Nalini Jaywant is one of those actresses about whom I’ve changed my opinion over the course of my watching of her films. I remember, as a child (which includes my early teens, which was a peak period when it came to Hindi film viewing), not especially liking her. I was a callow youngster, and as shallow as I was callow. To me women like Madhubala or Meena Kumari were the ultimate in beauty: Nalini Jaywant, with her heavy-lidded eyes and her pouting mouth, didn’t strike me as beautiful. Also, even if I put aside the purely superficial aspect of her looks, there was the fact that I didn’t think her a good actress. I found her voice affected and thin, nothing to write home about.

Thank goodness I grew up. Grew up, widened my horizons, and realized that there are different kinds of beauty. Realized, too, that one shouldn’t pass judgment on the worth of an actor without having watched a wide-ish spectrum of their work. Nalini Jaywant, when I had watched Munimji, seemed just another effervescent filmi female, no more than arm candy; it was through Shikast and Kaala Paani, through Hum Sab Chor Hain and Railway Platform (and many more), that I discovered just how versatile she could be. Goofy, flirtatious, tragic, long-suffering, feisty… Nalini Jaywant aced so many roles, brought so many of her characters vividly to life.