Sultana (actress)

Sultana
Sultana
	Sultana Begum
Born	Sultana Begum; 10 February 1910; Surat, Bombay Presidency, British India
Died	19 September 1990 (aged 80); Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Occupations	Actress; Producer;
Years active	1922 – 1962
Spouse	Seth 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, 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]

Early life[edit]

Born in 1910 at Surat city of Gujarat at western India in 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

Filmography[edit]

Silent Movies[edit]


Year	Title	Producer	Role	Notes
1922	Veer Abhimaniyu	Star Films	Uttari	Debut Movie^[5]
1924	Gul Bakavali	Kohinoor & Imperial
	Kalyan Khajina	Kohinoor & Imperial	A Fair Maiden	^[6]
	Kala Naag	Kohinoor & Imperial
	Manorama	Kohinoor & Imperial
	Prithvi Vallabh	Ashoka Pictures	Jakkala Devi
	Sati Sardarba	Saraswati Film Company
1925	Indra Sabha	Kohinoor & Imperial
1926	Bulbul-e-Paristan	Fatma Films Company
1927	Balidan	Orient Pictures Corporation
1928	Chandravali	Victoria Fatima Film Company
1929	Kanak Tara	Fatima Film Company
1929	Young India	Indulal Yagnik
1930	Brand Of Fate	Imperial Film Company
	Glory Of India	Ranjit Film Company
	Revence	Imperial Film Company
	The Comet	Surya F. Co.
1931	Wages of Sin	Sharda Mysore Pictures Corporation

Talkie Movies[edit]


Year	Title	Producer	Role	Notes
1931	Milkmaid	Ranjit Film Company		First Indian Talkie Movie of Sultana
1931	Kamar-Al-Zaman	Imperial Film Company	Maimoonah
1932	Balwant Bhatt	Balwant Bhatt
1933	Intekam	Amar Mullick
1933	Shan-e-Subhan	Brahma Film Company
1934	Afghan Abla	Kumar M.
	Amirzadi	Kumar M.
	Saubhagya Laxmi	Kumar M.
1935	Behan Ka Prem	Prosperity Films
	Bidrohee	East India Film Company
	Kamroo Desh Ki Kamini	Kumar M.
	Maut Ka Toofan	All India Movie
	Step Mother	East India Film Company
1936	Hoor-E-Samundar	Vishnu Cine
	Sagar Ki Kanya	Vijay Pictures
	Devdas	Pramathesh Barua	Parvati
1938	Talwar Ka Dhani
1939	Indramalati
1940	Usha Haran	Popular Pictures
1949	Girdhar Gopal Ki Mira

Producer[edit]


Year	Title	Notes
1961	Hum Ek Hain	Pakistani Movie

References[edit]

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

External links[edit]

[cine-1] "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.

[:0-3] Nazir, Asjad. "Lighting Up the Big Screen."Eastern Eye, 26 July 2013, pp. 21-33. ProQuest.

[WeeklyNigarKarachi-4] "سلطانہ ہندوستان کی مشہور فلمی اداکارہ میں سے ایک ہیں". Weekly Nigar Karachi (Golden Jubilee Number): 118. 2000.

[cineplot-5] "Sultana – Filmography". Cineplot.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

[cinema-6] Garga, Bhagavan Das (1996). So Many Cinemas. Eminence Designs. p. 32,43,52. ISBN 9788190060219. Retrieved 18 September 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]