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Born at Pune (state : Maharashtra), Smita Patil worked as a television announcer
before entering films. Her debut in Shyam Benegal's Charandas Chor (1975) was
followed by Jabbar Patel's Saamna of the same year. The role that would make her
a star was of the Harijan (Untouchable) woman in Manthan (1976). Bhumika in
1976, again with Shyam Benegal, was another powerful role of the legendary
Marathi film star Hansa Wadkar. Bhavni Bhavai (1980) portrayed her as a tribal
woman, free and wild at heart.
Films like Muzaffar Ali's Gaman and The Naxalites (1979), Chakra (1980), Bazaar
(1982) were appropriate vehicles for her talent. Others like Ardh Satya (1983),
Tarang (1984), Mirch Masala (1985) where she played the heroic Sonbai who defies
authority and conventional oppression, are films that cannot be definitely
categorized as mainstream or arthouse. In addition to such roles, she was
proficient in mainstream cinema as well - Dil-e-Nadaan (1979), Namak Halal and
Arth (1982), Ghulami and Tere Sheher Mein in 1985, Dehleez in 1986 and Thikana
(1987), to name a few.
Patil acted in regional films as well - Mrinal Sen's Akaler Sandhaney in
Bengali, Aravindan's Malayalam film Chidambram, and the Kannada film Anveshane,
directed by T.S. Nagabharana. She had only one equal in Indian cinema - Shabana
Azmi : both actresses possessed an amazing range and depth to their talent.
Patil had one advantage, however - she was comfortable with both commercial and
arthouse films, something Azmi cannot claim.
Smita Patil's work has been honoured at the La Rochelle festival and also by the
French Cinematheque in 1984. A posthumous exhibition of photographs - at the
National Centre for Performing Arts, Mumbai (1992) - has earned her a reputation
as an amateur photographer. She was a women's activist and a member of the
Women's Centre, Mumbai. She married the actor Raj Babbar, and her death in 1986
shortly after childbirth was a loss to the country and the film industry.
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