Veena (actress)

Indian film actress (1926 - 2004)

Veena

Born|

Tajour Sultana

(1926-07-04)4 July 1926

Quetta, Baluchistan Agency, British India (present-day Balochistan, Pakistan)

Died| 14 November 2004(2004-11-14) (aged 78)

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Nationality| Indian
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1939 - 1983
Spouse|

Al Nasir

(m. 1947; died 1957)​

Children| 2

Veena (née Tajour Sultana; 4 July 1926 - 14 November 2004), also known as Veena Kumari, was an Indian actress.

## Early life and background

[edit]

Veena was born as Tajour Sultana on 4 July 1926 in Quetta, Baluchistan Agency, British India.[1][2] At some point of time, her family moved to Lahore and they lived in Lahore.[1]

She married actor-hero Al Nasir in 1947 in Junagadh and had two children with him. Al Nasir was from a royal family in Bhopal and had already been married, first to actress Meena Shorey and then to Manorama. They both worked together in a few films but their films flopped at the box-office. Al Nasir died in 1957 due to tetanus.[1][2]

## Career

[edit]

Veena 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.[2] 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 in 1947 and 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), Do Raaste (1969) and Pakeezah (1972). She retired in 1983 after the release of Razia Sultan (1983) in which she played Empress Shah Turkhan.[2]

## Death

[edit]

Veena died in Bombay on 14 November 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 - 1983).[2]

## Filmography

[edit]

Year | Film | Character/Role | Notes

|
|
|

1988 | Hamara Khandaan |  | Last and Final film Role
1986 | Mazloom |  |
1983 | Razia Sultan[1][2] | Empress Shah Turkhan
1981 | Agni Pareeksha (1981 film) | Karuna Choudhary
Khawaja Ki Diwani |
1980 | Payal Ki Jhankaar |
1978 | Satyam Shivam Sundaram[1] |
Nawab Sahib | Farida |
1977 | Jay Vejay | Chandeli
Shatranj Ke Khilari | Queen Mother |
1974 | Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam | Rani Sheela
1974 | 5 Rifles | Maharani
Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye | Raja's mother
1973 | Jheel Ke Us Paar | Mrs. Kulwant Rai 'Rani Maa'
Chhupa Rustam | Mrs. Rajendra Jain
Banrasi Babu | Mohan's Mother
Mere Gharib Nawaz | Begum Baig
1972 | Parichay | Sati Devi
Pakeezah[1][2] | Nawabjaan
Shehzada | Rajlaxmi
1970 | Heer Raanjha |
Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai |
Naya Raasta | Rukmini
1969 | Do Raaste | Mrs. Gupta, Satyan's mother
Anmol Moti |
1968 | Aashirwad | Leela S. Choudhary
Saathi | Rajni's Mother
Shrimanji |
1967 | Chhoti Si Mulaqat | Shanker's wife
Noor Jehan[1] |
1966 | Sannata |
1966 | Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1966 film) | Razia, Ali Baba's older sister
1965 | Sikandar-E-Azam | Sikandar's mother
1964 | Baghi |
Shehnai |
1963 | Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon | Jamuna
Taj Mahal[1][2] | Malka-E-Alam Noor Jehan/Mehrunissa
1959 | Chhoti Bahen | Yashoda
Kaagaz Ke Phool[1] | Veena Varma/Veena Sinha
1958 | Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi[1][2] | Kamini
Mehndi |
1957 | Mera Salaam |
Mumtaz Mahal |
Naya Zamana |
1956 | Halaku | Maharani
1952 | Aasmaan |
Annadata |
1951 | Afsana[1][2] | Meera
Kashmir |
1950 | Dastan[1][2] | Rani
1946 | Rajputani |
1945 | Humayun | Rajkumari (as Veena Kumari)
Phool[1][2] |
1943 | Najma[1] | Najma
1942 | Garib | Lata (as Veena Kumari)
1939 | Swastik |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Veena (actress) profile on Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation website Retrieved 23 January 2022
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Remembering the royally graceful actress Veena - Birth anniversary special Archived 23 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine Cinestaan.com website, Published 4 July 2017, Retrieved 23 January 2022

## External links

[edit]

* Veena at IMDb
* Veena at Bollywood Hungama

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* United States
* Israel

*[m.]: married