Pramila et Kumar dans Hamari Betiya (1936)

Esther Victoria Abraham (30 December 1916 – 6 August 2006), better known by her stage name Pramila, was an Indian model, actress and first woman film producer in the Hindi film industry. She is also well known for winning the first

Miss India Miss India may refer to: * Femina Miss India, the most prestigious and oldest surviving national beauty pageant in India that started in 1964. It sends its winner to Miss World. * Miss Diva, the national beauty pageant that sends its winners to Miss ...

pageant in 1947.

Personal life

Pramila was born in 1916 in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

(now Kolkata) to a Baghdadi Jewish family. She was the daughter of Reuben Abraham, a Jewish businessman from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, by his second wife Matilda Isaac, a Jewish lady from

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

. Pramila had three older half-siblings from her father's first marriage to a certain Leah, and six (or five) siblings from her own parents' marriage. Pramila was married twice. At the age of seventeen, she married Maniklal Dangi, a Hindu Marwadi gentleman. The marriage lasted less than one year, but it produced a son. In 1939, aged 22, Pramila married again, becoming the second wife of her second husband. This was the small-time actor Syed Hasan Ali Zaidi, a practicing Shia Muslim whose stage name was "Kumar." Among Zaidi's more noticeable roles was that of the sculptor in ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went ...

.'' Pramila had to abandon Judaism and convert to Islam in order to marry Zaidi, and this happened when anti-semitism was at its height in Europe. Pramila and Zaidi had four children together. In 1963, shortly after the release of Mughal-i-Azam, Zaidi chose to leave Pramila and her children and move to Pakistan. Pramila remained in India, where she acted in some more films, and also produced a few films. Pramila's youngest son,

Haidar Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...

, has pursued a career in films and television. He acted in the TV serial '' Nukkad'' and more recently, the song ''Khwaja re khwaja'' in the film

Jodha Akbar ''Jodha Akbar'' is an Indian Historical drama television series that aired from 18 June 2013 to 7 August 2015 on Zee TV and is also digitally available on ZEE5. The show was produced by Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Telefilms. Starring Rajat Tokas a ...

(2007) was picturized with him playing the main singer. Pramila's daughter Naqi Jahan was crowned Eve's Weekly Miss India in 1967, making them the only mother-daughter pair to have won the Miss India title. Naqi Jehan also represented India at the Queen of the Pacific Quest beauty pageant in Australia. Esther Victoria Abraham, better known as Pramila, died on 6 August 2006 aged nearly 90.Pramila – The first Miss India
/ref>

Career

Pramila was the winner of the first

pageant, in 1947 and at the age of 31. Her first job in the entertainment industry was as a dancer for a Parsi theatre company, dancing during the 15 minutes pause while the reel projector was changed. Pramila acted as a fearless stunt star in 30 films, including Ulti Ganga, Bijli,

Basant (film) ''Basant'' () is a 1942 pre-partition Indian romantic musical film directed by Amiya Chakrabarty, produced by Bombay Talkies and starring Mumtaz Shanti and Madhubala along with Ulhas. It revolves around Uma (Shanti), who is left to dance on st ...

and Jungle King. She also became the first major woman film producer in India, with 16 films under her banner Silver Productions.

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

, the then Chief Minister of Bombay, had her were arrested because she was suspected of spying for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, due to her constant travels to that country. However, it was later proven that she travelled to promote her films. Besides her career in film, she was also a graduate of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, and became a teacher. She also designed her own film costumes and jewelry.

Filmography

* ''Return of the Toofan Mail'', directed by R.S. Chaudhary (1935) * ''Bhikaran'', directed by P.K. Atharti (1935) * ''Mahamaya'', directed by Gunjal (1936) * ''Hamari Betiya'' / ''Our Darling Daughters'', directed by R.S. Chaudhary (1936) * ''Saria'', directed by Shanti Dave (1936) * ''Mere Lai'', directed by Gunjal (1937) * ''Mother India'', directed by Gunjal (1938) * ''Bijlee'', directed by Balwant Bhatt (1939) * ''Hukum Ka Ekka'', directed by Shanti Dave (1939) * ''Jungle King'', directed by Nari Ghadialli (1939) * ''Kahan Hai Manzil Ten'', directed by S.M. Yussuf (1939) * ''Sardar'', directed by Dwarka Khosla (1940) * ''Kanchan'', directed by

Leela Chitnis Leela Chitnis (''née'' Nagarkar; 9 September 1909 – 14 July 2003) was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from 1930s to 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later role ...

(1941) * ''Shahzaadi'', directed by J.P. Advani (1941) * ''Basant'', directed by Amiya Chakrabarty (1942) * ''Jhankar'', directed by S. Khalil (1942) * ''Saheli'', directed by S.M. Yussuf (1942) * ''Ulti Ganga'', directed by K. Dhaiber (1942) * ''Bade Nawab Saheb'', directed by B.D. Vedi (1944) * ''Naseeb'', directed by B.D. Vedi (1945) * ''Devar'', directed by S.M. Yussuf (1946) * ''Nehle Pe Dehla'', directed by S.M. Yussuf (1946) * ''Sal Gira'', directed by K.S. Dariani (1946) * ''Shalimar'', directed by Roop K. Shorey (1946) * ''Doosri Shaadi'', directed by Ram Dariani (1947) * ''Aap Beeti'', directed by M. Kumar (1948) * ''Beqasoor'', directed by K. Amamath (1950) * ''Hamari Beti'', directed by

Shobhna Samarth Shobhana Samarth (17 November 1916 – 9 February 2000) was an Indian actress, director and producer who began her career in the early days of talkie movies in the Hindi film industry and continued in lead roles into the 1950s. She started i ...

(1950) * ''Dhoon'', directed by M. Kumar (1953) * ''Majboori'' / ''Choti Bahen'', directed by Ram Dariani (1954) * ''Badal Aur Bijlee'', directed by Maurice Abraham (1956) * ''Fighting Queen'', directed by Nari Ghadiali (1956) * ''Jungle King'', directed by Masud (1959) * ''Bahana'', directed by M. Kumar (1960) * ''Murad'', directed by Nari Ghadiali (1961) * '' Quest'', directed by

Amol Palekar Amol Palekar (born 24 November 1944) is an Indian actor, director and producer of Hindi and Marathi cinema. Career Palekar studied fine arts at the Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai, and commenced his artistic career as a painter. As a painter, he ...

(2006)

References

External links

Meet the Jewish Beauty Queens of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham, Esther Victoria Indian beauty pageant winners Indian Jews Indian people of Iraqi-Jewish descent 2006 deaths 1916 births Female models from Kolkata Indian women film producers Hindi film producers 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian actresses Film producers from Kolkata Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian film actresses Indian stunt performers Women stunt performers Indian costume designers 20th-century Indian designers Women artists from West Bengal Businesswomen from West Bengal 20th-century Indian businesswomen Baghdadi Jews