Mala Sinha

Mala Sinha was born on the 11th of November in the year 1936. She was born into a Christian family of Nepalese descent and grew to become a much acclaimed Bollywood actress.

She was the star of many movies beginning in the 1960s and 70s. Her parents named her Alda and due to teasing in school, she changed her name.

The name Alda sounded too close to Dalda a vegetable oil brand in India. Mala Sinha started her career in the movies as a child in various Bengali Films with her film debut being in the movie Roshanara in the year 1952.

Getting Into Bollywood
She was introduced to Kidar Sharma a film director in Bollywood by Geeta Dutt and was quickly cast into a leading role in the movie Rangeen Ratein. From there she moved from acting mainly in Bengali movies and started on Hindi movies as well.

Mala Sinha was a great singer and sang for All India Radio but even though she was a Bollywood celebrity she did not sing playback. Her movie Pyaasa was among her most memorable performances and became the turning point for her career. There was no stopping Mala Sinha from here and she performed in movie after movie most of which were great hits.

Marriage And Retirement
As a hot celebrity India had to offer, Mala Sinha was in great demand and traveled widely to shoot. On one such working trip to Nepal in 1966, she was cast in the movie Maitighar across from C.P. Lohani. The two soon fell in love and married and later had a daughter named Pratibha.

Mala Sinha continued to work in the film industry making Bombay her headquarters. She has been nominated for many awards and currently lives with her husband and their daughter in Bombay. Acting has proved to be a family business as Pratibha is also a Bollywood actress.