July 05, 2024

Amala Shankar (Dancer) Biography, Age, Death, Husband, Family, Wiki & More

Updated On : September 14, 2020

Short Biography

Amala Shankar was born on 27-06-1919 in Jessore, Khulna, Bangladesh. She was an Indian Dancer, Choreographer & Film Actress. She was an expert in seven types of Indian Classical and Folk dances. She was the wife of Dancer and Choreographer late Uday Shankar, Mother of Musician Ananda Shankar and actress Mamta Shankar. She died at the age of 101 at Kolkata due to Cardiac arrest after a long illness.

Other Name: Amala Nandy
Other Professions: Choreographer Film Actress
Appearance: Bengali Bollywood

Amala Shankar Complete Bio & Career

Amala was born in a Bengali cultured family. Her father Akhoy Kumar Nandy always tried to keep her in touch with her culture. As a part of it, her father took her to the International Colonial Exhibition in Paris. It was the first time when the dancer met Uday Shankar and his family. Here she performed for the very first time as a dancer in Uday Shankar's troupe. Her career got wings after this event and afterward, she performed Worldwide and got expertise in seven types of Indian Classical and Folk dances. She devoted her whole life to classical dance.

 

In 1948, she performed as an actress in the Hindi film ''Kalpana''. It was a Hindi film based on dance-drama which was written and directed by her husband Uday Shankar. It was the first film in which Indian classical dancer was featured as a lead actress. The film was based on a dancer's dream to start his dance academy.

 

Kalpana got a huge success and therefore was shown at the International Film Festival of India at Goa in 2008. In 2010, the film was restored by World Cinema Foundation. Amala was the youngest actress who attended Cannes Film Festival as she revealed in an interview at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival when she revisited Cannes after 81 years.

 

The danseuse pursued her career as a choreographer and dance trainer at Uday Shankar's dance center in Almora, Uttrakhand. Here she trained many new dancers in many different dance forms. She later started her dance school ''Uday Shankar India Culture Centre'' at Kolkota.

Health Issues, Illness and Death Info

Amala Shankar was suffering from old age ailments from a long time and died on 24-07-2020 in Kolkata, West Bengal, India at the age of 101 due to cardiac arrest. An era of classical and folk dance ended up with her death. The news of her death was given by her grand-daughter Sreenanda Shankar. She tweeted a post with heartful words '' my Thamma left us at the age of 101''.

DEATHDAY 24 July,2020 (Wednesday)
DEATH PLACE Kolkata, West Bengal
DEATH COUNTRY India

Amala Shankar Family, Relatives and Other Relations

She was born to Akhoy Kumar Nandy as Amala Nandy. She was married to dancer Uday Shankar. Together the couple had a son named Ananda Shankar & a daughter named Mamata Shankar and sister-in-law of famous Sitarist, musician, and composer Ravi Shankar. Her daughter-in-law Tanushree Shankar is one of the leading dancer and choreographers. Her granddaughter Sreenanda Shankar was very close to her.

Life's Important Dates Of Amala Shankar

Body Measurements

Breast Size 36
Hip Size 34
Skin Colour fair
Eye Colour Brown
Hair Colour grey

Personal Info

Home Town Jessore, Khulna, Bangladesh
Nationality Indian
Religion Hindu
Address Bengal, KolkAta, India
School N/A
College N/A
Qualification N/A
Hobbies Dancing and Painting
Marital Status Married
Debut International Colonial Exhibition, Paris
Best Movies Kalpana
Best Friends N/A
Salary Under review
Net Worth $2 Million - $5 Million (approx.)
Official Website N/A

Favourites

Favorite Color Red and White
Favorite Brand Levis
Favorite Player Kapil Dev
Favorite Sport Cricket
Favorite Politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Favorite Actress Helen
Favorite Actor Rishi Kapoor , Dev Anand
Favorite Film Director Sanjay Khan
Favorite Movie Hindi and Malayalam Movies
Favorite Singer Lata Mangeshkar
Favorite Song Classical Music
Favorite Place Paris
Favorite Dress sarees
Favorite Food south Indian food
Favorite Accessories gold jewellery

Shocking / Interesting Facts & Secrets About Amala Shankar

  • She was only 11 years old when she first performed in Uday Shankar's troupe.
  • Amala Shankar and Uday Shankar was a very popular dance couple of their time.
  • The dancer got separated from her husband a few years before his death as he got involved with another dancer of his troupe.
  • Even at the age of 101, she was active in the dance field.
  • She was the youngest film star who attended the Cannes Film Festival.

Amala Shankar Age, Birthday Facts and Birthday Countdown

Amala Shankar was 101 years 0 month & 27 days old age.