Roerich, Devika Rani

Devika Chowdhury (Rani is an artistic pseudonym ^[4] ) was the great-granddaughter of Rabindranath Tagore 's sister. Her father, Colonel M.N. Choudhury, was the first Indian head of the Madras Medical Department (since 1996 Chennai ).

She studied in London in a private school ^[4] . At the same time she studied various arts (music, theater, design, architecture). Already at school she received an award from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts ^[4] . After graduation, she entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in a competition to study (RADA) and the Royal Academy of Music . She graduated from the arts and crafts courses. She worked in London in the art studio for painting fabrics ^[4] .

She took part in the BBC's first broadcast television program, led the BBC's first short-wave radio programs to India ^[4] . In 1926 she began working in film as a graphic designer (the film “Light from Asia” about the life of Shakyamuni Buddha ).

The first husband (from 1929 to 1940) - Himanshu Rai (1892-1940), one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. It was Paradise who saw the actress in Rani. After the release of the film Karma ( 1933 ) Devika Rani became a star of the first magnitude. She starred in studios in the UK and Germany. After the Nazis seized power in Germany, the couple returned to India (then British India) and founded the country's first sound ^[4] Bombay Talkies studio in 1934 . After the death of Paradise Devika Rani, as the head of the studio, she launched several films into production, of which Kismet enjoyed the greatest success ( 1943 ). In 1945, left the cinema.

In 1944, Devika Rani met with the artist Svetoslav Roerich , the younger son of Nicholas Roerich , when working on one of the films needed new scenery, for which she turned to the artist. In 1945, Svetoslav Roerich and Devika Rani were married in the Kullu valley . During the wedding, all 365 temples in the valley sent their representatives to meet the girl. Devika Rani not only became an associate of her husband in the study of Indian culture and folklore, she was his muse ^[5] .

India’s national leader and poet Sarojini Naidu , Gandhi’s ally, called Devika a “magical romantic flower”.

In 1958, the President of India awarded Devike Rani the Padma Sri award, the fourth of the country's highest state awards. In 1970 she was the first to be awarded the Dadasaheb Falke Award - India's highest award for contribution to the film industry ^[4] .

Foreign awards - the Soviet J. Nehru Prize (1989) and the Bulgarian Jubilee Medal (1984).

In 1993, after the death of Svyatoslav Roerich and a year before his death, Devika Rani Roerich founded the International Roerich Memorial Trust (IRMT) to preserve and develop the spiritual and material heritage of the Roerich family in India. The IRMT is located in the village of Naggar in the Kullu Valley ^[6] ( Himachal Pradesh , Kullu district).

On the territory of the IRMT, not far from the place of cremation of Nicholas Roerich, there is a place of cremation of Devika Rani Roerich. It was here, under the lindens brought from Europe and planted by the Roerichs themselves, that Devik Rani liked to rest on a small bench most of all, and here she bequeathed to bury part of her dust. A simple stone slab with the “Om” sign and its name is installed at the burial site.

Graphic Designer

• Light from Asia , directed by Himanshu Rai

Actress

• Fate or Karma , directed by JL Freer-Hunt (1933)
• Jawani Ki Hawa , director Franz Osten (1935)
• Miya Bibi , director Franz Osten (1936)
• Mamta , director Franz Osten (1936)
• Jeevan Naya , Director Franz Osten (1936)
• Janmabhoomi , director Franz Osten (1936)
• Achhut Kanya (The Untouchable) , director Franz Osten (1936)
• Savitri , director Franz Osten (1937)
• Jeevan Prabhat , directed by Franz Austen (1937)
• Izzat , director Franz Osten (1937)
• Durga , directed by Franz Osten (1939)
• Anjaan , directed by Amia Chakraborty (1941)
• Hamari Baat , director MI Dharamsey (1943)

Producer

• Punar Milan ( 1940 )
• Jhula ( 1941 )
• Naya Sansar ( 1941 )
• Basant ( 1942 )
• Kismet ( 1943 )

• Devika Rani Roerich (English) on the Internet Movie Database
• Devika Rani Roerich / / The Roerich and Devika Rani Roerich Estate Board
• Malhotra B.M. Devika Rani : First Lady of the Indian Screen // “India Perspectives”, September 2001