Manoj Kumar’s first heroine, won National Award for Satyajit Ray’s movie, never compromised with principles

New Delhi: The beginning of the film journey of yesteryear’s famous actress Jabeen Jalil is no less than a film story. Born on April 1, Jabeen actually had no intention of entering the world of acting, she was a bright student and was looking at her career in studies only. But fate had something else in store. During her college days, she participated in a play named ‘Nek Parveen’, where she was playing the role of a small girl (baby). Coincidentally, veteran filmmaker SM Yusuf and actress Nigar Sultana had also come to watch that program. Jabeen’s innocence and calm acting impressed him so much that as soon as the program ended, he went straight to Jabeen. Without any delay he asked Jabeen, ‘Baby, will you become the heroine in our film?’ Jabeen was stunned to hear this, because she had no connection whatsoever with the film industry.

Jabeen initially showed hesitation, but on the insistence of the filmmakers, he talked to his mother. Her father’s shadow had already risen, so as soon as she got her mother’s permission, she reached Eastern Studios in Worli for a screen test. Jabeen herself tells that the results of that test were so amazing that she was surprised to see the glow of her eyes on the screen. This was the foundation of his 20 year long career, which started with the film ‘Gujara’ in 1954 and ended with ‘Vachan’ in 1974. During this period, he worked in about 34 films. The most special thing is that she became the first heroine of veteran actor Manoj Kumar, when she worked with him in the film ‘Panchayat’. Apart from this, he also shared the screen with big stars like Kishore Kumar, Shami Kapoor and Prem Chopra. She also received the National Award for Best Actress for her performance in Satyajit Ray’s film ‘Abhijan’.

Advised son to stay away from cinema
Jabeen Jalil’s film journey was not limited to glamor only, he always kept his self-esteem above. He had openly said in an interview that it is not easy to survive in the industry and many times he was removed from big banner films, but he never complained to anyone. He also always encouraged newcomers like Dharmendra. Talking about personal life, she married Kashmiri Pandit Ashok Kak and despite different religions, both of them never imposed their views on each other. Today he is completely satisfied with his life, although he advised his son to stay away from the film industry. He believes that in today’s industry, art has become less dominant and business has become more dominant.