Fatma Begum

Fatma Begum
Fatma Begum
Born	Fatma Bai; 1892; Gujarat, Surat district, British Raj, British India
Died	1983 (aged 90–91); Gujarat, India
Other names	First female film director of Indian Cinema
Occupations	Actress; director; screenwriter; producer;
Years active	1922–1940
Spouse	Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III (allegedly)
Children	3, including Zubeida and Sultana
Relatives	Jamila Razzaq (granddaughter) ; Rhea Pillai (great-granddaughter)

Fatma Begum (1892–1983) was an Indian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She was the first female film director of Indian cinema.^[2]^[1] 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.^[3]^[4]

Early life

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.^[5]

Career

She began her career on the Urdu stage. She later shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922).^[1] 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.

Begum became the first female director of Indian cinema with her 1926 film, Bulbul-e-Paristan.^[6] While no known prints of the film currently exist, the high budget production has been described as a fantasy film featuring many special effects. If true, the film places Begum among early pioneers of fantasy cinema such as George Melies. 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 1938.

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

Personal life

She was supposedly married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State.^[5] However, there is no record of a marriage or contract having taken place between the Nawab and Fatma or of the Nawab having recognised any of her children as his own, a prerequisite for legal paternity in Muslim family law. She was the mother of silent superstars Zubeida, Sultana and Shahzadi.^[1] 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.^[7]

Death

She died in 1983 at the age of 91.^[8]

Filmography

Silent Movies

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1922	Veer Abhimanyu	Subhadra	Debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film
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
	Swarga Kankan		Silent film
1927	Mumbai Ni Biladi		Silent film
1929	Maha Sunder		Silent film
	Mahasundar		Silent film
	Nasib Ni Devi		Silent film
1930	Am Rande Der Sahara		Silent film

Talkie Movies

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1934	Seva Sadan	Actress
	Sant Tulsidas	Actress
	Neki Ka Taj	Actress	Starred with Noor Jehan
1938	Duniya Kya Hai?	Actress
1939	Romancero Marroquí	Actress
1940	Diamond Queen	Faima

Writer

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1926	Bulbul-e-Paristan	Writer	Screenplay
1928	Heer Ranjha	Writer	Screenplay
1929	Wonderful Prince	Writer	Screenplay

Director

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

Producer

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1928	Heer Ranjha	Producer	Producer, director and writer

Legacy

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.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (2 ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 1579581463.
^ "A Southasian filmmaker unlike any other". Himal Southasian. 19 April 2022.
^ Khurana, Ashleshaa. "Bollywood's unforgettable women - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
^ Pandya, Sonal. "Fatma Begum, Jaddanbai: The earliest female filmmakers of Indian cinema". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Sachin Princely State (9 gun salute)". Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
^ "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The first women directors". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
^ "Who is Rhea Pillai- Daily Bhaskar". Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.
^ "Women's Day 2023: Lost in history! A look back at the 'FIRSTS' of Indian Cinema". Times of India. 8 March 2023.

External links

Media related to Fatma Begum at Wikimedia Commons
Fatma Begum at IMDb

[:0-1] Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul, eds. (1999). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (2 ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 1579581463.

[2] "A Southasian filmmaker unlike any other". Himal Southasian. 19 April 2022.

[3] Khurana, Ashleshaa. "Bollywood's unforgettable women - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2016.

[4] Pandya, Sonal. "Fatma Begum, Jaddanbai: The earliest female filmmakers of Indian cinema". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.

[SachinPrincely-5] "Sachin Princely State (9 gun salute)". Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2014.

[6] "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The first women directors". IBNLive. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

[7] "Who is Rhea Pillai- Daily Bhaskar". Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2019.

[8] "Women's Day 2023: Lost in history! A look back at the 'FIRSTS' of Indian Cinema". Times of India. 8 March 2023.

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