Fatma Begum

{{redirect|Fatima Begum|the Pakistan Movement politician|Fatima Begum (politician)|the member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab|Fatima Begum (Pakistani politician)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Fatma Begum

| image = Fatima Begum (vers 1925).jpg

| imagesize = 150px

| birth_name = Fatma Bai

| birth_date = 1892

| birth_place = Gujarat, Surat district, British Raj, British India

| death_date = {{death year and age|1983|1892}}

| death_place = Gujarat, India

| alias = First Female Film Director of Indian Cinema

| occupation = {{Hlist | Actress | director | screenwriter | producer}}

| years_active = 1922–1940

| parents =

| spouse = Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III (allegedly)

| children = 3, including Zubeida and Sultana

| relatives = Jamila Razzaq (granddaughter)
Rhea Pillai (great-granddaughter)

}}

Fatma Begum (1892 {{endash}} 1983) was an Indian actress, director, producer and screenwriter. She is known as The First Female Film Director in Indian Cinema.{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/fatma-begum|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2022|access-date=29 March 2025|title=Fatma Begum profile|website=Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation (Cinemaazi.com) website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118183438/https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/fatma-begum}}{{cite web|url=https://www.himalmag.com/culture/a-southasian-filmmaker-sumitra-peries-2022|title=A Southasian filmmaker unlike any other|website=Himal Southasian|date=April 19, 2022}}{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |publisher=Routledge |year=1999 |isbn=1579581463 |editor-last=Rajadhyaksha |editor-first=Ashish |edition=2 |location=New York |pages=95 |editor-last2=Willemen |editor-first2=Paul}}

Within four years, she went on to write, produce and direct many films. She launched her own production house, Fatma Films, which later became Victoria-Fatma Films, and directed her first film, Bulbul-e-Paristan, in 1926.{{Cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Bollywoods-unforgettable-women/articleshow/5650530.cms|title=Bollywood's unforgettable women|newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=29 March 2025|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001530/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Bollywoods-unforgettable-women/articleshow/5650530.cms|url-status=dead|last1=Khurana|first1=Ashleshaa}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/feb/9/4220 |title=Fatma Begum, Jaddanbai: The earliest female filmmakers of Indian cinema|last=Pandya|first=Sonal|website=Cinestaan.com website|access-date=29 March 2025|archive-date=26 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226220137/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/feb/9/4220|url-status=dead}}

Early life

Fatma Begum was born into an Urdu-speaking Muslim family in India and came from a background in the Urdu language theater, her family of Muslim background having spoken that tongue. She was trained in theater and mostly acted in Urdu and Hindi plays.

Career

She began her career on the Urdu stage. She later shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922). It was common practice for men to play women in plays and movies, so she became a huge woman superstar. Fatma Begum was fair skinned and wore dark make-up that suited the sepia/black & white images on the screen. Most of the roles required wigs for the heroes as well as the heroines.

In 1926, she established Fatma Films which later became known as Victoria-Fatima Films in 1928. She became a pioneer for fantasy cinema where she used trick photography to have early special effects. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatma Films.

Begum became the first female director of Indian cinema with her 1926 film, Bulbul-e-Paristan.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/100-years-of-indian-cinema-the-first-women-directors-599939.html |title=100 Years of Indian Cinema: The first women directors |website=IBNLive |access-date=29 March 2025|archive-date=12 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312133532/http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/100-years-of-indian-cinema-the-first-women-directors-599939.html|url-status=dead}} While no known prints of the film currently exist, the high budget production has been described as a fantasy film featuring many special effects. If true, the film places Begum among early pioneers of fantasy cinema such as George Melies. She directed many other films, her last being the Goddess of Luck in 1929. While continuing to produce and appear in her own work, Fatma worked for Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios in the film Duniya Kya Hai? in 1937.

She worked in her last film Diamond Queen as Faima in 1940.

