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Devika Rani Chaudhuri, usually known as Devika Rani (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), was an actress in Indian films who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani had a successful film career that spanned 10 years. Devika Rani's early years were mostly spent in London where she studied architecture, and started her career as a textile engineer. In 1928, she met Himanshu Rai, an Indian film-producer, who persuaded her to join his production crew. She assisted in costumes design and art direction for Rai's film ''A Throw of Dice'' (1929). The two married in 1929, and went to Germany where Devika Rani learned different aspects of film-making in the UFA Studios in Berlin. Rai then cast her in the 1933 talkie ''Karma'' in which her performance received critical acclaim. Returning to India, the couple established their production studio Bombay Talkies in 1934. They produced many women-centric films throughout the decade, with Devika Rani portraying lead roles in most of them. Her on-screen pairing with Ashok Kumar became popular in India. Following Rai's death in 1940, Devika Rani took over the control of the studio and produced several films. At the peak of her career she retired from films, and in 1945 she married Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich, leading thereafter life of a recluse. Her persona and roles in films were often considered socially unconventional. Her awards include the Padmashri (1958), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1970) and the Soviet Land Nehru Award (1990). ==Family and background== Devika Rani was born into a Bengali family in Waltair near Visakhapatnam in present-day Andhra Pradesh. Her father, Col. Manmatha Nath Chaudhuri, was the first Indian Surgeon-General of Madras Presidency.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/photos-news/photos-cinema/btownwomenwhodared/Article4-443599.aspx )〕 Her paternal uncles were Ashutosh Chaudhuri, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, the prominent Kolkata-based barrister Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri and the Bengali writer Pramatha Chaudhuri. Devika Rani was related through both her parents to the poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.Devika's mother, Leela Devi Chaudhuri, was the daughter of Indumati Devi Chattopadhyay, whose mother Saudamini Devi Gangopadhyay was the eldest sister of the Nobel laureate. In other words, Devika's paternal and maternal grandmothers were first cousins to each other, being the daughters of two sisters of Rabindranath Tagore.〔(Tagore family )〕 Devika Rani's childhood was mostly spent in England; at the age of nine she moved to the country where she was enrolled in a boarding school. After completing her schooling in the early 1920s, she got an admission from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the Royal Academy of Music in London to study acting and music.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.roerich.kar.nic.in/devika_rani.htm )〕 She followed that with a course in architecture, textile and decor design, and apprenticed under Elizabeth Arden. Upon completion, Devika Rani started her career as textile engineer. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Devika Rani」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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