Devika Rani, More than the Longest Kiss

Legend has it that as hero and heroine shot for Jeevan Naiya (1936) — a Bombay Talkies production — they fell in love. The two actors eloped, the movie’s production stalled, and the studio head was in a bind. The studio’s sound engineer, Sashadhar Mukherjee, took it upon himself to convince the actress to return home to her husband, the studio head. She said she would — as long as she could be financially independent and earn her own salary. Her husband agreed but replaced her lover with Mukherjee’s brother-in-law. And that’s how Ashok Kumar, legendary Bollywood actor, began his multi-decade career.

People would know this actress for the longest kiss any Indian female had delivered on screen. But few remember that Devika Rani, a member of the famed Tagore family, was much more than an affair and a kiss. She was the keen eye that launched talent — from Dilip Kumar to Madhubala and Raj Kapoor — and stole hearts. She ran a successful studio for years, created award-winning teams, quashed a coup, and set the standard for Indian cinema that many aspire to achieve to this day. Then, she gave it all up.