Jamuna Baruah
Encyclopedia
Jamuna Baruah (1919 – 24 November 2005) was a leading India
n actress.
of Assam
's Goalpara
district (undivided), Jamuna was married to the legendary actor director Pramathesh Barua
, or P.C. Barua, who died in 1950. She began her acting career in her husband's famous production Devdas in 1936 and was the film's lead character Parvati
or Paro
. She went on to make a number of memorable movies in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi
, notably Amiri, Mukti, Adhikar and Sesh Uttar. She stopped acting after Barua died.
. Baruah is survived by three sons.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n actress.
Early life
Jamuna was the fourth of the six daughters of Puran Gupta, a resident of a village near Agra, India. Each of the sisters was named after an Indian river like Ganga, Jamuna, Bhagirathi etc. As destiny would have it, Jamuna came to reside in Calcutta, a leading film producing city in India. Originally from GauripurGauripur
Gauripur is a town and a town area committee in Dhubri district in the state of Assam, India.-Geography:Gauripur is located at . It has an average elevation of 26 metres . The nearest airport is situated at Rupsi adjacent to the village Khudimari.Gauripur is a small beautiful town in the...
of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
's Goalpara
Goalpara
Goalpara is the district headquarter of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated west of Guwahati.-Etymology:The name of Goalpara is said to have originally derived from `Gwaltippika` meaning `Guwali village` or the village of the milk men. In the local dialect "para" means...
district (undivided), Jamuna was married to the legendary actor director Pramathesh Barua
Pramathesh Barua
Pramathesh Chandra Barua was a famous actor, director, and screenwriter of Indian films in the pre-independence era.-Early life:...
, or P.C. Barua, who died in 1950. She began her acting career in her husband's famous production Devdas in 1936 and was the film's lead character Parvati
Parvati
Parvati is a Hindu goddess. Parvati is Shakti, the wife of Shiva and the gentle aspect of Mahadevi, the Great Goddess...
or Paro
Paro, Bhutan
-History:Rinpung Dzong a fortress-monastery overlooking the Paro valley has a long history. A monastery was first built on the site by Padma Sambhava at the beginning of the tenth century, but it wasn't until 1646 that Ngawang Namgyal built a larger monastery on the old foundations, and for...
. She went on to make a number of memorable movies in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, notably Amiri, Mukti, Adhikar and Sesh Uttar. She stopped acting after Barua died.
Film career
In the thirties and played a small role in Mohabbat Ki Kasauti (1934), directed by P.C. Barua. A romance started although Barua, hailing from the native Indian state of Gauripur, Assam, was already twice married. As the actress, who was to play Parbati in Barua's next venture Devdas (1935) reported inability to attend the studio on the very first day of shooting, Jamuna was called from Barua's residence (she was living with him by then) and was asked to get down to work straight away without any preparation whatsoever. Thus she came to be the first Parbati of Indian talkies- Miss Light had played the role in the silent version of the enormously popular Sarat Chandra novel. Aishwarya Rai happens to the last so far and Devdas has been made and re-made a number of times. Jamuna played the same role in the Hindi version also and was accepted in this very first proper exposure as an actress in her own right. She continued to act in Barua's films like Grihadaha (1936), Maya (1936), Adhikar (1939), Uttarayan (1941), Shesh Uttar (1942), Chander Kalanka (1944) and the respective Hindi versions of each film. Barua had left the prestigious New Theatres in 1940 and was directing as well as producing his films. Thereafter she acted in a number of Barua directed Hindi movies like Amiree, Pehchan and Iran Ki Ek Raat. These films however did not add to the prestige of either to Barua or to Jamuna and are better forgotten. Jamuna also acted outside Barua direction in three Bengali films Debar (1943) and Nilanguriya (1943) where she proved herself without Barua's influence. Her last film Malancha (1953) was also outside Barua's direction. She also starred in its Hindi version Phulwari (1953). Barua's untimely death in 1951 when he was only 48 changed Jamuna's life altogether. She had three sons by Barua, Deb Kumar, Rajat and Prasun. They were all minors at the time and the Gauripur estate refused to take any of their responsibilities. She had to wage a legal battle with the powerful and influential royal family to get her and her children's dues and recognition. Time settled the matters and she was allowed ownership of the house with its vast adjoining land and also an allowance. Jamuna spent the rest of her life after Barua as a housewife, busy in bringing up her minor sons. She had to complete the unfinished film Malancha of course but said good bye to the world soon after. Later in her life she did attend a number of functions to celebrate the centennial year of husband P.C. Barua and received felicitations on behalf of the Government of India and the state Government of Assam as the first Parbati of Indian talkies.Later life
Her last days were not very comfortable and she was bedridden for more than six months prior to her death. Her death totally snapped the ties with the thirties. No other Indian actress of her time and calibre is alive today. She is survived by her three sons and their families and a host of relatives and admirers. According to her family members, she had been ill for some time, and the cause of death was illness related to old age. She breathed her last at her residence in south KolkataKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. Baruah is survived by three sons.
Filmography
- Iran Ki Ek Raat (1949)
- Suleh (1946)
- Subah Shyam (1944)
- DevarDevarDevar is a 1966 Hindi film directed by Mohan Sehgal. It stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Deven Verma and Shashikala. The film is based on a short novel "Naa" by the noted Bengali writer, Tara Shankar Bandopadhyay ....
(1943) .... Namita - Rani (1943)
- JawabJawabJawab is 1995 Hindi movie directed by Ajay Kashyap and starring Raaj Kumar, Harish Kumar, Karishma Kapoor.Other cast include Prem Chopra, Mukesh Khanna, Annu Kapoor, Farida Jalal.-Cast:* Raaj Kumar ... Ashwani Kumar Saxena* Karishma Kapoor ... Suman...
(1942) .... Reba - Uttarayan (1941) .... Arati
- Hindustan Hamara (1940) .... Veena
- ZindagiZindagi (1940 film)Zindagi is a 1940 Indian Bollywood film directed by P.C. Barua. It was the highest grossing Indian film of 1940. The music, by Mullick, features songs such as 'So ja Rajkumari' and 'Jeevan asha hai'. The film has been described as one of Barua's most beautiful films, and his last for New...
(1940) .... Shrimata - Adhikar (1939) .... Indira
- Adhikar (1938) .... Indira
- DevdasDevdas (1936 film)Devdas is a 1935 film based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella, Devdas. Directed by P.C. Barua, it stars K.L. Saigal as Devdas and Jamuna Barua as Parvati . Of Barua's two versions, this was the popular one throughout India.-Plot:Devdas Devdas (Hindi: देवदास, Urdu: دیوداس) is a 1935 film...
(1936) .... Parvati / Paro - Grihadah (1936) .... Achala
- ManzilManzilManzil is the word for one of seven parts of roughly equal length into which the Qur'an is divided for the purpose of reciting the entire text in one week.They are:# Al-Fatihah through An-Nisa' # Al-Maida through At-Tawba...
(1936) .... Achala - Maya (1936/I) .... Maya
- Maya (1936/II) .... Maya
- DevdasDevdas (1935 film)Devdas is a 1935 Bengali film based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella, Devdas. It stars P.C. Barua as Devdas and Jamuna Barua as Parvati and Chandrabati Devi as Chandramuki.Sharat Chandra Chatterjee's classic novel Devadas is about two lovers - Debdas and Parbati - who can never unite...
(1935) .... Parvati / Paro - Roop Lekha (1934) .... Minor role in the Hindi version
