Ruby Myers’ (1907-1983) screen name was Sulochana (and later also Sulochana Sr.). Myers’ standing as the biggest star of the 1920s is now part of urban lore. Apparently, she was the highest paid actor of the period, and her salary was higher than the Governor of Bombay.
Ruby Myers was born in 1907 in Pune. Chubby, petite and brown-eyed, the self-named Sulochana was among the early Eurasian 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. Though excited by the offer, she turned him down as
acting was regarded as quite a dubious profession for women those days. However
Bhavnani persisted with his offer and she finally agreed, despite having no
knowledge of acting whatsoever. 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) where she essayed eight roles including a gardener, a policeman, a Hyderabadi gentleman, a street urchin, a banana seller and a European blonde.
Three romantic super
hits 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. In fact so widespread was her fame that when a short film on Mahatma
Gandhi inaugurating a khadi exhibition was shown, alongside it was added a
hugely popular dance of Sulochana's from Madhuri, synchronized with sound
effects.
With the coming of
sound, Sulochana suddenly 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 grand comeback with the talkie version of Madhuri (1932).
Further talkie
versions of her silent hits followed and 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' image.
But once their love
story ended so did their careers.
Sulochana left
Imperial to find few offers forthcoming. Newer, younger and more proficient
actresses had entered the scene. She tried making a comeback with character
roles but even these were few.
However, she still had
the power to excite controversy. In 1947, Morarji Desai banned the Dilip Kumar
- Noor Jehan starrer, Jugnu, because it showed such a morally reprehensible act
as 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.
She finally died
lonely and forgotten in 1983 in her flat in Mumbai. A sad end for the woman who
once became famous for drawing a larger salary than the Governor of Bombay and
who even acted in a film named after her - Sulochana (1933).
She was awarded the
1973 Dada Saheb Phalke Award, India's highest award in cinema for lifetime
achievement.
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