniyaan (2007),^[29] and authored a biography of her father in 2004.^[30][31]

At one point, Raakhee stayed in her bungalow, "Muktangan" (bought from the Marathi playwright P. L. Deshpande), on Sarojini Road in Khar, Mumbai. Later, she sold the property and moved to an apartment two buildings away, though the new highrise is still called by the same name, as she had wished. "My mother has lived her professional and personal life with tremendous dignity and grace", said Meghna Gulzar, daughter of Raakhee, in an interview.^[32] Presently, she lives a reclusive life in her farmhouse at Panvel on the outskirts of Mumbai, spending time in tending to a huge flock of animals, growing vegetables and reading books.^{[33][34][35][36]}

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1967	Badhu Bharan	–	Bengali film
1968	Baghini		Bengali film	[37]
1970	Aparajeya	Bina	Assamese film	[7]
	Jeevan Mrityu	Deepa	Hindi film debut
1971	Sharmilee	Kanchan/Kamini
	Reshma Aur Shera	Gopal's Wife
	Paras	Barkha Singh
	Lal Patthar	Sumita
1972	Anokhi Pehchan
	Aan Baan	Rekha
	Aankhon Aankhon Mein	Parvati	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress	[38]
	Beimaan	Sapna
	Janwar Aur Insaan	Meena
	Shehzada	Chanda
	Shaadi Ke Baad	Shova
	Sub Ka Saathi	Rosie
	Wafaa	Saraswati
	Yaar Mera	Sarla
1973	Heera Panna	Reema Singh	Special appearance
	Daag: A Poem of Love	Chandni	Won – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress	[39]
	Blackmail	Asha Mehta
	Banarasi Babu	Neela
	Joshila	Sapna	Special appearance
1974	Pagli	Gori
	27 Down	Shalini	Won – National Film Award, Special Souvenir	[40]
1975	Mere Sajna	Kammo
	Angaarey	Shova
1976	Tapasya	Indrani Sinha (Indu)	Won – Filmfare Award for Best Actress	[41]
	Kabhi Kabhie	Pooja Khanna	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress	[42]
1977	Doosra Aadmi	Nisha	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress & for Best Supporting Actress
1978	Chameli Memsaheb	Chameli	Bangla film	[20]
	Trishna	Aarti Gupta	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Kasme Vaade	Suman
	Trishul	Geeta
	Muqaddar Ka Sikandar	Kaamna
1979	Hamare Tumhare	Maya
	Jurmana	Rama Sharma	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Kaala Patthar	Dr. Sudha Sen
	Shyamla		Bengali film
1980	Lootmaar	Raksha Bhagat	Special appearance
	Aanchal	Shanti
	Hum Kadam	Indu Gupta
	Shaan	Sheetal Kumar
1981	Rocky	Parvati		[43]
	Laawaris	Vidya	Special appearance
	Dhuaan	Rani Gayatri
	Barsaat Ki Ek Raat	Rajni	Bengali-Hindi bilingual
	Anusandhan	Tamosha	Bengali-Hindi bilingual
	Baseraa	Sharda Balraj Kohli	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress
	Shradhanjali	Bhabhi maa
1982	Yeh Vaada Raha	Sharda Rai Bahadur
	Taaqat	Devi
	Shriman Shrimati	Parvati Devi
	Bemisal	Kavita Chaturvedi (Sakhi)
	Dil Aakhir Dil Hai	Kusum Desai
	Shakti	Sheetal	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actress
1983	Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka	Bhavna		[44]
1984	Anand Aur Anand	Mrs. Arun Anand
	Bandh Honth	–
	Parama	Parama	Bengali film
	Zindagi Jeene Ke Liye
	Zameen Aasmaan	Kavita
1985	Pighalta Aasman	Aarti
	Saaheb	Sujata Sharma	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
1986	Amma	Shanta
	Zindagani	Sumitra Devi
1987	Muqaddar Ka Faisla	Laxmi
	Dacait	Devi Choudhrain
1988	Gold Medal	Shobha/Dimple
	Mere Baad	Vidya
	Falak	Durga Verma
	Prateek	Sunanda	Bengali film
	Sagar Sangam	Ganga
1989	Ram Lakhan	Sharda Pratap Singh	Won – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress	[45]
	Santosh	Rachna
1990	Jeevan Ek Sangharsh	Dharam Verma
1991	Saugandh	Ganga
	Pratikar	Saraswati Devi		[46]
1993	Rudaali	Bhikni/Euli
	Pratimurti		Bengali film
	Khal Nayak	Mrs. Aarti Prasad
	Kshatriya	Maheshwari Devi
	Dil Ki Baazi	Nirmala Devi
	Anari	Savitri	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Baazigar	Mrs. Shobha Sharma
1994	Phiriye Dao	Arjun's mother	Bengali film	[47]
	Swami Vivekananda	Rajasthani tribal
1995	Karan Arjun	Durga Singh	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress	[48]
	Kismat	Geeta
1996	Durjan		Bengali film
	Jaan	Rukmini
1997	Achena Atithi		Bengali film
	Border	Dharamvir's mother	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress	[49]
	Jeevan Yudh	Mrs. Rai
	Ankhon Mein Tum Ho	Ranimaa (Mrs. Burman)
1998	Sham Ghansham	Ganga Satyadev Singh
	Barood	Gayatri Sharma
	Soldier	Geeta Malhotra	Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress
1999	Baadshah	Chief Minister Gayatri
2001	Ek Rishtaa: The Bond of Love	Pratima Kapoor		[50]
2003	Talaash: The Hunt Begins	Purnima
	Dil Ka Rishta	Mrs. Sharma		[51]
	Shubho Mahurat	Ranga Pishima	National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress	[52]
2009	Classmates
2019	Nirbaan	Bijolibaba
2024	Amar Boss

Accolades

Civilian Award

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2003	Padma Shri	Contribution in the field of Arts	Honoured	[53]

Film Awards

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1972	Filmfare Awards	Best Actress	Aankhon Aankhon Mein	Nominated	[54]
1973		Best Supporting Actress	Daag: A Poem of Love	Won
1976		Best Actress	Kabhi Kabhie	Nominated
			Tapasya	Won
1977			Doosra Aadmi	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
1978		Best Actress	Trishna	Nominated	[55]
1979			Jurmana	Nominated
1981			Baseraa	Nominated	[56]
1983			Shakti	Nominated	[57]
1985		Best Supporting Actress	Saaheb	Nominated	[58]
1989			Ram Lakhan	Won	[59]
1994			Anari	Nominated	[60]
1996			Karan Arjun	Nominated	[61]
1998			Border	Nominated	[62]
1999			Soldier	Nominated	[63]
1974	National Film Awards	Special Souvenir	27 Down	Won	[64]
2003		Best Supporting Actress	Shubho Mahurat	Won	[65]
1973	Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress (Hindi)	Daag	Won	[66]
1984		Best Actress (Hindi)	Paroma	Won