Fatma Begum
| Fatma Begum | |
|---|---|
| Born |
 India |
| Occupation | Actress, Director |
Fatima Begum was one of the early superstars in Indian cinema and India's first female film director.
Family
Fatima Begum was born into an Urdu Muslim family in India. Fatima Begum was supposedly married to Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin. However, there is no record of a marriage or contract having taken place between the Nawab and Fatima Bai 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 Shehzadi. 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.
Career
She began her career on the Urdu stage, shifted to films and debuted in Ardeshir Irani's silent film, Veer Abhimanyu (1922). In 1926, she established Fatima Films which later became known as Victoria-Fatima Films in 1928. She was an actress at Kohinoor Studios and Imperial Studios, while writing, directing, producing, and acting in her own films at Fatima Films. In 1926, when she directed Bulbul-e-Paristan, she became the first female director of Indian cinema. Leaning towards direction, Fatima continued acting till her last film in 1938, Duniya Kya Hai?.
Fatima Begum was fair skinned and wore dark make-up that suited the sepia/black & white images on the screen. Most of the roles required whigs for the heroes as well as the heroines.
Legacy
She died in 1983 at the age of ninety one but her legacy was carried on by her legendary actress of a daughter, Zubeida, whom besides being a silent film star, acted in India's first ever talkie, Alam Ara.