Firoza Begum was a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish Indian actress. Firoza starred in several

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and Mollywood films. She was "hugely" popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Although there were many Jewish actresses at the time, she stands out along with other notables like

Ruby Myers Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent film actress of Jewish ancestry, from the community of Baghdadi Jews in India. In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of h ...

and

Esther Victoria Abraham 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 ...

(Pramila). She is of

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" () or " Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there ce ...

heritage. Born Susan Solomon, she used the Muslim name Firoza Begum to hide her Jewish ancestry (see

History of the Jews in India The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.

). She was one of five famous Jewish Indian actresses featured in the documentary ''Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Jews and Bollywood'' by Danny Ben-Moshe released in 2013.

Filmography

* ''Bewafa Qatil'' * ''Prem Veer'' * ''Din Raat'' * ''Raigad'' * ''Bhagta Bhoot'' * ''Circus Girl'' * ''Noor-E-Yaman'' (1935) * ''Ansuon Ki Duniya'' (1936) * ''Bharat Ka Lal'' (1936)

References

Bene Israel Malayali people Actresses from Kerala Indian film actresses Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Jewish actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Hindi cinema Indian silent film actresses Indian Jews {{India-actor-stub