Sultana (actress)

Sultana, also known as Sultana Razaaq, was one of the earliest film actresses from India and acted both in silent movies and later in talkie movies. She was a daughter of India’s first female film director, Fatima Begum.[1] Zubeida (leading actress of India's first talkie film Alam Ara (1931)) was a younger sister of Sultana.[2]

Sultana
Sultana or Sultana Razaaq
Born	Sultana Surat, Bombay Presidency, British India
Occupation	Film actor, producer
Years active	1922–1937
Spouse(s)	Seth Razaaq
Children	1
Parent(s)	Fatima Begum Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III
Relatives	Jamila Razaaq (daughter) Waqar Hasan (son-in-law) Zubeida (sister) Rhea Pillai (great-niece)

She was among the few girls who entered films at a time when it was not considered an appropriate profession for girls from respectable families, let alone Royalty. Born in the Surat city of Gujarat in western India, Sultana was a stunningly beautiful Muslim princess, the daughter of Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Muhammad Yakut Khan III of Sachin State and Fatima Begum. She had two sisters, Zubeida and Shehzadi, both actresses. However, there is no record of a marriage or a contract having taken place between the Nawab and Fatima Bai or of the Nawab having recognised any of her children as his own, a prerequisite for legal paternity in Muslim family law.