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Photo of Veena

Veena

Actor
Died November 14, 2004 (80 years)
Veena (4 July 1926 – 14 November 2004), also known as Veena Kumari, real name Tajour Sultana, was an Indian actress.

Veena was born as Tajour Sultana on 4 July 1926 in Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistani. At some point of time, her family shifted to Lahore and she belonged to Lahore's Chuna Mandi.[1] She married actor-hero Al Nasir in 1947 and had two children.

She started out playing heroine roles in pre-partition films. She made her debut with Garib and Gawandhi (1942) at around sixteen years of age. Garib was made in Urdu and Gawandhi was made in Punjabi and directed by Mehboob Khan. In Garib, she played the role of Lata and in Gawandhi she played heroine opposite Shyam, who played the hero. She became known for her roles in pre-partition Hindi and Urdu films. Her early years in films came with films such as Najma (1943), Phool (1945) and Humayun (1945). Her last film before the Partition of India was Rajputani (1946), in which she played a supporting role. She decided to remain in India after the partition, and she acted through the mid-to-late-1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. She played roles in big productions such as Halaku (1956), Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Taj Mahal (1963) (for which she received the Filmfare's Award for Best Supporting Actress), Do Raaste (1969) and Pakeezah (1972). She retired in 1983 after the release of Razia Sultan (1983) in which she played Empress Shah Turkhan. She died in Bombay in 2004 after 21 years of retirement when she was 78 years old after suffering from a protracted illness. She had appeared in over 70 feature films in a career spanning 41 years (1942 till 1983).
Known For
  • The Chess Players
  • Paper Flowers
  • Pakeezah
  • Parichay
  • Do Raaste
  • Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai
  • Afsana
  • Razia Sultan
  • Dastan
  • Shehzada
  • Najma
  • Banarasi Babu
  • Saathi
  • Jheel Ke Us Paar
  • 5 Rifles
  • Humayun
  • Agni Pareeksha

Filmography

1986
Mazloom · as Purnima's Mother
1983
Razia Sultan · as Empress Shah Turkhan
1982
1982
Eent Ka Jawab Patthar · as Rajmata
1981
1981
Agni Pareeksha · as Karuna Choudhary
1980
Man Pasand · as Cast
1977
The Chess Players · as Queen Mother
1974
5 Rifles · as Maharani
1974
1974
Madhosh · as Raj's Mother
1974
1974
Ganga · as Cast
1973
1973
Chhupa Rustam · as Mrs. Rajendra Jain
1973
Banarasi Babu · as Mohan's Mother
1972
Parichay · as Satidevi
1972
1972
Pakeezah · as Nawabjaan
1970
Heer Raanjha · as Cast
1969
Do Raaste · as Mrs. Gupta
1969
Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai · as Gurmukh Singh's Wife
1968
Aashirwad · as Leela S. Choudhary
1968
Saathi · as Rajni's Mother
1968
1967
Chhoti Si Mulaqat · as Ratna - Shanker's Wife
1963
Taj Mahal · as Empress Nur Jahan
1963
1959
Paper Flowers · as Veena Varma / Veena Sinha
1959
1958
Khota Paisa · as Geeta
1958
1956
Halaku · as Maharani
1951
Afsana · as Meera
1950
Dastan · as Rani
1945
Humayun · as Rajkumari (as Veena Kumari)
1943
Najma · as Najma

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