Devika Rani Chaudhuri widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema met Himanshu Rai, an Indian film-producer, who persuaded her to join his production crew in 1928. Devika assisted in costumes design and art direction for Rai’s film A Throw of Dice 1929 after which the two got married.
Rai sent Devika to Germany to learn film-making in the UFA Studios in Berlin and on her return, cast her as heroine in the 1933 talkie Karma. Rai established a production studio, Bombay Talkies, and produced several successful films with Devika Rani portraying the lead roles.
After Himansu Rai’s death in 1940, Devika Rani took charge of Bombay Talkies and produced films in partnership with Ashok Kumar and Sashadhar Mukherjee. These films did not prove successful and in 1945 Devika Rani quit the film industry. Devika Rani was the first woman studio owner of Hindi cinema.
To be continued