Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival - Fest to bring Mala Sinha back home

Darjeeling, TT.Dec. 19: Darjeeling is gearing up to welcome back its “lost stars”, many of whom had made a name outside the region but have not returned to their birthplace, at the 17-day long Darjeeling Tea and Tourism Festival which will start tomorrow.

One of the biggest jamborees in the hills will have Mala Sinha, the famed actress of yesteryear in town along with well-known musician Rangit Gazmer.

“We have invited Mala Sinha and Rangit Gazmer to a felicitation programme on the closing day of the festival, which is January 5, 2013,” said Raju Pradhan, the working president of the festival committee.

Mala Sinha was born to Albert Sinha, a Nepali Christian from Darjeeling, here and acted in famous Nepali film Maiti Ghar.

Sinha started acting in Bengali films as a child artiste in films like Jai Vaishno Devi and Shri Krishnan Leela. Noted film director Ardhendu Bose cast her as a heroine in his film Roshanara in 1952. After acting for the Nepali film Maiti Ghar, she married her co-star Chidambar Prasad Lohani in 1968.

Rangit Gazmer, too, will be returning to a Darjeeling stage after a gap of almost three decades. After having left the hill town in the early 1970s, he made a name for himself in Bollywood and is credited with having introduced the traditional musical instrument, madal, in Bollywood.

“I was introduced to R.D. Barman (music director) through an acquaintance Manohari Singh and since I had taken my madal with me, I immediately received a break in Dev Anand’s film Hare Rama Hare Krishna,” Gazmer had told The Telegraph during his visit to Darjeeling in 2008.

Dev Anand wanted a Nepali touch for his song Kanchi Re Kanchi Re and Gazmer’s exploit just suited him fine. In fact, because of the song, he is still recognised as Kancha in the Bollywood circles.