In 1941, Leela Chitnis became the first Indian actress to appear in any advertisement when she featured in the vintage Lux soap ad.

Until then, only foreign women would feature in such ads.

The first Lux soap was launched in India in 1929.

Leela Chitnis was born on September 9, 1909 at Dharwar in Karnataka. She was an actress and director, known for The Bangle (1939), Sadhna (1958) and Chhaya (1936). She was married to Dr. Gajanan Yeshwant Chitnis. She died on July 14, 2003 in Danbury, Connecticut, US.

In the 1930s, the well-educated Leela Chitnis became a star due to her starring roles in a number of Bombay Talkies features with Ashok Kumar. The pretty young actress was a mother and divorcee and earned the honour of being the first Indian to endorse the soap Lux in advertisements seen around the country.

However, by the end of the 1940s, the actress was relegated from leading lady to mother of the lead. And she continued for four more decades as the long-suffering mother and/or maternal figure who usually meets a dire end. There were others who followed in her footsteps, actresses like Achala Sachdev and Nirupa Roy, but Chitnis was the one many filmmakers turned to first. Below are seven memorable roles as a mother where she displayed her prowess.

Since she her appearance, there is no looking back and all top heroines have featured in Lux ads.

https://www.socialsamosa.com/2020/10/brand-saga-lux-soap-advertising-journey

http://abhisays.com/marketing/bollywood-actresses-in-lux-advertisements.html