Bollywood’s ‘dragon lady’ who gave Indian cinema’s first, longest kissing scene, left husband to elope with co-star

While today public display of affection has become an integral part in Indian cinema, there was a time when it was frowned upon. However, in the 30s-40s, when kissing scenes were not at all common, thsi actress who was India's first female superstar performed the first on-screen kiss in Indian cinema which was also the longest kiss scene in the industry. 

The actress we are talking about ruled the film industry for 10 long years. She created headlines when she left her husband and eloped with her co-star and later demanded money to return back. She was Devika Rani. 

Born into a wealthy, anglicized Indian family, Devika Rani was sent to boarding school in England at age nine and grew up in that country. In 1928, she met Himanshu Rai, an Indian film producer, and married him the following year. She assisted in costume design and art direction for Rai's experimental silent film A Throw of Dice (1929). They both later made their debut together with the movie Karma The film premiered in England in 1933, elicited interest there for a prolonged kissing scene featuring the real-life couple, and flopped badly in India. The kissing scene, involving Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, lasted for about four minutes, and eighty years later, this stands as the record for the duration of a kissing scene in Indian cinema as of 2014

However, this marked the beginning of Devika Rani's successful career in Bollywood. The couple started their own production house named Bombay Talkies, which was one of the "best-equipped" film studios in the country. The studio served as a launch pad for future actors including Dilip Kumar, Leela Chitnis, Madhubala, Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar, and Mumtaz. The studio's first film Jawani Ki Hawa (1935), a crime thriller, starring Devika Rani and Najm-ul-Hassan, was shot fully on a train. 

By the mid-1930s, Devika Rani had become the female superstar of India. However, in 1936, Devika fell for her co-star Najm-ul-Hassan, while they were filming Jeevan Naiya, a film produced by Rai’s Bombay Talkies. The two actors eloped leaving the film stalled. Angered and frustrated by the turn of events, Himanshu Rai sent his sound engineer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who had a brotherly bond with Devika, to try and convince her to return. 

The actress said she would only return if Himashu would give them a huge sum of money. Rai agreed to these terms but out of spite, later fired Najm-ul-Hassan, ending his career. However, Devika Rani went on to rule the industry for 10 years before she passed away on 1943.

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