Fatma Begum

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Fatima Begum" redirects here. For the Pakistan Movement politician, see Fatima Begum (politician). For the member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, see Fatima Begum (Pakistani politician).

Fatma Begum
Born
Fatma Bai

1892
Gujarat, Surat district, British Raj, British India
Died1983 (aged 90–91)
Gujarat, India
Other namesFirst Female Film Director of Indian Cinema
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active1922–1940
SpouseNawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III (divorced)[1]
Children3, including Zubeida and Sultana
RelativesJamila Razzaq (granddaughter)
Rhea Pillai (great-granddaughter)

Fatma Begum (1892 – 1983) was an Indian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is known as The First Female Film Director in Indian Cinema.[2][3][4]

Within four years, she went on to write, produce and direct many films. She launched her own production house, Fatma Films, which later became Victoria-Fatma Films, and directed her first film, Bulbul-e-Paristan, in 1926.[5][6]

Early life

[edit | edit source]

Fatma Begum was born into an Urdu-speaking Muslim family in India and came from a background in the Urdu language theater, her family of Muslim background having spoken that tongue. She was trained in theater and mostly acted in Urdu and Hindi plays.[2][7]

Career

[edit | edit source]

She began her career on the Urdu stage. She later shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922).[2][4] It was common practice for men to play women in plays and movies, so she became a huge woman superstar. Fatma Begum was fair skinned and wore dark make-up that suited the sepia/black & white images on the screen. Most of the roles required wigs for the heroes as well as the heroines.

In 1926, she established Fatma Films which later became known as Victoria-Fatima Films in 1928. She became a pioneer for fantasy cinema where she used trick photography to have early special effects. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatma Films.[2][5]

Begum became the first female director of Indian cinema with her 1926 film, Bulbul-e-Paristan.[2][8] The film was a high budget production has been described as a fantasy film featuring many special effects and her daughters Sultana, Zubeida also Shehzadi worked in the film.[1] The film places Begum among early pioneers of fantasy cinema such as George Melies.[1] She directed many other films, her last being the Goddess of Luck in 1929. While continuing to produce and appear in her own work, Fatma worked for Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios in the film Duniya Kya Hai? in 1937.[2]

She worked in her last film Diamond Queen as Faima in 1940.

Personal life

[edit | edit source]

She was married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State.[7] When she joined theatre and stage dramas then he didn't approved her career in acting at that time when it was not considered an appropriate profession for girls from respectable families so she divorced him and took her daughters custoday.[1] She was the mother of silent superstars Zubeida, Sultana and Shahzadi.[4][6] She was also the grandmother of Humayun Dhanrajgir and Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir, son and daughter of Zubeida and Maharaja Narsingir Dhanrajgir of Hyderabad and Jamila Razzaq daughter of Sultana and Seth Razaaq, a prominent businessman of Karachi. She also happened to be the great-grandmother of model turned actress Rhea Pillai who is the daughter of her grand daughter Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir.[9]

Death

[edit | edit source]

She died in 1983 at the age of 91.[2][10]

Filmography

[edit | edit source]

Silent Movies

[edit | edit source]
Year Film Role Notes
1922 Veer Abhimanyu[2][5] Subhadra Debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film[2]
1924 Prithvi Vallabh Mrinalwati Silent film
Kala Naag Silent film
Sati Sardarba Silent film
Gul-e-Bakavali Silent film
Raja Harishchandra Silent film
1925 Social Pirates Mohini Silent film
Nahar Singh Silent film
Gaud Bangal Silent film
Devdasi Based on Novel
Naharsingh Daku Silent film
The Magician of Bengal Silent film
1926 Indrajal Silent film
Khubsurat Bala Actress Silent film
Bulbul-e-Paristan Actress First female director of Indian cinema[1]
Swarga Kankan Silent film
1927 Mumbai Ni Biladi Silent film
Kul Dipak Silent film
1928 Rup Basant Silent film
1929 Maha Sunder Silent film
Mahasundar Silent film
Nasib Ni Devi Silent film
1930 Am Rande Der Sahara Silent film
Zalim Zulekha Zulekha Silent film

Talkie Movies

[edit | edit source]
Year Film Role Notes
1931 Discarded Love Actress
1933 Satan's Victim Actress
1934 Seva Sadan Actress
Sant Tulsidas Actress
Neki Ka Taj Actress Starred with Noor Jehan
1938 Duniya Kya Hai? Actress [2]
1939 Romancero Marroquí Actress
1940 Jai Swadesh Actress
Diamond Queen Faima

Writer

[edit | edit source]
Year Film Role Notes
1926 Bulbul-e-Paristan Writer Screenplay
1928 Heer Ranjha [2] Writer Screenplay
1929 Wonderful Prince Writer Screenplay

Director

[edit | edit source]
Year Film Role Notes
1926 Bulbul-e-Paristan[2] Director First female director of Indian cinema;
Used own production house 'Fatma Films'[2]
1927 Goddess of Love Director
1928 Chandravali[2] Director
Heer Ranjha Director Director and writer
1929 Goddess of Luck Director Director
Kanakatara Director
Milan Dinar[2] Director
Shakuntala Director
Kanak Tara[2] Director
Nasib Ni Devi[2] Director She also acted in the film

Producer

[edit | edit source]
Year Film Role Notes
1928 Heer Ranjha[2] Producer Producer, director and writer

Legacy

[edit | edit source]

Her legacy was carried on by her daughters Sultana, Shahzadi and Zubeida acted in India's first ever talkie, Alam Ara, in addition to being a silent film star.[2][4]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ a b c d e Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
[edit | edit source]
  • Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
  • Fatma Begum at IMDb

Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Fatma_Begum&oldid=9035355"