Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Hindi and Marathi cinema. Regarded as one of the finest actresses of Indian cinema, she was a leading figure of the parallel cinema movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In a career spanning just over a decade, she appeared in more than 80 films and won two National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award. The Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri in 1985.
| Full name | Smita Patil |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 October 1955, Pune, Maharashtra |
| Died | 13 December 1986, Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra |
| Cause of death | Childbirth-related complications |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune |
| Occupation | Actress, television newsreader |
| Years active | 1974–1986 |
| Languages of work | Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu |
| Spouse | Raj Babbar |
| Children | Prateik Babbar |
| Notable awards | Padma Shri (1985); National Film Award for Best Actress (1977, 1980); Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress (1985) |
Smita Patil was born on 17 October 1955 in Pune into a Marathi family. Her father, Shivajirao Girdhar Patil, was a politician who served as a minister in the Government of Maharashtra, and her mother, Vidyatai Patil, was a social worker. She studied at Bhave School in Pune and later attended Renuka Swarup Memorial High School. She graduated from Ferguson College, Pune.
Before entering films, Patil worked as a Marathi news presenter on Doordarshan in Bombay in the early 1970s. She trained in acting at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.
Patil made her film debut in Shyam Benegal's Charandas Chor (1975). Her collaboration with Benegal continued with Manthan (1976), based on the cooperative dairy movement led by Verghese Kurien, and Bhumika (1977), in which she played a role inspired by the life of Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar. Bhumika brought her the National Film Award for Best Actress.
She established herself as a central performer in parallel cinema with films such as Aakrosh (1980) and Ardh Satya (1983), both directed by Govind Nihalani; Chakra (1981), directed by Rabindra Dharmaraj, for which she won her second National Film Award for Best Actress; and Ketan Mehta's Gujarati-language Bhavni Bhavai (1980) and Hindi-language Mirch Masala (1987, released posthumously).
In Marathi films, Patil featured in Jabbar Patel's Jait Re Jait (1977) opposite Mohan Agashe, and Umbartha (1982), one of the earliest Marathi films to address the position of women working in social welfare institutions. Umbartha was simultaneously released in Hindi as Subah.
From the early 1980s, Patil also worked in commercial Hindi films, often balancing parallel and mainstream projects. Notable films include Namak Halaal (1982), Shakti (1982), Arth (1982), Bazaar (1982), Mandi (1983), Aaj Ki Awaaz (1984), Mirch Masala (1987), and Waaris (1988). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chakra.
Patil married actor Raj Babbar. Their son, Prateik Babbar, born on 28 November 1986, also became a Hindi film actor. Smita Patil died on 13 December 1986, two weeks after his birth, due to complications related to childbirth. Several of her completed films, including Waaris, Mirch Masala, Galiyon Ka Badshah, and Aaj Ki Awaaz, were released posthumously.
Smita Patil is remembered for her naturalistic acting style and for portraying strong, socially grounded women, often from rural or working-class backgrounds. Alongside Shabana Azmi, she came to symbolise the artistic ambitions of the Indian New Wave. The Smita Patil Memorial Award, instituted in her memory by Priyadarshni Academy, is given to women who have excelled in the field of cinema.
A biography, Smita Patil: A Brief Incandescence by journalist Maithili Rao, was published in 2015. The Film and Television Institute of India and various film societies have held retrospectives of her work.