One such prominent Punjabi actress was Nishi, wife of director Rajkumar Kohli and mother of actor Arman Kohli. Actor-writer Vijay Tandon once mentioned that Nishi was the mother of Punjabi cinema and precisely because when most of the actresses were coming in Punjabi films and going back to Hindi films, Nishi did not shy away from doing Punjabi films.
It is said that Punjabi cinema has never had a special lead before. In the early days of cinema, actresses used to come from Bombay, do one or two Punjabi films and then move to Bollywood. That is why there are very few actresses who have been loyal to Punjabi films her name is Nishi.
Nishi Life
The actress was born in Sialkot, Pakistan, and did you know that Nishi was not her real name?
Her real name was Krishna Sharma. After partition, she came to India with her sister and mother. Her determination to succeed in life was so pervasive that when she went to school in the morning, her evenings were devoted to typing classes.
Because he was really beautiful, he was often known for various movies. So one thing gave birth to another and then she got involved in movies. Thus began her journey as an actress.
But it wasn’t easy! His first Hindi film ‘Paagal Khana’ (shot around 1955) was not released. However, she did many other films like ‘Railway Platform’, ‘Miss India’, ‘Faggan’, ‘Trickster’. But he had supporting roles in many of these films, although he got some small costumes to play lead roles in drama action films, they were not very important.
In an interview with his nephew Raj Anand (son of his sister Rama Rani), an event manager and promoter of fashion, interior design exhibitions, the Trend Punjabi team got a lot of special information including the fact that They made films of their own. Circumstances never got out of his way to get roles in popular movies. She was enthusiastic but did not please anyone for the roles and succeeded on her own.
Nishi Punjabi Movies
- ‘Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969)
- Satluj De Kande
- Laajo
- Dulla Bhatti
As far as her debut in the Punjabi industry is concerned, he had already acted in a Hindi film under the direction of Jugal Kishor. So when he approached her for ‘Bhangra (1959)’, she did not hesitate. The film was a huge success and from there she became a superstar of Punjabi cinema.
Her two Punjabi films – ‘Sutlej De Kande’ and ‘Nanak Naam Jahan Hai’ won the National Award for Best Film. In addition, she was one of the first Punjabi film actresses to play a dual role in the Punjabi film ‘Sutlej De Kande’.
When she made a successful duo with Dara Singh in his stunt action films and gave hits like ‘Hercules’, ‘Baadshah’, ‘Ek Tha Alibaba’ and Punjabi Film ‘Dulla Bhatti’, his success was not easy. Not only did she compete with Mumtaz and Helen in Bollywood, but also in Bollywood, Indira Billy was another leading lady contesting for the same fame. But Nishi has built a stronghold with Grace in both the film industries.
Her influence was so prominent that the actors who have worked with Nishi and Rajkumar Kohli are still in touch with them. During a rare appearance on a recent music competition show, former star actress Reena Rai agreed to give both Nishi and Rajkumar Kohli the biggest hit of her (Reena Rai) career ‘Nagin (1976)’.
