Pratima Devi (born Khairunnisa Suleiman; 1910 – 29 January 1993) was an Indian character actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. Right from the beginning of her career, she starred in motherly roles, and is best remembered for playing a virtuous and upright mother to leading stars.
Early life She was born in a family belonging to the Khoja community and was the eldest of the three daughters of Suleiman Sherief who shifted to Bombay with his family. She was married off to a distant relative but got divorced while being pregnant. She later gave birth to a boy who died within few hours of his birth.
Career She was noticed and discovered by Himanshu Rai, the doyen of Bombay Talkies who offered her a role in his film Nirmala in which she essayed the role of Ashok Kumar's mother. She took on elderly roles, of a mother, an aunt or even a grandmother as her career progressed. In a career spanning 45 years, Pratima featured in nearly 200 films sharing screen alongside actors like Ashok Kumar, V. Shantaram, Bhagwan Dada, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Meena Kumari, Hema Malini and Amitabh Bachchan to name a few. She was often mis-credited as Protima Devi, Prathima Devi and Pratima in many films. She acted as mother to Ashok Kumar in most of his films ranging from Nirmala in 1938 to Pakeezah in 1972.
Death Pratima Devi breathed her last on 29 January 1993, she was 82. Selected filmography Year Film Role 1938 Nirmala Ramdas's mother 1942 Sharda 1943 Ladaai Ke Baad Laxmi Devi 1944 Draupadi 1945 Ek Dinn ka Sultan Kausar's mother 1946 Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani Dr. Kotnis's mother 1947 Dard Begum 1948 Anokhi Ada Laatsaheb's mother 1949 Dulari Kamini G. Shankar 1950 Jogan Maha Maa 1951 Albela Pyarelal's mother 1952 Sangdil Badi Maa 1953 Parineeta Shekhar's Aunt 1954 Chandni Chowk Akbar's mother1955BandishKamal Roy's mother Seema Superintendent Didi Devdas Harimati Mukherjee 1956 Mem Sahib Sunder's mother 1957 Naya Daur Rajni's mother 1958 Dilli Ka Thug Kishore Kumar Sharma's mother 1959 Kaagaz Ke Phool Mother of Rakesh Verma (Rocky) & Veena Verma Sinha Paigham Mother of Ram Lal & Rattan Lal 1960 Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai Dr. Sushil Kumar Verma's Mother 1962 Professor Preetam Khanna's mother Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam Badi Bahu 1963 Bahurani Dai Maa Tere Ghar Ke Samne Mrs. Karamchand 1964 Shagoon Geeta's mother 1966 Mamta Mother Mary 1967 Jewel Thief Police Commissioner's wife 1968 Saathi Shanti's mother 1969 Mahal Rajesh's mother 1970 Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Laxmi Chaudhary 1972 Pakeezah Salim Ahmad Khan's grandmother Seeta Aur Geeta Seeta's and Geeta's grandmother Victoria No. 203 Beggar 1974 Benaam Mrs. Verma 1975 Khushboo Lakhi's grandmother 1976 Maha Chor Blind slum dweller 1977 Amar Akbar Anthony Laxmi's grandmother 1978 Naukri Ranjit's mother 1981 Bulundi Harish's mother 1982 Bemisal Dr. Goel's sister 1983 Pukar Deaf lady
References