Begum Para

Begum Para is also known as Zubeda Ul Haq. She was an Indian Hindi film actress and costume designer. She had predominantly worked in the 1940s and 1950s. She was born on December 25, 1926. She was born in Jhelum, Punjab. It is in Pakistan, now. Her father, Mian Ehsan-ul-Haq, was a chief justice. She married to Nasir Khan, younger brother of Dilip Kumar, actor. The couple had three children; Ayub Khan, the actor, is the son of Begum Para. Begum Para made her debut in the film ‘Chand’ released in 1944. Further, she appeared in movies like ‘Sohni Mahiwal’ (1946), ‘Zanjeer’ (1947), ‘Neel Kamal’ (1947) and many more.

Her family belonged to Aligarh. She spent her childhood days in Bikaner. She completed her education at Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh, India. Her elder brother’s name is Masrurul Haq who went to Bombay in the late 1930s to become an actor. There, he met the Bengali actress Protima Dasgupta and married her. She is the aunt of Rukhsana Sultana, an Indian socialite. Begum Para married actor and filmmaker Nasir Khan, who died in 1974. She had three children, namely Lubna, Nadir, and Ayub Khan. Following her husband’s death, she moved to Pakistan in 1975 with her family. Two years later, she returned to India. She had three granddaughters, namely Kichu Dandiya, a jewellery designer, Zohra Khan, and Tahura Khan. Begum Para’s first break was in a 1944 film from Prabhat Studios in Poona. In the movie, Prem Adib is the hero, and Sitara Devi is the vamp. She started getting paid about rupees fifteen hundred a month.

The following year, Begum Para and her sister-in-law Protima made a film, “Chhamia,” is based on the novel “Pygmalion.” After that, she signed many films but couldn’t establish herself as an actress. She got roles as a glamour doll in most films because of her highly scandalous image. Begum Para did “Mehendi” (1947) with Nargis, “Neel Kamal” (1947) with Raj Kapoor, “Jhalka” (1948), “Suhaag Raat” (1948) with Geet Bali & Bharat Bhushan, and “Meherbani” (1950) with Ajit Khan. In 1951, she worked in the action film “Ustad Pedro,” directed and produced by Sheikh Mukhtar. The same year, she posed for a Life magazine photo shoot for photographer James Burke. Begum Para’s last role was in the film “Kar Bhala” in 1956.

In 1960, she was also offered to portray Nigar Sultana’s role ‘Bahar’ in an Indian epic historical drama film “Mughal-e-Azam,” directed & produced by K. Asif. However, she refused to play the role in the movie, as she thought it was against her image. After almost fifty years of absence in the film industry, she returned to films for acting. In 2007, she made a comeback on the silver screen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film “Saawariya.” In the movie, she played the role of Sakina’s grandmother. Begum Para died on 9th December 2008. She was 81 years of age when she died.