#GoldenFrames: Usha Kiran - One of the finest actresses in Hindi and Marathi cinema

Born as Usha Marathe on April 22, 1929, in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, Usha Kiran acted in over 50 Hindi and Marathi movies in a career spanning over four decades. Usha Kiran, who was reluctant even to do simple stage shows, was pushed by her father, Balkrishna Vishnu Marathe, to become an actress. Uday Shankar, best known for creating a fusion style of European theatrical techniques and Indian classical dance, spotted Usha Kiran during a Marathi play and gave her a break in ‘Kalpana’ (1948). Usha Kiran's father desperately wanted to make her an actress and he even produced a movie for her that flopped miserably. Filmmaker Amiya Chakraborty offered Usha Kiran her first role as a heroine in ‘Gauna’ (1950) in which she played the role of Shashikala’s mother while she was just twenty-two.