Firoza Begum (actress)
Appearance
Firoza Begum was a Jewish Indian actress. Firoza starred in several Bollywood and Mollywood films.[1] She was very popular in the 1920s and 1930s.[2] Although there were other Jewish actresses at the time, she stands out along with other notables like Ruby Myers and Esther Victoria Abraham (Pramila).[3][4][5]
Born Susan Solomon, she is of Bene Israel heritage. She used the Muslim name Firoza Begum to hide her Jewish ancestry[6] (see History of the Jews in India). 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 2017.[7]
Filmography
[edit]- Bewafa Qatil
- Prem Veer
- Din Raat
- Raigad
- Bhagta Bhoot
- Circus Girl
- Noor-E-Yaman (1935)
- Ansuon Ki Duniya (1936)
- Bharat Ka Lal (1936)
References
[edit]- ^ IndiaGlitz - Jews, the lost tribe of Indian Cinema (SPECIAL) - Bollywood Movie News
- ^ Ginsburg, Aimee (17 April 2006). "From Bollywood to the Sands of Jerusalem". The Jerusalem Report.
- ^ Dev, Atul (21 September 2013). "The untold story of Jews in Indian cinema". The Sunday Guardian. New Delhi.
- ^ Somaaya, Bhawana; Kothari, Jigna; Madangarli, Supriya (2013). Mother Maiden Mistress Women in Hindi Cinema, 1950-2010. New Delhi: Harper Collins. ISBN 9789350294857.
- ^ Kirshner (30 August 2013). "Bollywood's Untold Story". Retrieved 28 June 2016.
- ^ "Jewish women were Indian cinema's first actresses". thenewsminute.com. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
- ^ "Shalom Bollywood file at Library of Congress Apr 18 shows Jews' key roles". examiner.com. Examiner.com Entertainment. Retrieved 27 June 2016.[permanent dead link ]