Rattan Bai

Rattan Bai (15 July 1890 – 1 January 1986) was an Indian actress and singer. She was the mother of actress Shobhna Samarth, grandmother of actresses Nutan and Tanuja, great-grandmother of actresses Kajol, Tanishaa Mukerji and actor Mohnish Bahl.^[1]

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Rattan Bai, daughter of Neera Bai a temple singer from Sindhudurg belonging to the Gomantak Maratha community and a father, whose name is unknown, belonging to the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhu caste who was a local government official from Thane as claimed by the Samarth family biographers.^{[citation needed]} Rattan Bai was a tawaif and singer,^[2] born into a family of courtesans and professional entertainers hailing from the Deccan region of India, Rattan Bai received lessons in music and dance from an early age. She became a professional entertainer while in her teens. In due course, her mother identified a suitable, affluent client as a long-term patron for Rattan Bai. This was a rich Mumbai banker named P. S. Shilotri. ^[3] Rattan Bai was a singer who wrote bhajans, composed and sang them as well. She published the lyrics of her bhajans to distribute among friends who would sing with her during Maha Shivaratri celebrations at her home in Chembur. Rattanbai acted in only one Marathi film called Swarajyachya seemewar, as Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mother.