Fatma Begam

Fatma Begum was an actor, director, producer and screenwriter and first female director and studio owner in the Indian film industry.

About Fatma Begum

• Fatma Begum was born in 1892 into an Urdu-speaking Muslim family in India. She began her career on the Urdu stage and worked extensively in the Gujarati theatre before stepping into films.
• In 1922, she debuted in the film industry with Ardeshir Irani directed Veer Abhimanyu. It was silent film and she played the female lead.
• She became a huge woman superstar, at a time when men used to play female roles.
• In 1926, she established her own production house, Fatma Films, which later became to be known as Victoria-Fatma Films in 1928.
• She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatma Films.
• She directed her first film titled Bulbul-e-Paristan in 1926 itself. It was a big budget fantasy film.
• The film is widely regarded as the first one made by a female director in the Indian film industry.
• Since then there was no looking back for Fatma Begum.
• She donned the director’s hat once again for Goddess of Luck in 1929.
• With the advent of the talkies, she continued to take roles, appearing in films like Sevaa Sadan (1934), Punjab Lancers (1937).
• She also played the female lead in Duniya Kya Hai’, which was released in 1938.
• She has even acted in several iconic films including Love, Heer Ranjha, Chandrawali, Shakuntala, Milan Dinar, and Kanaktara.

Fatma Begum’s influence

• When Fatma Begum became part of film industry, there was dearth of female actors and the industry was dominated by men. Fatma Begum broke the patriarchal norms in Indian Cinema.
• She paved the way for women to become actors, scriptwriters, producers and directors.
• She is known for making progressive choices and being unafraid to try new things.
• She was a pioneer of fantasy films where she tricked photography to have early special effects.

Fatma Begum’s legacy

Fatma Begam died in 1983 at the age of 91.  Her legacy was carried on by her daughter Zubeida, who besides being a silent film star, acted in India’s first ever talkie, Alam Ara (1931). Zubeida was the highest paid actor of her times and her movies had record breaking collections at box-office.