Fearless Nadia
Encyclopedia
Fearless Nadia was an Indian film
actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali (The Princess and the Hunter) made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .
, Western Australia. She was the daughter of Scotsman Herbertt Evans, a volunteer in the British Army
, and Margret, a Greek
dancer and theatre person. They lived in Australia, before coming to India. Mary was one year old when Herbertt's regiment was seconded to Bombay. Mary came to Bombay in 1913 at the age of five with her father. She learned horseback riding during a stay in the North-West Frontier Province
and then studied ballet under Madam Astrova after returning to Bombay in the mid-1920s.
. She was introduced to Hindi films
by J.B.H. Wadia who was the founder of Wadia Movietone, the behemoth of stunts and action in 1930s Bombay.
She made her debut in Hindi
films with Lal-e-Yaman (1933). The film became a huge hit at the box-office and she became famous with doing stunts in Hindi films. She soon became known as India's Original Stunt Queen, after making more films with stunts. Her film career went from 1933 to 1970. 1935, saw the release of Hunterwali, and this was when she was nicknamed Hunterwali. Her role in the film—which had her dressed in tight, revealing clothes, tall boots, while wielding a whip—became iconic in 1930s India. She reprised the role in Hunterwali ki Beti some years later. She played a small role in her last film which was Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi (1970). She acted in a Telugu Movie around 1967–68 as a stunt woman, full length role. Shobhan Babu was the hero.
, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story, after watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival
, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator, wrote a book, Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated to English in 2005 .
In 2011, the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne launched The Fearless Nadia Occasional Papers. These are original essays commissioned by the Australia India Institute focusing on various aspects of the relationship between India and Australia. The Institute declared that Fearless Nadia had brought a new joie de vivre and chutzpah into Indian cinema with her breathtaking ‘stunts’. The Occasional Papers Series seeks to inject a similar audacity and creative dialogue into the relationship between India and Australia.
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered the masked, cloaked adventuress in Hunterwali (The Princess and the Hunter) made in 1935 , which was one of the earliest female lead Indian films .
Early life
Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia. She was the daughter of Scotsman Herbertt Evans, a volunteer in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and Margret, a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
dancer and theatre person. They lived in Australia, before coming to India. Mary was one year old when Herbertt's regiment was seconded to Bombay. Mary came to Bombay in 1913 at the age of five with her father. She learned horseback riding during a stay in the North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
and then studied ballet under Madam Astrova after returning to Bombay in the mid-1920s.
Career
She toured India as a theatre artist and began working for Zarko Circus in 1930. She changed her name to Nadia at the insistence of an Armenian fortune-teller. She made her debut in the Arabic film Makhazane el ochak (1932), which was filmed in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. She was introduced to Hindi films
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
by J.B.H. Wadia who was the founder of Wadia Movietone, the behemoth of stunts and action in 1930s Bombay.
She made her debut in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
films with Lal-e-Yaman (1933). The film became a huge hit at the box-office and she became famous with doing stunts in Hindi films. She soon became known as India's Original Stunt Queen, after making more films with stunts. Her film career went from 1933 to 1970. 1935, saw the release of Hunterwali, and this was when she was nicknamed Hunterwali. Her role in the film—which had her dressed in tight, revealing clothes, tall boots, while wielding a whip—became iconic in 1930s India. She reprised the role in Hunterwali ki Beti some years later. She played a small role in her last film which was Ek Nanhi Munni Ladki Thi (1970). She acted in a Telugu Movie around 1967–68 as a stunt woman, full length role. Shobhan Babu was the hero.
Personal life
Throughout her career, Nadia had many love affairs and was linked to men of prominence. She was married twice. From her first marriage she had a son. After she was introduced to films by Mr. Wadia, she met his younger brother Homi Wadia. Soon they fell in love with each other but they didn't get married until the early 1960s, after the death of the Wadia brothers' orthodox Parsi mother who wouldn't let her son wed a "parjat". They were married in 1961. By the time they were married, Nadia was too old to have her own children. Instead, Homi adopted Nadia's son from her previous marriage.Legacy
In 1993, Nadia's great grandnephew, Riyad Vinci WadiaRiyad Vinci Wadia
Riyad Vinci Wadia was an Indian independent filmmaker from Bombay, known for his film, BomGay , regarded as one of the very first gay themed movies from India...
, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story, after watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator, wrote a book, Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated to English in 2005 .
In 2011, the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne launched The Fearless Nadia Occasional Papers. These are original essays commissioned by the Australia India Institute focusing on various aspects of the relationship between India and Australia. The Institute declared that Fearless Nadia had brought a new joie de vivre and chutzpah into Indian cinema with her breathtaking ‘stunts’. The Occasional Papers Series seeks to inject a similar audacity and creative dialogue into the relationship between India and Australia.