Yep, according to my latest research, that’s who she is! And by the way, happy 94th birthday, Shamshad Begum!
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P.S. Originally, I had labeled her as Gope’s beautiful Jewish wife, but further evidence shows that she was not actually Jewish (see comments). However, there is shot in this clip of one of the great Jewish actresses, Ruby Myers aka Sulochana (somewhere in the middle). She’s a big woman here (though maybe not as big as Latika’s husband), and she’s wearing a nice big hat. This is the best clip of this song that I have seen, and it includes very nice parts that were edited out of the version(s) that I’ve posted before.
Dances on the Footpath 
Gope’s wife is pretty! I hadn’t realised that was who she was. And, happy birthday, Shamshad Begum. :-) Thanks for this, Richard.
It seems that a new documentary on the topic will come out this year
http://blogs.forward.com/the-arty-semite/174754/jewish-stars-of-bollywood/
Madhu, you are welcome. And yes, Gope’s wife was pretty. I was thinking about a few scenes in films where Gope is mocked for pining for the pretty girl, because he is a fat slob. Though by the end, he seems to get the girl anyway. Maybe that’s how it happened with Latika. :)
Swarup, thanks for the link. As you know (because you’re on Facebook), Ann sent me some links, too. I will get it all together for a post here soon.
Madhu had posted the link to this post last week, but I never got around to taking a look until now. Thanks for this, Richard. Yes, she is really beautiful. And, Happy Birthday, Shamshadji.
Richard ji,
Latika was NOT a Jew.
In 2014, I could get in touch with Latika’s daughter,Ms. Sindy Bell from London,UK. She was kind to give me Latika’s short Bio in a letter.
I am reproducing this letter here for information. Hope, now the right information will spread.
Thanks.
-Arunkumar Deshmukh
Dear Arunkumar Ji,
I do appreciate the writings of yourself and other film historians on the internet. Latika is my mother. Although she has told us many wonderful stories about Gope and her life in India, she has never been very good with dates, but I can give you her birth date and an outline of her life leading to film.
Latika was born 13th October, 1924 in Darjeeling. Her Tibetan name was Hungu-Lamou. Her mother was Tibetan. Her father was an Australian who adopted Buddhism, living in India as a race horse trainer for the Maharajas. He died when Latika was still very young leaving her with a newly born brother. As a child, Latika was sent to the Kalimpong girl’s orphanage also called ‘The Homes’ for her education by her mother and new step-father until she was 16. Her mother had four more children, her half-brothers and sisters.
The Homes (one for girls, one for boys) were founded by a Scottish missionary, so as a child, Latika was christened Agnes and this is the name she uses in England. Her mother was Buddhist, her step-father, an Anglo-Indian by the name of Webber, was a Protestant but Buddhism was the prevalent faith among her surrounding family of aunties and uncles in Darjeeling.
Latika’s step-father was an engineer who built bridges and due to his work, when she was a teenager, they moved to Mumbai. It was there that Latika made friends with a neighbour who was a kathak dancer and actress. She was invited to visit the Minerva film studios and was there spotted by the director Sohrab Modi and offered the opportunity to act. This was where she was given the stage name Latika, which she is still called by friends and family in India to this day.
In those days, all the scripts were in Urdu which she read beautifully and also learnt kathak dancing. I’m sure you already know the 12 films Latika acted in from the mid 1940’s to early 1950’s, in particular the film Gopinath with Raj Kapoor (1948), where she played the ‘femme fatale’ and her lovely dance sequence in Jugnu (1947).
Latika had always had a respect and interest in holy writings. It was during this period that she met a Jehovah’s Witness who was able to explain the bible, not as a church book, but as holy writings, it’s answers to the ‘big’ questions we all ask and it’s promised blessings. It satisfied all of Latika’s questions about life, so she became a Jehovah’s Witness.
It was while as an actress she met and eventually became friends with Gope at the studios. To this day, Latika says he was the kindest, most compassionate man she ever met. They married and, at Gope’s request, Latika retired from the film industry.
Latika did introduce Gope to the bible. He would read by himself (or as my mother would say, ‘exclaim in delight!’), passages from it, early mornings on the verandah before work. She said he was particularly taken with the accounts of Jesus and how tenderly he treated people. To her surprise, of his own volition, he too become a Jehovah’s Witness.
Gope had a large house in Juhu which also came to house all Latika’s family. When we saw it, it had became a hotel but I’m not sure what has happened to it now.
Before Gope’s death, they had two sons, Gope Jr, and Lalith. When Gope suddenly and unexpectedly died, when the boys were three and five, mum decided to join her siblings who had earlier migrated to the UK. I came from her second marriage.
Latika is still alive and very well and living in the UK. She is in her 90th year, still beautiful. My neice’s second name is Latika and Gope Jr’s two sons bear the (second) name of Gope also. Latika has a big family with grand-children and great grand-children, all from Gope’s lineage.
As a strange coincidence, my daughter’s paternal grandmother happens to be Saroja Ramamrutham, who was the ‘baby Saroja’ of Tamil Nadu, also known as the ‘Shirley Temple of India’, whose uncle was Indian film director K. Subramanian.
I do hope this helps. We often look on the internet for films of Gope and Latika. It is fairly easy to find films of Gope, as he was such a prolific, well known actor but it is more difficult to find anything with Latika.
If you know or have access to any films of hers, especially Gopinath (1948), please let me know. I would love our family, especially the younger generation in our family, to see it. I do understand it was a very long time ago.
Kind Regards,
-Sindy Bell
Arunkumarji, thank you for this letter. I heard a while after I made this post that there were sources refuting the idea that she was Jewish, saying that she was Christian. This letter shows her spiritual and religious orientations to be a little more varied (born to Buddhists, raised by Christians, and became a Jehova’s Witness – that is a bit different!). I think that since the letter comes from Latika’s daughter, we can trust this as the most accurate account. I will change the title slightly in a little while.
Hello Arunkumar Desshmukh ji…. I would like to share some of the information about Latiaka in one of my future book with credits and reference. Can I do it with your permission please?
I live in the house, in which she once used to live.
Damiandaniel, thanks for that interesting comment on this old post.
Please feel free to send more information about that sometime. :)