[1] She ran a halfway house at her home in Mahim for runaway girls who had come to Mumbai seeking a career in films.
She received much critical acclaim: a review of Rangeen Raten (1956) said that she "gives a brilliant performance; hers is also the best developed character, and as a result she becomes the life and soul of the film.
[8] The Film Heritage Foundation of India describes her as the "effervescent Chand Usmani, with her heart-warming smile".
[6] She won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1971, for her portrayal of the character Champa, a prostitute, in the 1970 film Pehchan.
[3] In many of her roles, she played a self-sacrificing wife, mother, girlfriend or sister, as summed up by Mahasweta Devi in her 1986 short story 'The Wet-Nurse':