Google 's Alam Ara Doodle -India's first talkie's hero was actually its heroine.

Surti Siren on Google Doodle


80th Anniversary of India’s first talkie Alam Ara.

Google’s doodle talk is back and how! Post an all women special logo for the 100TH International Women’s Day, Google’s search engine home page for India has now featured Zubeida, the legendary actress from Surat, on its new doodle. As a tribute to India’s first talkie-Alam Ara, on its 80th anniversary, the doodle is an artist’s impression of a scene from the movie.

Daughter of the Nawab of Sachin and Fatma Begum who was Bollywood’s first lady director, Zubeida made her debut at 12 with the movie Kohinoor and had already made her mark as an actress with Balidaan which was based on Tagore’s Sacrifice.

Highest paid actress of her times, with the title role Alam Ara, she had the box office coffers jingling and a stampede of sorts was created at Mumbai’s Majestic cinema where people thronged to catch a glimpse of her’ All talking, singing and dancing ‘ blockbuster.

Zubeida who plays a gypsy girl in the film,sang most of the songs in the movie, which were recorded, live at night within an indoor studio, to avoid outside noise by ‘microphones hidden in incredible places to keep out of camera range ‘as director Ardeshir Irani had once mentioned.

“Irani was able to foresee the profound impact sound would have on cinema. He raced to complete Alam Ara before several other contemporary sound films. The cast and crew faced a lot of hitches since sound proof stages were unheard of then. Mostly shot indoors and at night, since the studio was close to a railway track, they had to schedule shots between train timings or shoot after their services ceased.” Says music writer Aadil Bhoja.

“Zubeida was a beauty with a sensuous voice, luminescent skin and great presence. Watching her perform popular songs from the film like ‘Badla dilwayega yaar tu ab sitamgaro se” and ‘De de Khuda ke naam pe “(originally sung in the movie by Wazir Mohammed Khan) live during the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Alam Ara at Sanmukhananda Hall was a rare treat.” says Yasin Dalal, 65, ex head of department of Journalism and Mass Communication, at Saurashtra University, a staunch cinema buff from Rajkot, who has a video recording of the event,” Even as she stopped short after singing a few lines and shyly disclosed,”bhul gayi.”,the audience went gaga over this beauty from Gujarat, who said she was honoured and proud to have been part of this great film.”

Directed by Ardeshir Irani, the movie was a remake of the popular play Alam Ara written by Joseph David Penkar, a playwright from The Parsi Imperial Theaterical Company. While Prithviraj Kapoor played a character actor in the film, its lead master Vithal was sued by Sharda Studios for breach of contract by working for Imperial Movietone. M A Jinnah was then appointed to defend him.

Just as master Vithal ogles at Zubeida on the Google doodle, so also he had little to do and nothing to say in this first of its kind ‘All living .Breathing.100 percent talking’ film as it was advertised.Vithal being weak at Hindi diction was mostly shown unconscious or in a trance while the Surti siren held centre stage and sizzled onscreen.

India’s first talkie which was lost in silence when its last existing print was destroyed forever in a fire at the National Film Archives of India, has found a voice again and like it’s name-Alam Ara-proven to be the Light of the World ,glowing in our memory forever.