Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian actress. She starred in the first Indian talkie movie ''

Alam Ara ''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...

'' (1931). Her credits include early hits ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden ...

'' (1937), and

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 19 ...

's first talkie, ''Meri Jaan''.

Early life

Born in 1911 at

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in 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 ...

city of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

in western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Zubeida was the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of

Sachin State The Sachin State ( gu, સચીન રિયાસત; ur, سچن ریاست) 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, ...

and

Fatima Begum Fatma Begum (1892–1983) was an Indian actress, director, and screenwriter. She is often considered the first female film director of Indian cinema. Within four years, she went on to write, produce and direct many films. She launched her own p ...

. She had two sisters, Sultana 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. 21-33''. ProQuest.''

Career

Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in ''Kohinoor''. Through the 1920s she made infrequent appearances on screen along with Sultana who, by then, had become one of Indian cinema's loveliest leading ladies. One of the films to star the two sisters was ''Kalyan Khajina'' in 1924. They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster, ''Veer Abhimanyu'' released two years earlier, that also had their mother, Fatima Begum, playing an important role. AlamAraStill

In 1925 Zubeida had nine releases, amongst them ''Kala Chor'', ''

Devdasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

'' and ''Desh Ka Dushman''. A year later she starred in her mother's film, ''Bulbul-e-Paristan''. 1927 was memorable for her with movies ''

Laila Majnu ''Layla & Majnun'' ( ar, مجنون ليلى ; Layla's Mad Lover) is an old story of Arab origin, about the 7th-century Bedouin poet Qays ibn al-Mulawwah and his ladylove Layla bint Mahdi (later known as Layla al-Aamiriya). "The Layla ...

'', ''Nanand Bhojai'' and Naval Gandhi's ''

Sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

'' which were very successful movies at this time. The latter, based on Rabindranath Tagore's 'Balidan', also starred Sulochana Devi,

Master Vithal Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

and Jal Khambatta. It condemned the age-old custom of animal sacrifice in certain

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

temples in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. The Members of the

Indian Cinematograph Committee The Indian Cinematograph Committee was established by British Raj in 1927 to "investigate the adequacy of censorship and the supposedly immoral effect of cinematograph films", and subsequently the ''Indian Cinematograph Committee Evidence and Repo ...

were wowed by this "excellent and truly Indian film". Its European members recommended that it be sent abroad for screening. Zubeida starred in a string of silent films before ''

'' proved to be the turning point in her career and was her biggest hit. She suddenly was highly in demand and got wages high above the standards for a woman in the film industry at that time. Through the '30s and early '40s she made a hit team with Jal Merchant and starred in several successful historical epic films playing characters like

Subhadra Subhadra ( sa, सुभद्रा, Subhadrā) is a Hindu goddess mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures like the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Bhagavata Purana''. She is described as the favourite child of Vasudeva and the younger sister of de ...

Uttara Uttara, which means "north" in Sanskrit and many other South Asian languages, may refer to: Places * Uttara Export Processing Zone, Bangladesh * Uttara, a suburb north of Dhaka, Bangladesh *Uttara East Thana *Uttara West Thana *Uttaradit, a city i ...

and

Draupadi Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...

. She was also successful in portraying emotions with films such as

Ezra Mir Ezra Mir (26 October 1903 – 7 March 1993) ( fl. 1924–1993) was an Indian film-maker, known for his documentary films. Mir changed his Jewish birth name, Edwyn Meyers, to Ezra Mir because he felt his original name "lacked Indianness". After ...

's ''Zarina'' which had her playing a vibrant, volatile circus girl whose kisses steamed up the screen and sparked off heated debate on censorship. Zubeida was one of the few actresses to make a successful transition from the silent era to the talkies. In 1934 she set up Mahalakshmi Movietone with

Nanubhai Vakil Nanubhai Vakil (23 May 1902 – 29 December 1980) was a Hindi and Gujarati film director. He was the first to make a Gujarati talkie film with a biopic on the saint Narsinh Mehta in 1932. ''Narsinh Mehta's'' (1932) star cast included the actress ...

and had box-office bonanzas in ''Gul-e-Sonobar'' and ''Rasik-e-Laila''. She continued to appear in one or two films a year till 1949. ''Nirdosh Abla'' was her last film.

