Rehana Anjuman Choudhary (10 March 1931 – 23 April 2013), known professionally as Rehana, was a film actress who predominantly worked in Indian and Pakistani cinema.
She was known as both "The Queen of Charm" and "The Dancing Damsel of Bombay". She worked in leading roles in films such as Sagai, Tadbir, Hum Ek Hain, Shehnai, Sajan, Samrat and Sargam in India before migrating to Pakistan in the mid-1950s.
Early life Rehana was born as Rehana Anjuman Choudhary in Bombay, British India. Rehana's father was a manufacturer of Moradabadi silverware and owned a factory in Lucknow. Rehana liked arts and started learning classical dance when she was a child. Later, during a stage dance, she was noticed by Shambhu Maharaj.
At age five, she was trained in Kathak dance by Shambhu Maharaj and he was friends with Kajjanbai. So he introduced Rehana to her. Later, he would take Rehana with him to Kajjanbai's touring company at Lucknow where he trained Rehana for rehearsals. Later Rehana did a classical dance at Kajjanbai's house at the request of a friend. It made Kajjanbai so impressed that she immediately took Rehana to her company and trained her in acting.
Then she became a member of her troupe and would travel to different countries for performance and musical stage plays. Later, when she returned to India then she signed a contract with Entertainments National Service Association which was opened by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson and she made her debut in film Tadbir.
Career After doing dancing roles and small roles in films like the K. L. Saigal-Suraiya-starrer Tadbir, she got her major break in Hum Ek Hain (1946), which was incidentally Dev Anand's first film. Sajan (1947) had Rehana in the female lead, and following the success of this film, as well as Shehnai (1947), she became an "overnight star".
From 1948 to 1951 was the best phase of her career as she did a variety of films paired opposite most of the top heroes of that time, like Prem Adib in Actress (1948), with Raj Kapoor in Sunehre Din (1949) and Sargam (1950), with Dev Anand in Dilruba (1950), with Shyam in Nirdosh (1950) and Surajmukhi (1950), with Shekhar in Adaa (1951) and with Premnath in Sagai (1951). Two of her biggest hits from these were Sargam (1950) and Sagai (1951).
After 1952, her career sharply went on the decline as films like Rangeeli (1952), Chham Chhama Chham (1952), Hazar Raatein (1953) and Samrat (1954) all sank at the box office. With her career on the decline in India, Rehana migrated to Pakistan with the hope of continuing her career there.
In Pakistan, she worked in Urdu films like Raat ke Rahi, Wehshi, Apna Praya, Shalimar, Aulad and Dil Ne Tujhe Man Liya. She successfully worked in many films which revived her acting career and performed a number of character roles in films such Insan Badalta Hai, Shabab, Unchay Mahal, Miss 56 and Heer Ranjha. In 1995 she was a judge for the Nigar Awards.
Personal life Rehana married producer Iqbal Shehzad who she worked with in the film Raat Ke Rahi but later they divorced and then she married a businessman Sabir Ahmed, a businessman from Karachi. With him she had three children.
Death She died in Karachi on 23 April 2013.
Controversies She is regarded as Hindi cinema's first "Jhatka Queen". Her movie Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo (1952) became the first film to be banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting because of its low moral tone, even when it was certified for unrestricted public viewing by the censor board of India. Immense public support for the actress made the information and broadcasting ministry of the central government bow down and allow the unrestricted release of the film, but the huge delay reduced its success at the box office.
In 2010, Rehana's family filed a case against film producer Ekta Kapoor and director Milan Luthria, at the Allahabad High Court . According to a legal notice, the filmmaker had used the name 'Rehana' without their consent in the film Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai and had maligned her image.
Filmography Film Year Film Language 1945 Tadbir Hindi 1946 Hum Ek Hain Hindi 1946 Amar Raj Hindi 1947 Sajan Hindi 1947 Sati Toral Hindi 1947 Nateeja Hindi 1947 Shehnai Hindi 1947 Nai Baat Hindi 1947 Pul Hindi 1948 Actress Hindi 1948 Khidki Hindi 1949 Sunehre Din Hindi 1949 Parda Hindi 1949 Chilman Hindi 1949 Roshini Hindi 1949 Jannat Hindi 1950 Nirdosh Hindi 1950 Bijli Hindi 1950 Surajmukhi Hindi 1950 Dilruba Hindi 1950 Lajawab Hindi 1950 Sargam Hindi 1951 Adaa Hindi 1951 Sagai Hindi 1951 Saudagar Hindi 1952 Rangeeli Hindi 1952 Chham Chhama Chham Hindi 1952 Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo Hindi 1953 Hazar Raatein Hindi 1954 Samrat Hindi 1955 Ratna Manjari Hindi 1956 Delhi Durbar Hindi 1956 Dhola Maru Hindi 1956 Miss 56 Urdu 1956 Qeemat Hindi 1956 Wehshi Urdu 1956 Shalimar Urdu 1957 Mehfil Hindi 1959 Savera Urdu 1959 Apna Praya Urdu 1960 Raat Ke Rahi Urdu 1960 Ankh Aur Khoon Urdu 1960 Sahil Urdu 1961 Insan Badalta Hai Urdu 1961 Zabak Hindi 1962 Aulad Urdu 1962 Unchay Mahal Urdu 1963 Hamrahi Hindi 1963 Dil Ne Tujhe Man Liya Urdu 1963 Kan Kan Men Bhagwan Hindi 1963 Dulhan Urdu 1964 Chitralekha Hindi 1964 Roop Sundari Hindi 1964 Shabab Urdu 1965 Yeh Jahan Walay Urdu 1966 Teesri Kasam Hindi 1968 Shehanshah-e-Jahangir Urdu 1968 Aadhi Raat Urdu 1968 Dil Diya Dard Liya Urdu 1969 Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hay Urdu 1970 Shahi Faqeer Urdu 1970 Love in Jungle Urdu 1970 Bazi Urdu 1970 Heer Ranjha Urdu 1971 Night Club Urdu 1971 Bazigar Punjabi 1972 Koshish Hindi 1974 Majboor Hindi 1974 Khote Sikkay Hindi 1976 Pyar Kaday Nein Marda Punjabi 1977 Aina Urdu 1983 Desh Shatru Hindi 1983 Betaab Hindi
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