This Day In History- September 22

1914 – During World War I, a German light cruiser SMS Emden under Captain Karl von Müller approached the shores of Madras (now Chennai) and attacked its harbour. Several large oil tanks that belonged to the Burmah Oil Company were in flames. The vessel also targeted a small merchant ship. Though the British forces responded to the attack, SMS Emden had already completed its objective and slipped away. During World War I, Madras was the only city of India that came under attack.

1922 – Member of the Gold Medal winning Field Hockey team at the 1948 London Olympics, 1952 Helsinki Olympics and 1956 Melbourne Olympics, Randhir Singh Gentle was born.

1965 – India and Pakistan accepted an unconditional ceasefire following a resolution passed by the United Nations Security Council.

Durga Khote

Durga Khote

1991 – Popular actress of yesteryears and ‘One of the 100 People who shaped India’ according to India Today magazine, Durga Khote passed away. She was one of the leading ladies of her times in Hindi as well as Marathi cinema. Her career spanned over five decades during which she starred in over 200 films.

She made her debut with a silent film released in 1931 ‘Farebi Jaal’ in a minor role which was followed by ‘Maya Machhindra'(1932). She first played lead as Rani Taramati in Prabhat Film Company’s ‘Ayodheycha Raja’ (1932) which was also the first Marathi talkie. She worked with different productions like New Theatres, East India Film Co. and Prakash Pictures.

She was one of the first women in Indian cinema to step into the roles of both producer and director. It was ‘Saathi'(1937) that Durga Khote first produced and directed. She also gave memorable performances in Prof. P.K. Atre’s ‘Payachi Dasi'(1941) and Vijay Bhatt’s ‘Bharat Milap'(1942).

She was also active in theatre and was associated with the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA). During the later stage of her career she essayed important character roles. She was appreciated for her portrayal of Queen Jodhabai in the classic ‘Mughal-E-Azam'(1960). She also featured in ‘Bobby'(1973), ‘Abhimaan'(1973), ‘Bawarchi'(1972) and ‘Bidaai'(1974).

She ventured into production for TV with ‘Durga Khote Productions’ which also produced one of Doordarshan’s most popular shows ‘Wagle Ki Duniya’. In 1958 she received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 1968 she was honoured with the Padma Shri while in 1983 in recognition of her contribution to cinema the Government of India bestowed the ‘Dadasaheb Phalke Award’ upon her.

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