Shobhna Samarth (née Saroj Shilotri; 17 November 1916 – 9 February 2000), also known as Shobhana Samarth, was an Indian actress, film director and producer. She began her career in the early days of talkie movies in the Hindi film industry and continued in lead roles into the 1950s.
She started in Marathi cinema. Her first Hindi film, Nigahen Nafrat, was released in 1935. She is best remembered for her portrayal of Sita in Ram Rajya (1943). In 1997, she was honoured with the Filmfare Special Award for her contribution to the arts.
Shobhna later produced and directed a pair of movies that launched the careers of her daughters, Nutan and Tanuja.
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Early life
Shobhna was born on 17 November 1916 in Bombay, British India (now Mumbai, India), as Saroj Shilotri. An only child, her father, Prabhakar Shilotri, was a "pioneer banker", having started the Shilotri Bank in Bombay. Her mother Rattan Bai, in 1936, acted in the film Frontiers of Freedom, in Marathi (Swarajyachya Seemewar).