Sultana (actress)

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. 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. She was the daughter of India's first female film director, Fatma Begum. She was the elder sister of Zubeida a leading actress of India's first talkie film Alam Ara in 1931.

Early life
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. 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.

Career
Sultana was a popular actress in the silent movie era, usually cast in romantic roles. 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. 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.

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.

Personal life
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. 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.

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