Manorama Wiki, Age, Death, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Manorama (1926-2008) was a renowned actress known for her methodological acting skills. She had a nearly six-decade-long career and over 160 films under her name in the Indian film industry. She is best known for her portrayal of the humorous tyrant aunt in Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). She also starred in popular Hindi films like Ek Phool Do Mali (1969) and Do Kaliyaan (1968).

Contents

Wiki/Biography

Manorama was born as Erin Issac Daniels on Monday, 16 August 1926 (aged 81; at the time of death) in Lahore, Punjab, British India (Now Pakistan). Her zodiac sign is Leo. She started learning classical singing and dancing as a child and became a skilled performer. In the 1940s, she performed in shows for the Red Cross in Lahore. When she was nine years old, Roop. K. Shorey, an established filmmaker, saw her and was spellbound by her performance in a concert at a school in Lahore. With the stage name Manorama given to her by R. K. Shorey, she made her first appearance as a young artist in Khazanchi (1941) and went on to become a widely acclaimed and sought-after actress in Lahore, India (now Lahore, Pakistan).

Manorama during her early days

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 5″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Manorama belongs to an Irish-Indian Christian family.

Parents & Siblings

Manorama’s mother was Irish, and her Indian father held a professorship at an engineering college.

Husband & Children

Manorama was married to Al Nasir, who was born into a royal family in Bhopal. They separated eventually after which Manorama married Rajan Haksar. They moved to Bombay (now Mumbai) after India’s partition in 1947. Rajan became a producer and Manorama continued acting.

Manorama’s husband actor Rajan Haksar

The couple had a daughter named Rita Haksar, who acted as a lead actress in a film titled Suraj aur Chanda (1973) with Sanjeev Kumar. However, she later got married to an engineer and moved to the Gulf to live there. After being married for a few years, Rita got separated from her husband.

Manorama’s daughter actress Rita Haksar

Career

Film

Manorama began her professional journey as a child performer in Lahore in 1936, using the pseudonym Baby Iris. After that, she landed a role in the 1941 Hindi film Khazanchi.

Poster of Manorama’s debut film- Khazanchi

She worked in films like Champa (1945), Badnami (1946), Khamosh Nigahen (1946) and Chunariya (1948).

Poster of the film- Champa

Actor Chandramohan suggested her to producers, and even though she was in a popular Punjabi movie called Lachchi, she was only given the role of Dilip Kumar’s sister in Ghar ki Izzat (1948). After getting married to actor Rajan Haksar, she started playing minor roles. Thereafter, she started appearing as villainous and comedic characters in the films. After her acting as a villain in the films gained popularity, she started receiving more such roles and went on to do roles as a comic villain in films such as Dus Lakh (1966), Do Kaliyan (1968), Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971), Bombay To Goa (1972), and Seta Aur Geeta (1972).

Poster of the film- Dus Lakh

A still from the film Seeta Aur Geeta featuring Manorama and actress Hema Malini

Manorama also acted in a film titled Haadsa, and it was directed by Akbar Khan in 1983. She also performed in Mahesh Bhatt’s movie called Junoon in 1992, but her part was removed during the editing process. Her last movie was Deepa Mehta’s multi-lingual film Water (2005), where she mesmerized Hollywood critics with her performance.

Manorama in a still from the film- Water

Television

After her success in the film industry, Manorama started working in TV shows and moved to Delhi for five years. She got a job in a TV series called Dastak which also had Shahrukh Khan featuring in it. She collaborated as an actor with Balaji Telefilms for their TV shows Kundali (2001) and Kashti (2002). She also acted as Hiten Tejwani’s grandmother on the show Kutumb (2005).

Death

Manorama had a paralysis stroke in 2007, and even though she got better, she had problems speaking clearly and had other complications. She passed away on 15 February 2008 in Charkop, Mumbai. ^[1]Firstpost

Facts/Trivia

Manorama said in an interview that she was the only person considered to play the character Madhumati in the 2005 film Water. The making of the film was stopped in Varanasi for some reason. After five years, they started making it again, but they changed the entire cast except for her. ((Bollywood.com))

Manorama got her stage name given to her by Shorey after her performance in her debut film Khazanchi in which she portrayed the character of the same name.

She often gets mistaken for veteran Tamil actress Aachi Manorama as they both share the same name.

In an interview, Deepa Mehta, director of the film Water, mentioned that Manorama shot and completed the film despite the excessive heat of 40 degrees in Sri Lanka. ^[2]Hindustan Times