Early Career
Durga Khote debuted in a minor role in an obscure 1931 silent film, Farebi Jaal, by the Prabhat Film Company, followed by Maya Machhindra (1932). She was soon promoted to play heroine in the 1932 double version (Hindi and Marathi) Ayodhyecha Raja, another Prabhat film, which was the first-ever Marathi talkie and proved to be a runaway hit, where she essayed the role of Rani Taramati. There was no looking back for the diffident widow from Kolhapur after that. Indeed, she ventured yet another pioneering trend: Despite working closely with Prabhat Film Company, she broke away from the "studio system" (exclusive contract with a studio to work in its films on a monthly salary) then in vogue and became one of the first "freelance" artistes of that era by working occasionally with the New Theatres, East India Film Co. (both at Calcutta), and Prakash Pictures.
In 1937, she produced and directed a film titled Saathi, making her one of the first women to step into this role in Indian cinema. The 40s opened for her in a big way, with award-winning performances in Aachary Atre's Payachi dasi(Marathi) and Charnon Ki Dasi (Hindi) (1941) and Vijay Bhatt's classic, Bharat Milap (1942), both of which got her the BFJA Best Actress Award for two consecutive years.
Durga Khote remained active in theatre circuit for many years, especially the Marathi theatre in Bombay. She was actively associated with the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and worked in several plays for the Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh. In 1954, she famously performed the role of Lady Macbeth, in V.V. Shirwadkar's Marathi adaptations of Macbeth, as Rajmukut, The Royal Crown, along with Nanasaheb Phatak.
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