Patience Cooper

Patience Cooper
Born	1905 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	1993 Pakistan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1920–1946

Patience Cooper (1905–1993) was an Indian and later Pakistani film actress. An Anglo-Indian^[1] from Calcutta, Cooper had a successful career in both silent and sound films. She was one of the early superstars of Bollywood.^[2] Cooper is credited with the first double roles of Indian cinema—as twin sisters in Patni Pratap and as mother and daughter in Kashmiri Sundari,^[3] even though earlier in 1917, actor Anna Salunke had played roles of both the male lead character Ram and the female lead character Seeta in the film Lanka Dahan.^[4]

Stage career

Cooper began as a dancer in Bandmann's Musical Comedy, a Eurasian troupe. She later joined Jamshedji Framji Madan's Corinithian Stage Company as an actress.

Film career

Cooper first made an impact with Nala Damayanti (1920). The film starred Keki Adajania as Nala and Cooper as Damayanti . The film was a big budget Madan Theatre production and was directed by Eugenio de Liguoro, known in Italy for his Orientalist spectacles like Fascino d'Oro (1919). Nala Damayanti was famous for its special effects at the time — Narada's ascent of Mount Meru to heaven, the transformations of four gods into impersonations of Nala, the transformation of Kali into a serpent among others.

Her next film was Vishnu Avtar, released in 1921. De Liguoro also directed Dhruva Chartitra (1921), a mythological based on the legend of Dhruva whose quest for eternal knowledge and salvation was rewarded when he became the brightest star in the heavens, the pole star also known as Dhruvatara. The film was made as a bid for an international breakthrough for Madan Theatres and featured many Europeans in the cast along with Cooper who played the female lead, Suniti.

One of Cooper's biggest successes was Pati Bhakti (1922). Cooper played Leelavati in the film, directed by the great JJ Madan himself, advocating that women should be devoted to their husband. The film is regarded as her greatest film and was also involved in a small controversy as in Madras, the censor demanded that a dance number be removed on the grounds of obscenity.

Cooper also played perhaps the first ever double roles in Hindi films — Patni Pratap (1923), where she played two sisters and Kashmiri Sundari (1924), where she played mother and daughter.

Cooper did films right through to the mid-1930s. One of her last major films was Zehari Saap (1933). The film was a typical Cooper vehicle about a medieval chieftain's revolt against the good Nawab Bakar Malik. The nawab's outlaw son vows revenge and finally all's well that ends well. The dramatic conflict in the film sees the chieftain wanting to marry the princess, whom he had raised as his own daughter.

Cooper acted in over 40 films until she retired in 1944, after performing in her last film, Iraada. Cooper was often cast in the role of a sexually troubled but innocent woman, always at the centre of moral dilemmas, often caused by the men in her lives.

A major aspect of Cooper's star image was the successful achievement of the 'Hollywood look' in spite of different light and technical conditions. Her distinctively Anglo-Indian features, like dark eyes, sharp features, ebony hair and light skin tone, allowed technicians to experiment with the imported technique of eye-level lighting and achieve an appearance similar to Hollywood stars of the silent era.

The low number of women, especially Hindus, in the film industry during the 1920s (due to conservative attitudes) meant Anglo-Indian actresses like Cooper, were in demand. Her appearance in a string of successful films has led her to being called the first ever female Indian film star.

Later life

It is generally supposed Cooper married Mirza Ahmad Ispahani Saheb (MAH Ispahani), a well-known Indian businessman. In 1947, they migrated to Pakistan^[5] Actually she was married to MAH Isphahani at the age of 21 and divorced soon after. She then got married to Gul Hamid Khan, one of the first early silent movie actors. He died six years later due to Hodgkin's Disease. She remained friends with MAH Isphahani till the end of her life. Cooper changed her name to Sabra Begum and lived the last of her days with her two adopted daughters Zeenat and Haleema in Karachi, Pakistan. Her foster daughter Syeda Nafees Rizvi lives in Houston, Texas, USA. She fostered and/or adopted 17 children during her lifetime. Cooper died in 1993.^[6]

