Whenever the brilliant and vibrant stars of Indian cinema will be spoken of or remembered nobody will be able to miss out the name of the great beauty called Bina Rai who played Anarkali in the classic of that name (1953) and then played Mumtaz Mahal in “Taj Mahal”(1963). Her royal looks made her the perfect choice for these roles. After playing the role of Sita in Vijay Bhatt’s “Ram Rajya” in 1966 she retired from acting.
On December 6, 2009 , this hill town mourned the death of Bina Rai, one of its oldest residents and one of the stalwarts of Indian cinema.
Just as the great star Dev Anand had a Mussoorie connection, so did Bina Rai. Tales of her awesome beauty have always echoed in the hill station , each person adding something from his or her imagination to the great legend that she was.
Bina Rai was a first year student of Arts in lucknow in 1950 when she came across an advertisement for a talent contest. She applied and received a call from the sponsors. She went to Bombay, to participate in the contest where she won along with the 25,000 rupees in prize money a leading role in Kishore Sahu's Kali Ghata (1951), which became her film debut, and also featured Kishore Sahu in the lead role. It was Kishore Sahu who gave her the screen name of Bina Rai. Her real name was Krishna Sarin. In the 1950s, she married actor Prem Nath. They had acted together in some films. The first movie in which he was paired with Bina Rai was Aurat (1953). The film was not a hit, but Bina Rai and Prem Nath fell in love with each other. They married and soon set up their own production unit, known as PN Films. Their first film from PN Films was Shagufa (1954) and they had pinned high hopes on it, but audiences rejected it. The Prem Nath-Bina Rai pairing never clicked on the screen.
In the 1955 film “Insaniyat” Dev Anand and Bina Rai acted together .This was an important film as it was the only film in which Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand acted together. It was a remake of a 1950s Tamil movie.
Bina Rai loved Mussoorie and came back to it time and again throughout her life. Her home, near Wynberg School, is regularly visited by her sons and grandchildren. Once known as “Oak Cottage”, it became “Kailash Cottage” after Bina’s parents bought this house in the hills. Almost every summer, Bina Rai visited Mussoorie. Her son, Prem Kishen comes home to Mussoorie quite often with his family.
At one time, many of the old photo studios in Mussoorie proudly displayed photographs of this exquisitely beautiful and dignified lady. Photos of Bina and her husband Premnath found pride of place at the “Doon Studio” near library. Sadly, this studio has now closed. One wonders where those sepia tinted photos must have gone.
Bina’s father, SR Sarin was an officer with the Railways. She had three younger sisters . Ramanand Sagar’s Ghunghat brought Bina Rai the Filmfare best actress award.
People of Mussoorie remember having seen Bina Rai’s films like Kaali Ghata and Anarkali in the cinema halls of Mussoorie all of which have, sadly, also now closed down. That era has passed away and only the old timers remember the wonderful actress whose name will always be associated with this lovely hill station.
There was a time when people used to wait for hours on the Mall Road just to get a glimpse of Bina Rai during her visits to Mussoorie in the summer months. Even now, people warmly greet Prem Kishen and his family whenever they walk the streets of the town. The old citizens have great regard for the family.
Memories of Bina Rai will always lend their fragrance to the mountain breeze. On her death anniversary, Mussoorie and Dehradun pay homage to memories of her grace, beauty, talent and goodness.