Although born in Bombay, she had been a resident of the US for the past two decades and died in a nursing home in Connecticut on Wednesday.

Beginning in the 1930s, Chitnis' career started at a time when it was not considered appropriate for women to enter the acting profession.

But her determination saw her become a leading lady opposite stars including the late Bollywood legend Ashok Kumar.

She appeared in more than 40 Hindi films, being typecast as a mother figure in later years.

The versatile Chitnis also tried her hand at directing and producing, stepping behind the camera for the 1955 film Aaj Ki Baat (The Talk of the Day).

Model

Seventies Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor said it had been a privilege to have worked alongside Chitnis.

"She (Chitnis) played my mother in Awaara (The Tramp) in 1950 when I was just a child artist and again in my first Hindi film as an adult, Char Deewarein (Four Walls) in 1961," he said.

"She was very hard-working and that had not changed a bit in all those years. I never imagined I would work with her as a kid and as an adult, with her playing the same role."

Chitnis was also one of the first Bollywood actresses to model for the Lux soap brand, a tradition that has continued to this day.