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Co-Star	Remarks
1920	Nala Damayanti	Eugenio de Liguoro		Actor
1921	Bishu Abatar	Jyotish Bandyopadhyay		Actor
	Dhruba Charitra	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
	Nal Damayanti	Jyotish Bandyopadhyay		Actor
	Dhruva Charitra	Eugenio De Liguoro		Actor
	Behula	C. Legrand		Actor
	Vishnu Avatar	C. Legrand		Actor
1922	Sati			Actor
	Ratnavali	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
	Pati Bhakti	J. J. Madan		Actor
	Kamale Kamini	Sisir Kumar Bhaduri		Actor
	Ramayan	Jyotish Bandyopadhyay	Serial	Actor
	Ramayan	Eugenio De Liguoro	Serial	Actor
	Nartaki Tara	Jyotish Bandyopadhyay		Actor
	Ratnavali	C. Legrand		Actor
	Raja Bhoj			Actor
	Mohini	Sisir Kumar Bhaduri		Actor
	Bhagirathi Ganga			Actor
	Rajkumari Budur	J. J. Madan		Actor
	Laila Majnu	J. J. Madan		Actor
1923	Matri Sneha	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
	Noorjehan	J. J. Madan		Actor
1924	Patni Pratap	J. J. Madan	Serial	Actor
	Turki Hoor	J. J. Madan		Actor
1925	Sati Lakshmi	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
	Adoorat Chheley	J. J. Madan		Actor
	Sansar Chakra			Actor
	Kashmiri Sundari			Actor
1926	Prafulla	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1926	Joydev	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1926	Dharmapatni	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1927	Jana	Priyanath Ganguly		Actor
1927	Krishnakanter Will	Priyanath Ganguly		Actor
1927	Durgesh Nandini	Priyanath Ganguly		Actor
1927	Chandidas	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1928	Aankh Ka Nasha			Actor
1928	Hoor-E-Arab	Ratansha Sinore		Actor
1928	Bhranti	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1929	Giribala	Modhu Bose		Actor
1929	Kapal Kundala	Priyanath Ganguly		Actor
1930	Bharat Ramani	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1930	Vaman Avatar			Actor
1930	Rajsingha	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1930	Kal Parinaya	Priyanath Ganguly		Actor
1930	Ganesh Janma	Jal Ariah		Actor
1931	Bibaha Bibhrat	Jyotish Bannerji		Actor
1931	Alladin And The Wonderful Lamp	Jal Ariah		Actor
1931	Samaj Ka Shikar			Actor
1931	Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra	J. J. Madan		Actor
1931	Bharati Balak	Aga Hashr Kashmiri		Actor
1932	Pati Bhakti			Actor
1932	Chatra Bakavali	J. J. Madan	Fantasy	Actor
1932	Bilwamangal	Fram Madan		Actor
1932	Alibaba And Forty Thieves	J. J. Madan		Actor
1932	Educated Wife			Actor
1932	Hathili Dulhan	J. J. Madan		Actor
1933	Madhur Murali			Actor
1933	Naqli Doctor	J. J. Madan		Actor
1933	Zehari Saap	J. J. Madan		Actor
1934	Kismet Ka Shikar			Actor
1934	Bhakta-Ke-Bhagwan	V. M. Gunjal		Actor
1934	Garib Ki Duniya	Sorabji Kerawala		Actor
1934	Anokha Prem	F. R. Irani		Actor
1934	Kanya Vikraya	Mohammad Hussain		Actor
1934	Sakhi Lutera	Sorabji Kerawala		Actor
1935	Dil Ki Pyaas	J. J. Madan		Actor
1935	Asmat Ka Moti	Fram Sethna		Actor
1935	Khudadad			Actor
1935	Prem Ki Ragini			Actor
1935	Sulagto Sansar	G. R. Sethi		Actor
1935	Mera Pyara	Ezra Mir		Actor
1936	Noor-E-Wahadat	G. R. Sethi		Actor
1936	Baghi Sipahi	A.R. Kardar		Actor
1936	Khyber Pass	Gul Hamid		Actor
1937	Fakhr-E-Islam	Nanubhai Vakil		Actor
1943	Rani	P. C. Barua		Actor
1944	Chandar Kalanka	Pramathesh Chandra Barua		Actor
1944	Iraada	S. Shamsuddin		Actor
1946	Khan Saheb	Prem Sethna		Actor.

References

1. p 163, Parama Roy, Indian Traffic: Identities in Question in Colonial and Postcolonial India, University of California Press, ISBN 0-520-20487-5
2. "Patience Cooper". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
3. "Personalities of Indian Cinema - Silent screen stars.". www.indiaheritage.org. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
4. "Dadasaheb Phalke - Father of Indian Cinema". Dadasaheb Phalke Academy. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
5. Article from Economic & Political Weekly
6. "Bollywood Divas". www.hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.

External links

• Patience Cooper at the Internet Movie Database