मीनाक्षी शिरोडकर

Meenakshi Shirodkar (born Ratan Pednekar; 11 October 1916 – 3 June 1997) was an actress and singer who became one of the earliest sensations of Marathi and Hindi cinema. Trained in Indian classical music from childhood, she was cast by Master Vinayak in the satire Brahmachari (1938), where writer P. K. Atre renamed her 'Meenakshi' for her striking eyes. Her appearance in a swimsuit in the song 'Yamuna Jali Khelu Khel', which she sang herself, stunned conservative audiences and made the film a landmark hit; the film was also made in Hindi, carrying her fame beyond Maharashtra. She remained a leading lady for Master Vinayak in films such as Brandichi Batli (1939), Ghar Ki Rani (1940), Amrut (1941) and Majhe Bal (1943), and in this period sang Hindi film songs of 1940 such as 'Sajan Bin Sawan Soona', 'Naina Barse Daiya' and 'Jago Jago Panchhi Bhor Bhai Re'. From 1950 to 1975 she reinvented herself on the Marathi musical stage with the Nutan Sangeet Natak Mandali, performing in a dozen sangeet natakas, and she appeared in later Hindi films including Gaban (1966) and Pakeezah (1972). She died in Mumbai in 1997. She is the paternal grandmother of actresses Shilpa Shirodkar and Namrata Shirodkar.