Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Kathak Maestro Roshan Kumari, Star of Jalsaghar, Dies at 88
Roshan Kumari was a famous Kathak dancer from India.
She became widely remembered for a long dance scene in the film Jalsaghar.
She began learning dance when she was five years old.
Her father helped her practise and encouraged her talent.
She also performed on stage and later taught students and choreographed films.
When her father died in 1994, she chose not to dance on stage again.
She received important awards for her work.
She died at 88, and her funeral was attended by a small group of students and friends.
Kathak dancer Roshan Kumari died on October 5 at age 88 and was buried in Mumbai the following day.
At 19, she performed a nine-minute Kathak sequence in Satyajit Ray’s 1958 film Jalsaghar.
She trained under K.S. Moray and Jaipur gharana exponent Pandit Sunder Prasad, with her father supporting her practice.
After her father, tabla and pakhawaj player Choudhary Faqir Muhammed, died in 1994, she stopped performing but continued teaching and choreographing.
Her honors included the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1976 and the Padma Shri in 1984.
- Who
- Roshan Kumari, a Kathak dancer and choreographer.
- What
- She died at age 88.
- When
- October 5; the article does not specify the year.
- Where
- She was buried at Santa Cruz Kabrasthan in Mumbai.
- Why
- The article attributes her death to age-related issues.
- Age at death
- 88
- Date of death
- October 5; year not stated in the article
- Notable film performance
- A nine-minute dance sequence in Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar (1958)
- Dance training
- Began at age five under K.S. Moray and later studied with Pandit Sunder Prasad
- Stopped performing
- After her father died in 1994
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
- 1976
- Padma Shri
- 1984