As Dhurandhar: The Revenge continues its record-breaking run at the box office, the spotlight on Ranveer Singh has never been brighter. But few people know that his connection to Indian cinema runs far deeper than his own two-decade career.
His paternal grandmother, Chand Burke – widely known as the Dancing Lily of Punjab – was one of the most celebrated actresses of pre-Partition Lahore, a woman whose story spans two countries, two marriages and a film industry that barely exists in living memory. And as it turns out, her legacy extends all the way to the Kapoor family as well.
The Dancing Lily of Punjab
According to IMDB, Chand Burke was born on February 2, 1932, in the Punjab Province of British India – in what is now Pakistan – into a Punjabi Christian family as the youngest of twelve siblings. She was the only one among them to enter the film industry, and she did so with remarkable conviction.
The young Burke made her acting debut in Maheshwari Productions’ Kahan Gaye in 1946 – a film written and directed by Niranjan, whom she fell in love with on set and later married.
It was in the vibrant Lahore film industry of the 1940s that she earned her beloved nickname. Her Punjabi films of the pre-Partition era included Posti, Kaude Shah, Mutiyaar, Shah Ji, Pagdi Sambhal Jatta, Vanjaara, Billo, Pardesi Dhola and Pardesan – and her exceptional dancing skills earned her the title of Dancing Lily of Punjab, a name that followed her for the rest of her life.
As per IMDB, the Partition of India in 1947 forced Chand to migrate to Mumbai, a move that significantly disrupted her career. After her film Hamari Manzil released in 1949, she went into a period of near-complete obscurity – until Raj Kapoor changed everything.
According to Filmfare, Raj Kapoor personally selected Chand for the role of the cruel, tormenting aunt in his 1954 production Boot Polish – chosen over more than 200 other contestants after her screen test convinced him of her talent.
As per Hindustan Times, the film’s child star Baby Naaz even earned a special mention at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, and Chand’s portrayal of the villainous aunt was widely praised by critics and audiences alike. She went on to appear in several other films including Basant Bahar, Adalat, Sohni Mahiwal and Kahin Din Kahin Raat.
The Kapoor connection – and a wish fulfilled posthumously
After separating from her first husband Niranjan in 1954, Chand married businessman Sundar Singh Bhavnani, with whom she had two children: a daughter, Tonya, and a son Jagjit, who is Ranveer Singh’s father.
As per ET Now, Chand always wanted Jagjit to join films, but he chose to follow his father into business instead. It was her grandson Ranveer who ultimately fulfilled that dream – though sadly, she passed away on December 28, 2008, two years before Ranveer made his Bollywood debut in Band Baaja Baaraat in 2010.
The family’s connections to Indian cinema, however, do not end there. As per GhaintPunjab, Ranveer’s grandfather Sundar Singh Bhavnani was the brother of Sonam Kapoor’s maternal grandmother – making Ranveer and Sonam Kapoor cousins.
According to multiple entertainment reports, this means Ranveer’s mother Anju Bhavnani and Sonam’s mother Sunita Kapoor are second cousins – which extends the familial connection to Anil Kapoor and Boney Kapoor as well. It is a connection that makes the Bhavnani-Kapoor family tree one of the most intriguing in Bollywood – and one that traces its roots all the way back to the Dancing Lily of Punjab.