Her trump card was her ability to emote with her pain-heavy eyes despite being mute about her remorse. Mala's character had negative shades as she played an ambitious woman who betrays her impoverished poet lover (Guru Dutt) for a millionaire publisher (Rehman). The spotlight first shone on her in Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957). During Kidar Sharma's Rangeen Raatein (1956), hero Shammi Kapoor's girlfriend, the vivacious Geeta Bali took an unsure Mala Sinha and groomed her. She made a not-so-princely entry with Badshah (1954).ДЄ lead in Kishore Sahu's Hamlet followed.

Mala began rather humbly in the early 1950s in Bengali films like Roshanara. Was her role as good as the superstar's? Well, she had a double role and romanced both Rajesh and Raaj Kumar in the film. While most of her contemporaries looked old-maidish once they entered the dreaded mid 30s, Mala looked chic in chiffon saris and butterfly blouses in Maryada, where she matched Rajesh Khanna's mannerisms with captivating coquetry in the impish Chupke se dil de de. With time, she fine-tuned her looks, inspiring Mahesh Bhatt to comment, 'She exuded sensuality in Pyaasa.' When colour seeped into films, she made the audience sit up, revealing a surprisingly slim new look in films like Aankhen, where she swayed memorably in a figure-hugging, strappy gown to Gairon pe karam apnon pe sitam. 'I was not as good-looking as Madhubala, all I had going for me was talent,' she remembers. Today, her unforgettable performances ( Pyaasa, Phir Subah Hogi, Gumraah), have been relegated to the shade, while her weakness for over-the-top, mawkish melodrama is remembered.Д«orn a Nepali Christian, the young Mala was a chinky-eyed girl with curly hair and average height. But her character always had to be the crux of the story. If that was not always possible, she didn't mind doing smaller films with lesser names ( Aasra, Dillagi). When she acted opposite big stars, she made sure her role was as good as theirs.

What is remarkable about Mala Sinha is that most of her 1960s hits were fuelled by her own star power as much as the heros'.

A Hindi film heroine is all too often seen as arm candy who does her songs and dances and is finally presented to the hero in the end.

Mala sinha aap ki nazron ne samjha