Shoshi Mukhi
- Actress
Shashimukhi was a nautch girl of Sonagachhi, a notorious red light area
of Calcuuta and worked for the Classic Theatre. She was only about
thirteen, when she had been to a wealthy Bengalee gentleman's house in
Calcutta for a song and dance performance, called mujrah in the local
language. Here she was spotted by Mr. Frederick William Gaisberg, who
was in Calcutta, Bengal, British India in connection with the first
recording session of The Gramophone Company in India. Although Mr.
Gaisberg felt that she had a horrible voice, he chose her (along with
another girl of the same background and who was as young as her, called
Phanibala) as a recording artiste of The Gramophone Company in the
event of non-availability of a better voice. The two girls first
recorded their songs on the eleventh day of November,1902. The record
was number-E 1001. They recorded successfully a number of other songs
solo on later occasions. Shashimukhi went on to act in a number of
films like, Joydev (1926), Shankaracharya (1927), Shasti Ki Shanti
(1928), Jugalangriya (1929) and others. Shashimukhi had a relatively
short film career although she had been an established stage actress of
the period.
