Mary Ann Evans, also known by her married name Mary Evans Wadia and her stage name Fearless Nadia (8 January 1908 – 9 January 1996) was an actress and stuntwoman, who is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in Hunterwali (Woman with a whip) released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-lead Indian films.
The Search Engine Google is showing Doodle in India for Fearless Nadia’s 110th Birthday on Jan 8, 2018.
Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia. She was the daughter of Scotsman Herbertt Evans, a volunteer in the British Army, and Margret. They lived in Australia, before coming to India. Mary was one year old when Herbertt's regiment was seconded to Bombay. Mary came to Bombay in 1913 at the age of five with her father.
She had earlier tried her hand at a job in the Army & Navy Store in Bombay as a salesgirl and had at one point wanted to learn "short-hand and typing to get a better job".
She toured India as a theatre artist and began working for Zarko Circus in 1930. She was introduced to Hindi films by Jamshed "J.B.H." Wadia who was the founder of Wadia Movietone, the behemoth of stunts and action in 1930s Bombay.
In 1993, Nadia's great grandnephew, Riyad Vinci Wadia, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. After watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator, wrote Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated into English in 2005.
Vishal Bharadwaj's Hindi movie Rangoon supposedly portrays her life and times with Kangana Ranaut playing her role. Nadia married Homi Wadia in 1961 and thus became Nadia Wadia.
Her first film as a lead, Hunterwali, was a huge success. Nadia’s movies always had a cause – emancipation of women, social injustice or corruption. With each blockbuster, her stunts got more dangerous. She performed them without safety measures or even health insurance.
She led a happy and successful life, barring a rough patch when she was battling alcoholism. In her 50s, she married Homi Wadia after the death of the latter’s mother, who didn’t approve of Homi marrying a non-Parsi.
She also had a son in 1926 named Robert Jones. While the name of the father was never disclosed, Robert (who was nicknamed Bobby) was introduced as her cousin or her brother. It was only after her husband Homi officially adopted Bobby did they acknowledge their relationship. Saif Ali Khan’s character seems to be loosely based on Homi.
The Search Engine Google is showing Doodle in India for Fearless Nadia’s 110th Birthday on Jan 8, 2018.
Fearless Nadia was born as Mary Ann Evans on 8 January 1908 in Perth, Western Australia. She was the daughter of Scotsman Herbertt Evans, a volunteer in the British Army, and Margret. They lived in Australia, before coming to India. Mary was one year old when Herbertt's regiment was seconded to Bombay. Mary came to Bombay in 1913 at the age of five with her father.
She had earlier tried her hand at a job in the Army & Navy Store in Bombay as a salesgirl and had at one point wanted to learn "short-hand and typing to get a better job".
She toured India as a theatre artist and began working for Zarko Circus in 1930. She was introduced to Hindi films by Jamshed "J.B.H." Wadia who was the founder of Wadia Movietone, the behemoth of stunts and action in 1930s Bombay.
In 1993, Nadia's great grandnephew, Riyad Vinci Wadia, made a documentary of her life and films, called Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. After watching the documentary at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival, Dorothee Wenner, a German freelance writer, and film curator, wrote Fearless Nadia - The true story of Bollywood's original stunt queen, which was subsequently translated into English in 2005.
Vishal Bharadwaj's Hindi movie Rangoon supposedly portrays her life and times with Kangana Ranaut playing her role. Nadia married Homi Wadia in 1961 and thus became Nadia Wadia.
Her first film as a lead, Hunterwali, was a huge success. Nadia’s movies always had a cause – emancipation of women, social injustice or corruption. With each blockbuster, her stunts got more dangerous. She performed them without safety measures or even health insurance.
She led a happy and successful life, barring a rough patch when she was battling alcoholism. In her 50s, she married Homi Wadia after the death of the latter’s mother, who didn’t approve of Homi marrying a non-Parsi.
She also had a son in 1926 named Robert Jones. While the name of the father was never disclosed, Robert (who was nicknamed Bobby) was introduced as her cousin or her brother. It was only after her husband Homi officially adopted Bobby did they acknowledge their relationship. Saif Ali Khan’s character seems to be loosely based on Homi.
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