Daljeet Kaur Khangura

Daljit Kaur Khangura (24th March 1954-17th November 2022), commonly known by her screen names Daljeet & Diljeet Kaur, was a Punjabi & Hindi movies actress. She had almost a forty year (1976-2016) contribution to Punjabi Cinema. Born & raised in Siliguri, A convent school student, Daljeet was good in studies, sports as well as arts. The reason - she would often get praises for her natural beauty from her teachers and co students, which made her more inclined towards being an actress. She tried her luck and got selected in Pune Film Institute. In the first few months at Pune Film Institute, she acted in a short film 'Bonga' directed by the then institute student Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Soon got an offer for the Punjabi film 'Daaj' opposite Dheeraj Kumar. Movie was a big hit. She did a cameo in another Punjabi film titled 'Giddha' opposite Dharmendra. Her next Punjabi film 'Saidan Jogan' had her in double role opposite Veerendra & Satish Kaul. 'Saidan Jogan' turned out to be another jubilee hit. In fact, it brought female audience to Punjab's cinemas and special seats were built for ladies & families. 'Saidan Jogan' was basically the Punjabi version of 'Seeta Aur Geeta',and she was pretty much at ease in playing both a gypsy & college going girl in it. She was the main actress in blockbuster Punjabi movie 'Putt Jattan De' (1983) On the Punjabi film front, she managed to give hits after hits such as Roop Shaqinan Da, Ishq Nimana,Maamla Garbar Hai, Laajo, Batwara, Vairee Jatt, Patola and more. Ki Banoo Duniya Da, Sohni Mahiwaal, Anakh Jattan Di besides others were her notable films from the 80s. Daljeet went on to do Punjabi films and accepted leading roles opposite villains like Guggu Gill & Yograj Singh. Both got their first hits (Anakh Jattan Di & Jagga Daku) as leading hero with Daljeet Kaur. During 90s, among series of same kind of films, she was part of successful and acclaimed projects also, such as Udeeka Saun Diyan, Jatt Punjab Da, Panchayat. Beside these, she also did a Canadian project titled 'Dheeyan Dhann Begana'.But soon Punjabi cinema lost its sheen and Daljeet was made to appear like aged Pakistani actresses. She cut down on work after the death of her husband. Daljeet again helped in reviving Punjabi cinema by playing important role in Mahaul Theek Hai & represented Punjabi mother in Jee Aayan Nu and later on in films like Heer Ranjha, Singh Vs Kaur and more. Few years back she expressed her disappointment over roles for senior actors.She ruled in Punjabi films as leading lady from 1976 to 1996, and then for next two decades helped Punjabi cinema to sustain.