In Indian films during the 1920s and 1930s, Hindu and Muslim women were uncommon. Women showing their bodies to strangers on-screen was frowned upon and regarded as taboo. Male actors are more likely to play female roles than female actors. Men in saris played women in early 20th-century silent films, which featured all-male casts.
To find women for his films, Dadasaheb Phalke would go to the red light district, which is where he found the first Indian film, Raja Harishchandra, and scout for potential actresses. However, even women who would perform for him privately refused to do so in public.
For decades, four Indian Jewish women who were more liberal and open-minded stepped in to take on the industry’s female lead roles, pushing the boundaries and filling a long-requested void in the Indian Film Industry – and unquestionably in the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere. The long-forgotten history of the Indian Jewish community’s impact in India and its influence on Bollywood was recently explored by Indian Jewish actresses in the 2017 feature-length documentary Shalom Bollywood.
Source: https://www.thetempest.co/2021/04/28/history/jewish-actresses-bollywood/
