Sultana (actress)

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Sultana
Sultana Razaaq,(India) Silent film actor and director.jpg
Sultana Begum
Born
Sultana Begum

(1910-02-10)10 February 1910
Died19 September 1990(1990-09-19) (aged 80)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • Producer
Years active1922 – 1962
SpouseSeth Razzaq (husband)
Children Jamila Razzaq (daughter)
Parent(s) Fatma Begum (mother)
Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III (father)
Relatives Waqar Hasan (son-in-law)
Zubeida (sister)
Rhea Pillai (great-niece)

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. [1] 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. [2] She was the daughter of India's first female film director, Fatma Begum. [3] She was the elder sister of Zubeida a leading actress of India's first talkie film Alam Ara in 1931. [1]

Contents

Early life

Born in 1910 at Surat city of Gujarat in western British India, Sultana was the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and Fatma Begum. [3] 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. [3]

Career

Sultana was a popular actress in the silent movie era, usually cast in romantic roles. [1] She started her career as actress in film Veer Abhimanyu (1922) and later performed in several silent films. Later, she also acted in talkie movies. When India was partitioned in 1947, she migrated to Pakistan with her husband, a wealthy man named Seth Razzaq. Her daughter, Jamila Razzaq, also became an actress with her encouragement. She produced a film in Pakistan, named Hum Ek Hain (1961), written by famous scriptwriter, Fayyaz Hashmi. The film was partly shot in colour, which was rare those days, but it failed miserably and Sultana stopped producing any films afterwards but later the film became popular among the audience the film received critical acclaim for its script and performances. [4] Its reputation has shifted over the following years, and many critics now consider the film to be a masterpiece and one of the best films of the 1960s. [4] [1]

She continued to remain active and worked as a producer in some films and then as her daughter's dress-designer when Jamila started working in films. [4]

Personal life

She married businessman Seth Razzaq and together they had a daughter named Jamila a popular actress during 1950s and 1960s in the cinema of Pakistan. [4] Sultana's daughter, Jamila Razzaq, married the well known Pakistani cricketer Waqar Hasan, who is the brother of filmmaker Iqbal Shehzad. He runs a business under the name National Foods at Karachi. [1]

Death

Sultana died at her family's home in Karachi in 1990 at Pakistan and was laid to rest in a Karachi Graveyard. [4]

Filmography

Silent Movies

YearTitleProducerRoleNotes
1922Veer AbhimaniyuStar FilmsUttariDebut Movie [5]
1924Gul BakavaliKohinoor & Imperial
Kalyan KhajinaKohinoor & ImperialA Fair Maiden [6]
Kala NaagKohinoor & Imperial
ManoramaKohinoor & Imperial
Prithvi Vallabh Ashoka PicturesJakkala Devi
Sati SardarbaSaraswati Film Company
1925Indra SabhaKohinoor & Imperial
1926Bulbul-e-ParistanFatma Films Company
1927 Balidan Orient Pictures Corporation
1928ChandravaliVictoria Fatima Film Company
1929Kanak TaraFatima Film Company
Young IndiaIndulal Yagnik
1930Brand Of FateImperial Film Company
Glory Of IndiaRanjit Film Company
RevenceImperial Film Company
The CometSurya F. Co.
1931Wages of SinSharda Mysore Pictures Corporation

Talkie Movies

YearTitleProducerRoleNotes
1931MilkmaidRanjit Film CompanyFirst Indian Talkie Movie of Sultana
Kamar-Al-ZamanImperial Film CompanyMaimoonah
1932Balwant BhattBalwant Bhatt
1933Intekam Amar Mullick
Shan-e-SubhanBrahma Film Company
1934Afghan AblaKumar M.
AmirzadiKumar M.
Saubhagya LaxmiKumar M.
1935Behan Ka PremProsperity Films
BidroheeEast India Film Company
Kamroo Desh Ki KaminiKumar M.
Maut Ka ToofanAll India Movie
Step MotherEast India Film Company
1936Hoor-E-SamundarVishnu Cine
Sagar Ki KanyaVijay Pictures
Devdas Pramathesh Barua Parvati
1938Talwar Ka Dhani
1939 Indramalati
1940 Usha Haran Popular Pictures
1949Girdhar Gopal Ki Mira

Producer

YearTitleNotes
1961Hum Ek HainPakistani Movie

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sultana". Cineplot.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  2. Willemen, Paul (2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Taylor & Francis. pp. 241–242. ISBN   9781135943189.
  3. 1 2 3 Nazir, Asjad. "Lighting Up the Big Screen."Eastern Eye, 26 July 2013, pp. 21-33. ProQuest.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "سلطانہ ہندوستان کی مشہور فلمی اداکارہ میں سے ایک ہیں". Weekly Nigar Karachi (Golden Jubilee Number): 118. 2000.
  5. "Sultana – Filmography". Cineplot.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  6. Garga, Bhagavan Das (1996). So Many Cinemas. Eminence Designs. p. 32,43,52. ISBN   9788190060219 . Retrieved 18 September 2012.