Ruby Myers

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Indian actress (1907–1983)

title: "Ruby Myers" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1907-births", "1983-deaths", "indian-people-of-iraqi-jewish-descent", "indian-silent-film-actresses", "actresses-in-hindi-cinema", "indian-jews", "jewish-actresses", "dadasaheb-phalke-award-recipients", "actresses-from-pune", "20th-century-indian-actresses", "actresses-from-mumbai", "20th-century-indian-jews", "baghdadi-jews", "jewish-indian-film-people", "actresses-in-gujarati-cinema"] description: "Indian actress (1907–1983)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_Myers" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indian actress (1907–1983) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameSulochana
imageSulochana in the 1920s.jpg
imagesize220px
captionSulochana in the 1920s
birth_nameRuby Myers
birth_date1907
birth_placePoona, Bombay Presidency, British India
death_date
death_placeBombay, Maharashtra, India
occupationActress
yearsactive1925–1983
::

| name = Sulochana | image = Sulochana in the 1920s.jpg | imagesize = 220px | caption = Sulochana in the 1920s | birth_name = Ruby Myers | birth_date = 1907 | birth_place = Poona, Bombay Presidency, British India | death_date =
| death_place = Bombay, Maharashtra, India | occupation = Actress | yearsactive = 1925–1983 | spouse = | othername = Ruby Myers (1907 – 10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana, was an Indian silent and later Hindi film actress. In her heyday she was one of the highest paid actresses of her time, when she was paired with Dinshaw Billimoria in Imperial Studios films. In the mid-1930 she opened Rubi Pics, a film production house. Myers was awarded the 1973 Dada Saheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema for lifetime achievement.

Early life

Ruby Myers was born in 1907 in Poona, British India into an Baghdadi Jewish family.

Film career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Sulochana_Indira_M.A._(cropped).jpg" caption="Myers in ''Indira M.A.'' (1934)"] ::

The self-named Sulochana was among the early female stars of Indian cinema.

She was working as a telephone operator when she was approached by Mohan Bhavnani of Kohinoor Film Company to work in films. She initially turned him down as acting was regarded as quite a dubious profession for women those days. However Bhavnani persisted and she finally agreed, despite having no knowledge of acting. She became a star under Bhavnani's direction at Kohinoor before moving on to the Imperial Film Company where she became the highest paid movie star in the country.

Among her popular films were Typist Girl (1926), Balidaan (1927) and Wildcat of Bombay (1927).

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Sulochana_et_D.Billimoria_dans_Heer_Ranjah(1929).jpg" caption="D. Billimoria]] in ''Heer Ranjah'' (1929)"] ::

Three romantic films in 1928-29 with director R.S. Chaudhari - Madhuri (1928), Anarkali (1928) and Indira B.A. (1929) saw her at her peak of fame in the silent film era. When a short film on Mahatma Gandhi inaugurating a khadi exhibition was shown, alongside it was added a popular dance of Sulochana's from Madhuri, synchronised with sound effects.

With the coming of sound, Sulochana found a lull in her career, as it now required an actor to be proficient in Hindustani. Taking a year off to learn the language, she made a comeback with the talkie version of Madhuri (1932).

Further talkie versions of her silent hits followed, with Indira [now an] M.A. (1934), Anarkali (1935) and Bombay Ki Billi (1936). Sulochana was back with a bang. She was drawing a salary of Rs. 5000 per month, she had the sleekest of cars (Chevrolet 1935) and one of the biggest heroes of the silent era, D. Billimoria, as her lover with whom she worked exclusively between 1933 and 1939. They were an extremely popular pair - his John Barrymore-style opposite her Oriental 'Queen of Romance'. But once their love story ended so did their careers. Sulochana left Imperial to find few offers forthcoming. She tried making a comeback with character roles but even these were few. Sulochana established her own film studio, Rubi Pics, in the mid-1930s.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Sulochana_publicity_still_from_Prem-Ki-Jyot_(1939).jpg" caption="Sulochana in a publicity still from ''Prem Ki Jyot'' (1939)"] ::

In 1947, Morarji Desai banned Jugnu, because it showed the "morally reprehensible" act of an aging fellow professor falling for Sulochana's vintage charms. In 1953, she acted in her third Anarkali, but this time in a supporting role as Salim's mother.

Later life and death

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Ruby_Myers_2013_stamp_of_India.jpg" caption="title=Female Pioneers in International Cinema – Ruby Myers aka Sulochana}}"] ::

[[File:Wildcat of Bombay 1927 (silent) (14245524943).png|thumb|150px|Still from the Wildcat of Bombay (1927)]]

Selected filmography

Her films include Cinema Queen (1926), Typist Girl (1926), Balidaan (1927), Wildcat of Bombay (1927) in which she played eight different characters, which was remade as Bombay Ki Billi (1936); Madhuri (1928), which was re-released with sound in 1932; Anarkali (1928), remade in 1945; Indira B.A (1929); Heer Ranjah (1929), and many others, such as Baaz (1953). ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Sulochana_dans_Daku_Ki_Ladki_(1933).jpg" caption="In ''Daku Ki Ladki'' (1933)"] ::

References

References

  1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100428060330/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/91437 Ruby Myers, Sulochana - Biography] ''[[British Film Institute]]''.
  2. Tatna, Meher. (2022-03-14). "Female Pioneers in International Cinema – Ruby Myers aka Sulochana".
  3. [http://www.indiaheritage.org/perform/cinema/person/silentstar.htm Silent Screen Stars'] India Heritage:Performing Arts:Cinema In India:Personalities:Silent Screen Stars.
  4. "Dada Saheb Phalke Award Overview". Directorate of Film Festivals.
  5. [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071209/spectrum/main6.htm Queens of hearts] ''[[The Tribune (Chandigarh). The Tribune]]'', 9 December 2007.
  6. "Ruby Mayer ''IMDb''".
  7. Hansen, Kathryn. (1998). "Stri Bhumika: Female Impersonators and Actresses on the Parsi Stage". Economic and Political Weekly.
  8. "Remembering Ruby Myers (1907–10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana on her 111th birth anniversary.".
  9. "October 10: Bollywood’s Sulochana".
  10. "Female Pioneers in International Cinema – Ruby Myers aka Sulochana".
  11. "Shelcom – The Untold story of Bollywood Hear the Rarest story".
  12. "40 SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF INDIAN CINEMA PIONEERS WHO WORKED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1897 - 1947".
  13. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070107125902/http://www.madurainetwork.com/india/dadasahebphalkeaward.html Madurainetwork.com - Dada Saheb Phalke Award]
  14. "40 SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF INDIAN CINEMA PIONEERS WHO WORKED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1897 - 1947".
  15. Chowdhury, Anindita. (2020-02-13). "Ruby Myers: The Jewish-Indian Mega Film Star We Don't Remember {{!}} #IndianWomenInHistory".
  16. "Female Pioneers in International Cinema – Ruby Myers aka Sulochana".
  17. "Female Pioneers in International Cinema – Ruby Myers aka Sulochana".
  18. "Shelcom – The Untold story of Bollywood Hear the Rarest story".
  19. "Remembering Ruby Myers (1907–10 October 1983), better known by her stage name Sulochana on her 111th birth anniversary.".

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1907-births1983-deathsindian-people-of-iraqi-jewish-descentindian-silent-film-actressesactresses-in-hindi-cinemaindian-jewsjewish-actressesdadasaheb-phalke-award-recipientsactresses-from-pune20th-century-indian-actressesactresses-from-mumbai20th-century-indian-jewsbaghdadi-jewsjewish-indian-film-peopleactresses-in-gujarati-cinema