Begum Para
Begum Para | |
---|---|
Born | Zubeda Ul Haq 25 December 1926 Jhelum, Punjab, British India (present-day Punjab, Pakistan) |
Died | 9 December 2008 | (aged 81)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1944–1956, 2007 |
Spouse | Nasir Khan |
Children | 3, including Ayub Khan |
Relatives | Dilip Kumar (brother-in-law) Rukhsana Sultana (sister) Amrita Singh (grandniece) Saira Banu (sister-in-law) |
Begum Para (née Zubeda Ul Haq; 25 December 1926 – 9 December 2008) was an Indian
Early life
Begum Para was born as Zubeda Ul Haq in Jhelum in British India (present day in Punjab, Pakistan). Her father, Mian Ehsanul-Haq, belonging to an aristocratic Arain family, was a judge from Jalandhar who, at some point in his life, entered the judicial service of the princely state of Bikaner, which is now part of northern Rajasthan, where he eventually became chief justice of its highest court. He was a fine cricketer of his time. Her family settled in Aligarh.[5][4][6] She was brought up very disciplined yet liberal. She spent her childhood in Bikaner. She was educated at the Aligarh Muslim University. Her elder brother Masrurul Haq, had gone off to Bombay in the late 1930s to become an actor. There he had met and fell in love with the Bengali actress Protima Dasgupta, and married her.[7][4]
Whenever she visited them in Bombay, she was quite taken up with the glitzy world of her sister-in-law. She used to accompany her on many occasions and get-togethers. People would get quite impressed with her looks and offer her a lot of roles. One such offer came from Sashadhar Mukherjee and Devika Rani. Her father consented to her wishes reluctantly, and requested her to never work in Lahore.[7]
Career
Begum Para's first break turned out to be 1944 film Chand, from Prabhat Studios in Poona. Prem Adib was the hero, and Sitara Devi was the vamp in the film. It did extremely well and Para started getting paid about Rs. 1500 a month. Soon after, she and her sister-in-law Protima made a film called Chhamia (1945) based on the novel ‘Pygmalion’, which again was a huge success. Para signed a lot of films after Chhamia, but she couldn't quite establish herself as an actress. Because she had a highly scandalous image, people always gave her the role of glamour doll in most films. She did not mind this because she always played herself on screen.[8]
She did
In 1951 she posed for photographer James Burke for a
She made a powerful comeback on the silver screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya in 2007 as Sonam Kapoor's grandmother (after over 50 years of disappearance in movies and eventually became her final film, before her death the following year, 2008).[8]
Personal life
She married actor Nasir Khan, who was an actor and filmmaker and the younger brother of Bollywood star Dilip Kumar.[11] They had three children, Lubna, Nadir and actor Ayub Khan. She had three granddaughters, Kichu Dandiya a jewellery designer, Tahura Khan and Zohra Khan. Begum Para's father Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq of Jalandhar, was a judge who joined the princely state of Bikaner, now northern Rajasthan, where he became chief justice of its highest court.[citation needed] Her husband died in 1974.[12] Following her husband's death, she briefly moved to Pakistan in 1975 to be with her family, two years later she relocated back to India.[13][4]
Death
She died in her sleep on 9 December 2008 at the age of 82.[citation needed]
Filmography
- Saawariya (2007) - Sakina's grandmother
- Kar Bala
- Kismet Ka Khel (1956)
- Pehli Janak (1955)
- Shahzada (1955)
- Laila Majnu (1953)
- Naya Ghar (1953)
- Baghdad (1952)
- Pagle (1950)
- Meharbani (1950)
- Jharna (1948)
- Shahnaz (1948)
- Suhaag Raat (1948) - Paro
- Mehandi (1947)
- Neel Kamal (1947)
- Zanjeer (1947)
- The Chain (1947)
- Sohni Mahiwal (1946)
- Chhamia (1945)
- Chand (1944)
References
- ^ "5 noted personalities who left Pakistan for India". 2 June 2015.
- ^ "Ms Oomph: V Gangadhar meets Begum Para, the original pin-up girl". Rediff.com. 29 November 1997.
- ^ Photos, Old Indian. "Sensuous Photographs of Hindi Movie Star Begum Para by Life Magazine Photographer James Burke - 1951".
- ^ a b c d Hasan, Khalid (2 August 2015). "Begum Para: the Last Glamour Girl". The Friday Times.
- ^ Ahmed, Ishtiaq. "Shyama's Arain roots in Lahore BY Ishtiaq Ahmed". apnaorg.com.
- ^ "BEGUM PARA BY JAMES BURKE FOR LIFE MAGAZINE – 1951". www.bollywoodirect.com. 10 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d "Begum Para – Memories – Cineplot.com".
- ^ a b c "6 Facts About Begum Para, One Of Bollywood's Most Legendary Actresses Ever". The Times of India. 8 December 2015.
- ^ "Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Begum Para". Rediff.com.
- ^ collection, Isa Daudpota (22 August 2014). "Begum Para (1951)". The Friday Times.
- ^ Gangadhar, V. (17 September 2006). "The return of Begum Para". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007.
- ^ "Begum Para | Begum Para". Outlookindia.com. 28 May 1997. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
- ^ "5 noted personalities who left Pakistan for India". The Express Tribune. 2 June 2015.
External links
Media related to Begum Para at Wikimedia Commons
- Begum Para at IMDb