Personal life

She was supposedly married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State.{{Cite web |url=http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/s/sachin.html |title=Sachin Princely State (9 gun salute) |access-date=29 March 2025|archive-date=23 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423041551/http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/s/sachin.html|url-status=dead}} However, there is no record of a marriage or contract having taken place between the Nawab and Fatma or of the Nawab having recognised any of her children as his own, a prerequisite for legal paternity in Muslim family law. She was the mother of silent superstars Zubeida, Sultana and Shahzadi. She was also the grandmother of Humayun Dhanrajgir and Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir, son and daughter of Zubeida and Maharaja Narsingir Dhanrajgir of Hyderabad and Jamila Razzaq daughter of Sultana and Seth Razaaq, a prominent businessman of Karachi. She also happened to be the great-grandmother of model turned actress Rhea Pillai who is the daughter of her grand daughter Durreshahwar Dhanrajgir.{{Cite web |url=https://mdaily.bhaskar.com/news/SPO-OTS-who-is-rhea-pillai-4602228-PHO.html |title=Who is Rhea Pillai- Daily Bhaskar |access-date=22 August 2019 |archive-date=22 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822173622/https://mdaily.bhaskar.com/news/SPO-OTS-who-is-rhea-pillai-4602228-PHO.html|url-status=dead}}

Death

She died in 1983 at the age of 91.{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/womens-day-2023-almost-forgotten-a-look-back-at-the-firsts-of-indian-cinema/photostory/98472382.cms?picid=98472812|title=Women’s Day 2023: Lost in history! A look back at the 'FIRSTS' of Indian Cinema|newspaper=Times of India|date=March 8, 2023}}

Filmography

=Silent Movies=

Year	Film	Role	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1922	Veer Abhimanyu	Subhadra	Debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film
rowspan="5"\|1924	Prithvi Vallabh	Mrinalwati	Silent film
Kala Naag		Silent film
Sati Sardarba		Silent film
Gul-e-Bakavali		Silent film
Raja Harishchandra		Silent film
rowspan="6"\|1925	Social Pirates	Mohini	Silent film
Nahar Singh		Silent film
Gaud Bangal		Silent film
Devdasi		Based on Novel
Naharsingh Daku		Silent film
The Magician of Bengal		Silent film
rowspan="4"\|1926	Indrajal		Silent film
Khubsurat Bala	Actress	Silent film
Bulbul-e-Paristan	Actress	First female director of Indian cinema
Swarga Kankan		Silent film
rowspan="2"\|1927	Mumbai Ni Biladi		Silent film
Kul Dipak		Silent film
rowspan="2" \| 1928	Rup Basant		Silent film
Neki Ka Taj or Chandravali \|Actress \|Starred with Noor Jehan
rowspan="3"\|1929	Maha Sunder		Silent film
Mahasundar		Silent film
Nasib Ni Devi		Silent film
rowspan="2"\|1930	Am Rande Der Sahara		Silent film
Zalim Zulekha	Zulekha	Silent film

=Talkie Movies=

Year	Film	Role
class="wikitable sortable"
1934	Seva Sadan	Actress
1937	Duniya Kya Hai?	Actress
1940	Diamond Queen	Actress

=Writer=

Year	Film	Role	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1926	Bulbul-e-Paristan	Writer	Screenplay
1928	Heer Ranjha	Writer	Screenplay
1929	Wonderful Prince	Writer	Screenplay

=Director=

Year	Film	Role	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1926	Bulbul-e-Paristan	Director	First female director of Indian cinema; Used own production house 'Fatma Films'
1927	Goddess of Love	Director
rowspan="2"\|1928	Chandravali	Director
Heer Ranjha	Director	Director and writer
rowspan="6"\|1929	Goddess of Luck	Director	Director
Kanakatara	Director
Milan Dinar	Director
Shakuntala	Director
Kanak Tara	Director
Nasib Ni Devi	Director	She also acted in the film

=Producer=

Year	Film	Role	Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1928	Heer Ranjha	Producer	Producer, director and writer

Legacy

Her legacy was carried on by her daughters Sultana, Shahzadi and Zubeida acted in India's first ever talkie, Alam Ara, in addition to being a silent film star.