Personal life

Zubeida married Maharaj Narsingir Dhanrajgir Gyan Bahadur of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. She was the mother of Humayun Dhanrajgir and Dhurreshwar Dhanrajgir. Dhurreshwar is the mother of model

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. ...

Death

Zubeida spent her last years at the family's Bombay palace,

Dhanraj Mahal Dhanraj Mahal is the residence of the princely Dhanrajgir family in Mumbai, India. It was the residence of the actress Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir. Architecture The building's architectural style is art deco Art Deco, short for the F ...

. She died on 21 September 1988With Rani Zubeida Dharajgir's death:Curtain comes down on silent movie
''

The Free Press Journal ''The Free Press Journal'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper that was established in 1928 by Swaminathan Sadanand, who also acted as its first editor. First produced to complement a news agency, the Free Press of India, it was a su ...

'' 17 October 1988 and was laid to rest at Chhatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj Marg, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, south

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Filmography

* ''Gul-e-Bakavali'' (1924) * ''Manorama'' (1924) * ''Prithvi Vallabh'' (1924) * ''Sati Sardarba'' (1924) * ''Kala Chor'' (1925) * ''Devadasi'' (1925) * ''Indrasabha'' (1925) * ''Ra Navghan'' (1925) * ''Rambha of Rajnagar'' (1925) * ''Deshna Dushman'' (1925) * ''Yashodevi'' (1925) * ''Khandani Khavis'' (1925) * ''Sati Simantini'' (1925) * ''Bulbule Paristan'' (1926) * ''Kashmeera'' (1926) * ''Raja Bhoj'' (1926) * ''Indrajal'' (1926) * ''Sati Menadevi'' (1926) * ''Laila Majnu'' (1927) * ''Nanand Bhojai'' (1927) * ''

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 ...

'' (1927) * ''Chamakti Chanda'' (1928) * ''Samrat Ashok'' (1928) * ''Golden Gang'' (1928) * ''Heer Ranjha'' (1928) * ''Kanakatara'' (1929) * ''Mahasundar'' (1929) * ''Milan Dinar'' (1929) * ''Shahi Chor'' (1929) * ''Jai Bharati'' (1929) * ''Devadasi'' (1930) * ''Garva Khandan'' (1930) * ''Joban Na Jadu'' (1930) * ''Veer Rajput'' (1930) * ''Sinh No Panja'' (1930) * ''Meethi Churi'' (1931) * ''Diwani Duniya'' (1931) * ''Roop Sundari'' (1931) * ''Hoor-E-Misar'' (1931) * ''Karmano Kaher'' (1931) * ''Nadira'' (1931) * ''

'' (1931) * ''Meri Jaan'' (1931) * ''Veer Abhimanyu'' (1931) * ''Meerabai'' (1932) * ''Subhadra Haran'' (1932) * ''Zarina'' (1932) * ''Harijan'' (1933) * ''Bulbule Punjab'' (1933) * ''Pandav Kaurav'' (1933) * ''Mahabharat'' (1933) * ''Gul Sanobar'' (1934) * ''Nanand Bhojai'' (1934) * ''Radha Mohan/Nand Ke Lala'' (1934) * ''Rasik-e-Laila'' (1934) * ''Seva Sadan'' (1934) * ''Birbal Ki Beti'' (1935) * ''Gulshane Alam'' (1935) * ''Mr. and Mrs. Bombay'' (1936) * ''Aurat Ki Zindagi'' (1937) * ''Kiski Pyari'' (1937) *''

'' (1937) *''Nirdosh Abla'' (1949) *''Awāra'' (1951): Young Rita

References

External links

* *
India Heritage:Performing Arts:Cinema In India:Personalities:''Silent Screen Stars''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zubeida 1911 births 1988 deaths Indian silent film actresses Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian actresses Gujarati people People from Gujarat Actresses in Gujarati cinema Converts to Hinduism from Islam