Woman’s cinema, exploring regal visual narratives of India’s princely states

Pune: The possibility of reinvention and livelihood made women turn to cinema in the early 20th century and not just in film cites of the time like Calcutta and Bombay. Dynamic, film-producing princely states of Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur and Kolhapur also attracted many actresses in the early sound period, said Sarah Niazi, co-curator of ‘Chitramahal: Princely encounters with photography and film', an exhibition.
Highlighting the visual heritage of princely states of that era, the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) is organising Chitramahal under its arts research programme between Feb 23 and 28 from 11am to 7pm. It will be curated with rare photographs, films, looped videos and other memorabilia examining the intricate roles of photography and film in addressing orientalism, modern statecraft, and citizenship.
"Actress Durga Khote starred in many films produced in studios in Bombay and Pune," said Niazi. Kolhapur's Shalini Studio, which was owned by Princess Akkasaheb, was where Khote starred in Baburao Painter's Ushaswapna and Pratibha (1937) and Parshwanath Yeshwant Altekar's Mahatma Vidur (1943).
Chitramahal is curated by FLAME University faculty members C Yamini Krishna, Sarah Niazi and Rutuja Deshmukh and will be held at the newly launched design space The Black Box on Pan Card Club Road, Baner.
It will feature a 1936 photograph of Maharaja Yashwant Rao Holkar II and his wife Sanyogita Raje Holkar, photographed by American visual artist Man Ray during their visit to Hollywood. The Europe-educated royal couple were prominent patrons of modernist art. They commissioned German architect Eckart Muthesius to build Indore's Manik Bagh palace. Rare film footages featuring the royal couple as protagonists and produced in Indore and Berlin will show visitors how photography and film were utilised to craft modern royal identities.
"Pursuing photography or even commissioning photographs of yourself and family was considered a way to show others that you are modern and wealthy. It was a time when even royalty wanted to be featured in films. Being caught on celluloid was absolutely thrilling. Photographers across countries travelled throughout India competing for aesthetics. The exhibition showcases some of the most talked-about photographs from the colonial era," said co-curator Krishna.
The exhibition will also house newspaper clippings related to photographs and films on display that will give visitors in-depth context for a bygone era.
"It shows how the film industry back then also offered performing women opportunities for reinvention and financial independence beyond traditional court entertainment roles," said Deshmukh sharing the compelling narrative of Mumtaz Begum, a courtesan who deserted Maharaja Tukoji Rao Holkar III's patronage and fled with the support of wealthy corporator Abdul Kadir Bawla. Their story took a tragic turn in Jan 1925 when the Maharaja's men ambushed them on Malabar Hill, resulting in Bawla's murder, though Mumtaz was rescued by British officers. Articles to be displayed on Mumtaz Begum show her declining roles in American and British films after being rescued from this attack.