Some people thought it was bad for Hindu and Muslim actresses to appear on film in the early days of the now-thriving Bollywood. This led them to hire big men with Indian moustaches to act like women and dance around as if they were women, too. Since these female Jewish Indian dancers were allowed on…
In Indian films during the 1920s and 1930s, Hindu and Muslim women were uncommon. Women showing their bodies to strangers on-screen was frowned upon and regarded as taboo. Male actors are more likely to play female roles than female actors. Men in saris played women in early 20th-century silent films, which featured all-male casts. To…
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Israel, the concept of a Jewish contribution to Bollywood came to mind. Sulochana, India’s first female superstar; Rose, a popular starlet; Pramila, the first Miss India; Nadira, the “quintessential vamp” who starred in several Raj Kapoor films; Joseph David Penkar, who was also a lyricist and playwright,…
When Danny Ben-Moshe read an obituary for acclaimed Hindi cinema actor Nadira in 2006, he noticed two things. Florence Ezekiel was one of her real names. The other was her “raunchy vamp” persona, as he put it. Nadira was one of the last Jewish actors in Hindi cinema, according to the Australian filmmaker’s research. Sulochana…
When we think of the subcontinent, we think of the Mughal invasions of 1526 and the partition dates of 1947. The subcontinent’s destiny and final division would be shaped by the Durrani regimes, Mughal emperors, British rule, and the violent politics of partition during this huge period of history. The Jewish community of the subcontinent,…
Bollywood appears to be losing a legacy – its Indian Jewish patrons – at a time when it is reaching out to many countries. Their contribution to the Hindi film industry, particularly during the silent era before independence, was significant, but it is now virtually forgotten – save in academic circles. Not surprising, given that…
Fans of early Bollywood will notice that Sulochana—born Ruby Myers—and Pramila have a lot in common in their lives and professions. Both became superstars in the Indian cinema industry during a time when Indian women were rarely seen outside the home, both were known for their incredible dancing abilities, and both had unparalleled control over…
Hollywood has long been connected with Jews, for better or worse, since the first Jewish-run studios made cinema what it is today. Bollywood? Not at all. The vast Hindustani-language cinema industry’s over-the-top action sequences and large-scale dance routines are well-known around the world, but most Westerners are probably unaware that many of the industry’s early…
The Baghdadi Jewish community owes a significant debt of gratitude to Indian cinema because its women were among the first to act in films, at great danger to their reputation, at a period when women’s participation in performing arts was frowned upon. The majority of India’s cinematic stars during the silent era were Jewish. However,…
Danny Ben-Moshe, a Melbourne-based documentary filmmaker, received a newspaper clipping from his Indian research assistant in 2006. It was an obituary for a famous Indian actress who had made her career playing the vamp in Bollywood movies of the 1950s and 1960s, which was spotted by the girl’s father, who knew Ben-Moshe was Jewish. Ben-Moshe…