Patience Cooper (1905 - 1983) was an Indian film actress. An Anglo-Indian from Calcutta (in West Bengal), Cooper had a successful career in in both silent and sound films.
Stage career
Cooper started out as a dancer in Bandmann's Musical Comedy, an Eurasian troupe. She later joined Jamsetji Framji Madan's Corinithian Stage Company (a theatre company which later became Madan Theatres Limited, a company involved in production, distribution and exhibition of films in India) as an actress.
Film Career
Starting with her first film, Vishnuavtar (Incarnations of Vishnu) in 1921, Cooper acted in over 40 films, until she quit in 1944, after acting in her last film Iraada (Intent). Cooper was often cast in the roles of, a sexually troubled but innocent woman, always at the centre of moral dilemmas. Cooper was the first actor in Indian films to play double roles. She played the role of two sisters in Patni Pratap (1923) and the role of a mother and daughter in Kashmiri Sundari (Beauty of Kashmir) (1924).
Her distinctively Anglo-Indian features like dark, sharp eyes and light skin tone allowed technicians to experiment with the imported technique of eye-level lighting and achieve the Hollywood look, an appearance similar to Hollywood stars of the silent era. Her appearance in a string of successful films has led her to being called, the first ever Indian female film star.
Filmography
- 1944, Iraada
- 1943, Rani
- 1937, Fakhre Islam
- 1936, Noor-e-Wahadat
- 1935, Asmat Ka Moti
- 1934, Kanya Vikraya
- 1934, Khyber Pass
- 1933, Madhur Murli
- 1933, Nakli Doctor
- 1933, Zehari Saap
- 1932, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
- 1932, Bilwamangal
- 1932, Chatra Bakavali
- 1932, Educated Wife
- 1932, Hathili Dulhan
- 1932, Pati Bhakti
- 1931, Bibhaha Bibhrat
- 1931, Bharati Balak
- 1930, Rajsingha
- 1930, Kal Parinaya
- 1923, Bharat Ramani
- 1929, Kapal Kundala
- 1928, Bhrantri
- 1927, Durgesh Nandini
- 1927, Chandidas
- 1927, Jana
- 1926, Jaidev
- 1926, Krishnakanter Will
- 1926, Dharampatni
- 1926, Profulla
- 1925, Sati Lakshmi
- 1924, Patni Pratap
- 1923, Nurjehan
- 1923, Matri Sneha
- 1922, Bhagirathi Ganga
- 1922, Nartaki Tara
- 1922, Pati Bhakti
- 1922, Ramayan
- 1922, Ratnavali
- 1921, Dhruva Charitra
- 1921, Mohini
- 1921, Nala Damayanti
- 1921, Vishnuavtar