PK Rosie’s Birthday: Google Doodle Celebrates First Malayalam Actress who is she
The Malayalam actress had to overcome many hurdles in her time. Apart from being a woman by profession, she faced stiff opposition because she belonged to the Dalit Christian community.
Google Doodle celebrated the 120th birth anniversary of Malayalam cinema’s first heroine PK Rosie on Friday. Born in 1903, Rosie was born in Rajamma, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
“Today’s doodle is P.K. Rosie is the first female lead in Malayalam cinema,” Google said on Friday.
On her penchant for acting, the tech giant praised the cinema icon, saying, “Rosie broke her barriers in the Malayalam film Vikatakumaran (The Lost) at a time when performing arts were not encouraged in many sections of society, especially for women. child). Although she never received recognition for her work during her lifetime, Rossi’s story is relevant to conversations about representation in the media. Today, his story serves as motivation and inspiration to many.
Who is PK Rossi?
The Malayalam actress had to overcome many hurdles in her time. Apart from being a woman by profession, she faced stiff opposition because she belonged to the Dalit Christian community. Her parents were daily wage laborers and Rosie took up jobs like cutting grass for a living, Kunal Ray, a cultural critic associated with LAME University in Pune, wrote in his review of ‘The Lost Heroine’ by author Vinu Abraham, based on the actress.
Rosy was also a prolific actor in kakkarisi natakams, a type of folk drama in Kerala that mixes both Tamil and Malayalam.
Her first film was Vikatakumaran (The Last Child, 1928) in which she played Sarojini, an upper-caste Nair girl. After the film’s release she received rave reviews and stones were pelted at her at the opening screening.
Ray’s account further mentions that because of the backlash, Rosie’s cottage was set on fire and forced to flee. In those days when acting was tantamount to prostitution, the film and Rosie faced a lot of criticism from several Hindu orthodox groups, Ray said.
Due to the protests, the film’s director and his co-star J.C. Daniel was forced into bankruptcy. No copy of his film Vikatakumaran could be found.
