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Zubeida
Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian actress. Early in her career, she starred in a number of silent films, which were followed by a breakthrough in the first Indian talkie ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Her other notable works include Sagar Movietone's ''Meri Jaan'' (1931) and ''Devdas (1937 film), Devdas'' (1937). Early life Born in 1911 in Surat city of Gujarat in western India, Zubeida was the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and Fatma Begum. She had two sisters, Sultana (actress), Sultana and Shehzadi, both actresses. She was among the few girls who entered films as a teenager during a time when it was not considered a honourable profession for girls from respectable families. Nazir, Asjad. "Lighting Up the Big Screen."''Eastern Eye'', 26 July 2013, pp. 21-33. Career Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in ''Kohinoor'', which was a talkie at the time. Through the 1920s she made infrequent appearances on sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alam Ara
''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves around a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a ''fakir'' (Wazir Muhammad Khan) tells the king that the former wife will give birth to a boy, later named Qamar ( Master Vithal), but the child will die following his 18th birthday if Navbahaar cannot find the necklace he asks for. Meanwhile, the king finds out that Dilbahaar falls for the ''senapati'' Adil ( Prithviraj Kapoor), leading the king to arrest him and evicts his pregnant wife, who later gives birth to Alam Ara ( Zubeida). Irani was inspired to make ''Alam Ara'' after watching the 1929 American part-talkie ''Show Boat''. The story was adapted from the Bombay-based dramatist Joseph David's play of the same name. Made on a budget of , principal photography was handled by Adi M. Irani within four months in Bombay. Because the studio was located near a railw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sagar Movietone
Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for Indian cinema. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1929 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. Sagar was initially started as a branch company of Ardeshir's Imperial Film Company. Several key figures from Imperial, such as Mehboob Khan were shifted to Sagar. The studio was in operation from 1930 to 1939. In 1940, it combined with General Pictures to form National Studios. It made "Parsi theatre based films, mythologicals and stunt movies". Sagar fostered the career of many artists who rose to prominence. Early directors such as Prafulla Ghosh, Sarvottam Badami, Ezra Mir and Nanubhai Vakil were promoted by the company. Mehboob Khan got his first break as a director in '' Al Hilal'' in 1935. He was referred to as "the most important alumnus" from Sagar, who went on to become one of Indian cinema's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fatma Begum
Fatma Begum (1892 1983) was an Indian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is known as ''The First Female Film Director in Indian Cinema''. 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. 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. 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). 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 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devdas (1937 Film)
''Devdas'' is a 1937 Assamese film based on the Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay novella, '' Devdas''. Directed by Pramathesh Barua, it stars Phani Sarma as Devdas, Mohini as Chandramukhi, and Zubeida as Paro. The songs were playbacked by Shamshad Begum and Bhupen Hazarika. This was Barua's last of three language versions, the first being in Bengali and the second in Hindi. Plot summary The childhood friendship of Devdas (Phani Sarma) (who is from a wealthy family) and Paro (Zubeida) (whose family is not as well off) blossoms into love as they grow up. Devdas' father does not approve of the relationship due to differences in their families' status in the village and of their castes. (Devdas is of the Brahmin caste and Paro of the Merchant caste.) Devdas realizes he cannot live without Paro and seeks her out, but she has already been married off to an older man with children. Devdas falls into despair and drinks to excess; then he meets a courtesan, Chandramukhi (Mohini), who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Master Vithal
Master Vithal or Vithal (1906-1969) was an actor in Indian cinema, best known as the hero of India's first talkie ''Alam Ara'' (1931) and of Marathi and Hindi silent stunt films (silent films had cue cards in a particular language), which gave him the epithet as the Douglas Fairbanks of India. Vithal started his film career in Marathi films in 1924 and worked as a film technician and dancer. He was cast as the male lead in ''Ratan Manjari'' (1926) and followed with the swashbuckling roles of many silent stunt films and became a very popular actor. Though he was the male lead of ''Alam Ara'', he hardly had any dialogue due to poor Hindi diction. He returned to silent films and then to talkie Marathi films from 1932 till his last film in 1966. He also directed two films and gave music score to one film. He acted in more than 90 films during his career of 42 years from 1924 to 1966. Pre 1930 career Master Vithal's début was on the stage as a child artist with ''Raja Pur Ka Nata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sultana (actress)
Sultana (10 February 1910 - 19 September 1990), also known as Sultana Razzaq, was one of the earliest film actresses from India who acted both in silent films and later in sound films. She was one of the most popular actress during 1920s, 1930s and 1940s in Indian Cinema in both silent films and later in the talkies. She was the daughter of India's first female film director, Fatma Begum. She was the elder sister of Zubeida a leading actress of India's first talkie film ''Alam Ara'' in 1931. Early life Born in 1910 at Surat city of Gujarat at western India in British India, Sultana was the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and Fatma Begum. She had two sisters, Zubeida and Shehzadi, both actresses. She was among the few girls who entered films at a tender age during a time when it was not considered an appropriate profession for girls from respectable families.Nazir, Asjad. "Lighting Up the Big Screen."''Eastern Eye'', 26 July 2013, pp. 21- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhea Pillai
