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| Home > Luminaries of the Indian Film Industry > Actresses in Indian Cinema > Devika Rani
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| | Devika Rani
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 The icon of the Thirties and Forties, Devika Rani was the first Dream Girl and the first First Lady of the Indian Screen. This daughter of Colonel Choudhury, later Surgeon General Choudhury, and the grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore was one of the few truly charismatic stars of the world.
Her career preference, architecture, led to her involvement with Himansu Rai`s film `A Throw of Dice` as set designer. They married in 1929 towards the end of the film`s shooting and the two proceeded to Germany in connection with the film. At UFA, she learned almost everything connected to film making, as well as the diverse and finer points of acting from the producer Max Reinhardt.
 She also interacted with Marlene Dietrich on the sets of The Blue Angel!
Her diction, perfected at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and Cheltenham College, England, stood her in good stead as star. Acting, appearance, speech ... she was perfect. Films like Achhut Kanya expressed her skills and set standards of performance and costume. Her attire as the village girl became the norm for all such roles!
The public loved her, as did the Press. The Lady, a London paper, described her as ``one of the most beautiful creatures who have ever illuminated a screen ....Her film technique, acquired with UFA, is graceful and flowing.``
 Rai and Rani set up Bombay Talkies in 1934 and she was the star as well as controller of productions. After Rai`s death, she took the reins of the studio into her hands, maintaining the standards that the audience now expected of their films. In 1945, she married Svetoslav Roerich, the Russian artist settled in India.
The world and the film industry did not forget her - she received the Padma Shri in 1958 from the President of the country; and the first to be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1970 for her contribution to the Indian film industry. In 1978, Devika Rani was awarded the Bulgarian Medal of Honour; and a special award in 1981 from the Indian Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In addition to these distinctions, Rani has been honoured with a place on the Boards of various national cultural organizations -
Central Government Audio-Visual Education Board
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Lalit Kala Akademi
National Handicrafts Board
Indian Council for Cultural Relations.
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