- Born in 1892 and living a long time, until 1983, Fatma Begum spent only 16 years of that 91 year span working in film, but made a big impact as the first woman to direct a movie in India, in 1926.She was also an actress and a writer and founder of a production company, and came from a background in the Urdu language theater, her family of Muslim background having spoken that tongue.Three daughters later became actresses in their own right.
- IMDb mini biography by: Lawrence Chadbourne
- Mother of Zubeida
- The first woman to direct a film in the Indian cinema.
- While she ran her own production company (writing, directing, producing), Fatma continued her career as an actress at Kohinoor Studios, as well as at the Imperial Studios. She also managed the acting careers of her daughters (Zubeida, Sultana, and Shehzadi) and cast them in her films. In 1931, Zubeida became the first actress to star in India's first talking film, Alam Ara (Ornament of the World).
- She not only influenced Indian cinema's storytelling, nudging it to start including women's experiences, but opened doors for other women filmmakers.
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