Leela Mishra (1908–1988) was a celebrated Indian actress, widely recognized as one of Bollywood’s most iconic character actors. With a career spanning over four decades, she appeared in more than 200 films, primarily during the golden era of Hindi cinema. Known for her warmth, humor, and natural acting style, she became the quintessential on-screen mother, aunt, or grandmother, endearing herself to audiences across generations.
Leela Mishra is best known for being an actress of two landmark films released in the same year. Both were declared all time blockbusters. The first one was an instant box office hit, it defied all the odds with its modest budget and captured the hearts of audiences in the 1970s. However, the second one, received negative critical reviews in the beginning, witnessed poor financial returns but picked up owing to positive word of mouth and became a national craze from the third week of its release. And the rest remains a history. The latter became the highest grossing film ever at a time, and was the highest grossing film in India up until ‘Hum Aapke Hain Koun!’ In both the films this actress played the role of an innocent elderly lady.
She was an Indian actress, born on 1st January 1908, who worked as a character actor in more than 200 Hindi films for five decades and is best remembered for playing stock characters such as aunts (Chachi or Mausi). Her name was Ms. Leela Mishra and is best known for her role of mausi in the 1975 blockbuster called ‘Sholay.’
In the same year she essayed the role of a mother in another major blockbuster called ‘Jai Santoshi Maa.’ Both the blockbusters- ‘Sholay’ and ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’- were released in 1975 and both will celebrate their Golden Jubilee in 2025. Both faced David-Goliath clash in 1975. ‘Jai Santoshi Maa’ is always compared with ‘Sholay’ in terms of Box office returns in 1975. It is said that amidst the craze of ‘Sholay,’ the only film that stood its ground was this film which defied all the odds. This film was called ‘Jai Santoshi Maa.’
It is said that Leela Mishra hailed from Jais, Raebareli, and she and her husband were from zamindar families. Leela Mishra was noticed by a man called Mama Shinde, who was working for Dadasaheb Phalke’s Nasik Cinetone. It is also said that Leela Mishra was initially offered Rs. 500 per month. But since she fared poorly in front of the camera, her contract was cancelled. This happened in her next assignment as well. She was given the offer to work in the movie ‘Bhikarin,’ which was being made by a company owned by the Maharaja of Kolhapur. But Leela Mishra refused the script because her role required to put her arms round the actor (who was not her husband) while delivering a dialogue. Similar issue happened while working in another film titled ‘Honhaar.’ She was cast opposite Shahu Modak, known for playing famous mythological characters including the roles of Krishna and Jñāneśvar. As his heroine in ‘Honhaar,’ she had to hug and embrace him. She refused this offer as well. However, the makers of the movie did not ask her to leave the film and offered the role of Modak’s mother. This proved to be a blessing in disguise for her as the movie clicked instantly and it opened the doors for her to play mother roles at the young age of 18. Perhaps, this was the reason she remains etched in our memories as ‘the unforgettable mausi’ of ‘Sholay’ since she rejected Veeru’s offer (Dharmendra) to marry Basanti (Hema Malini) when she learnt from Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) that Veeru (Dharmendra) had bad habits. Since Mausi (Leela Mishra) point-blank refused Veeru’s offer, he climbed atop a water tank located in the village in a drunken state and threatened to commit suicide if mausi (Leela Mishra) continued to refuse his marriage proposal. He also warned the villagers of the consequences after his death.
Leela Mishra has acted in films like the musical hit ‘Anmol Ghadi’ (1946), Raj Kapoor’s ‘Awaara’ (1951) and Nargis-Balraj Sahni’s starrer ‘Lajwanti’ (1958), which was nominated for Palmed’Or for Best Film at 1959 Cannes Film Festival. She is also known for being a part of the first Bhojpuri film called Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo, which also had Helen, Kumkum and Nazir Hussain. Her roles varied from mother, benign or evil aunts, to comic roles. Throughout her career, she had witnessed the launch and rise of stars, including Madhuri Dixit and Govinda. She died at the age of 80 because of a heart attack on 17 January 1988 at Mumbai.
Exciting news! Storify News is now on WhatsApp Channels. Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news! Click here!
Disclaimer – The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position or opinion of our platform. This article has not been written by our team, and we are not responsible for its content or accuracy.