Rhea Pillai is an Indian model known for her works in television and advertising. In 2003, she was honored as the "Woman of the Year", along with Raveena Tandon, Anoushka Shankar and Ritu Beri, on International Women's Day for social service. In 2006, she had a minor screen role in the Hindi movie ''Corporate''. Pillai is involved in the Art of Living Foundation. Early life Pillai was born the daughter of Raymond Pillai and his wife Durr-e-shahwar Dhanrajgir. Both of her parents were of mixed communal heritage, and theirs was also a mixed marriage. Raymond Pillai was the son of a Malayali Hindu father and an Anglo-Indian mother, and was raised as a Christian. Durr-e-shahwar Dhanrajgir was the daughter of Maharaja Narsinghraj Dhanrajgir Gyan Bahadur, a Hindu and one of the top noblemen of Hyderabad state, by his consort Zubeida, who hailed from a family of Muslim royals and had acted in the first Indian sound film '' Alam Ara'' (1931). She is also the great granddaughter of In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balidan
''Balidan'', also called ''Sacrifice'', is a 1927 Indian silent film directed by Naval Gandhi and based on a play by Rabindranath Tagore. It was produced by Orient Pictures Corporation. Balidan is cited as one of the top ten lost films of Indian Cinema by P. K. Nair. Hailed as "an excellent and truly Indian film" by The Indian Cinematograph Committee, 1927–28, ''Balidan'' was used by them as one of the films to "show how 'serious' Indian cinema could match Western standards". The film starred the then popular cast of Master Vithal, Sulochana, Zubeida, Sultana, Jal Khambata and Jani Babu. A social-reformist costume drama film, written by Tagore in 1887, ''Balidan'' was set in the fictional kingdom of Tippera, and involved clashes between a progressive-minded King and a "tradition-bound priest". The film was stated to be commercially successful. Cast * Master Vithal * Sulochana (Ruby Myers) * Zubeida Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sachin State
The Sachin State (; ) was a princely state belonging to the Surat Agency, former Khandesh Agency, of the Bombay Presidency during the era of the British Raj. Its capital was in Sachin, the southernmost town of present-day Surat district of Gujarat State. History Maharaja of Parmar Rajputs had established the State of Sachin. Sachin state was invaded on 6 June 1791. Though over 85% of the subjects were Hindu, the state was ruled by Sunni Muslims of the Siddi dynasty of Danda-Rajpuri and Janjira State. The Siddi dynasty is of Abyssinian ( Habesha) origin. Sachin State was under the protection of the Maratha Peshwa until it became a British protectorate. It had its own cavalry, currency, and stamped paper, as well as a state band that included Africans. Fatma Begum (1892–1983), one of the early superstars of Hindi cinema and India's first female film director, was allegedly married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State. But Sachin royal family so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jamila Razzaq
Jamila Razzaq (born 1937) is a Pakistani actress. She acted in Urdu films in Pakistani cinema and she is known for her roles in films ''Naya Dour'' (1958), ''Faisala'' (1959), ''Aur Bhi Gham Hayn'' (1960), ''Gul Bakavli'' (1961), ''Inqilab'' (1962) and ''Ishq Par Zor Nahin'' (1963). Early life Razzaq was born in 1937 in Bombay at Maharashtra, British India. Her grandmother Fatma Begum was India's first female film director and her grandfather Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III was the ruler of the princely state of Sachin. Her aunts Zubeida and Shahzadi were popular leading actresses during the silent films era, and the former was the leading lady in India's first talkie film ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Razzaq's mother Sultana was a popular actress and one of the earliest film actresses from India, and acted both in silent films and later in the talkies. Sultana then moved to Pakistan after Partition in 1947 while her family stayed in India. She remained little active in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surat
Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now the commercial and economic centre of South Gujarat, and one of the largest urban areas of western India. It has well-established diamond and textile industry, and is a major supply centre for apparels and accessories. About 90% of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in Surat. It is the second largest city in Gujarat after Ahmedabad and the List of most populous cities in India, eighth largest city by population and List of million-plus urban agglomerations in India, ninth largest urban agglomeration in India. It is the administrative capital of the Surat district. The city is located south of the state capital, Gandhinagar; south of A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kali
Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who provide liberating knowledge. Of the numerous Hindu goddesses, Kali is held as the most famous. She is the preeminent deity in the Hindu tantric and the Kalikula worship traditions, and is a central figure in the goddess-centric sects of Hinduism as well as in Shaivism. Kali is chiefly worshipped as the Divine Mother, Mother of the Universe, and Divine feminine energy. The origins of Kali can be traced to the pre-Vedic and Vedic era goddess worship traditions in the Indian subcontinent. Etymologically, the term ''Kali'' refers to one who governs time or is black. The first major appearance of Kali in the Sanskrit literature was in the sixth-century CE text '' Devi Mahatmya''. Kali appears in many stories, with the most popular one bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
