Madame Azurie Explained

Madam Azurie
Birth Name:Anna Marie Gueizelor
Birth Date:1907/1916
Birth Place:Bangalore, British India (now in India)
Death Date:August 1998
Nationality:British India (1907/1916-1947)
Pakistani (1947-1998)
Occupation:Dancer and actress (film)
Years Active:1934-60
Spouse:Sayyed Allauddin Ahmed Gelani

Anna Marie Gueizelor better known as Azurie[1] or Madam Azurie[2] (1907, Banglore - 1998, Rawalpindi) was a classical dancer and actress in British India and later Pakistan. She starred in many Indian, Pakistani and Bengali films and is considered the first item dancer of the Indian film industry.[3] [4]

Personal life

Azurie was born as Anna Marie Gueizelor in 1907 (some accounts put it as 1916) in Bangalore, British India (now in Karnataka, India). Her mother was a Hindu Brahmin nurse while her father was a Jewish German doctor. When her parents separated, she lived with her father who encouraged her to study ballet but not eastern dance. He let his daughter study ballet and piano with a group of Russian emigrants. Azurie and her family moved to Bombay when she was in her adolescent years. Her father became a part of Three arts circle which allowed Azurie to interact with its organizer, Begum Atiya Fyzee-Rahamin. With Atiya, Azurie studied eastern arts and dance.[5] Azurie moved with Atiya when her father died.[6] [7] Azurie passed away in August 1998.[8]

Career

Azurie explored different dances of the subcontinent and studied under different masters. She soon became a part of the Bombay film industry. Her first film was Nadira. After that, She starred in many films like Pardesi Saiyaan, Qatl-e-Aam, The Bombay talkies and Naya Sansar. Azurie starred in more than 700 films and was well known for her dances. Movies were sold for Azurie's dance and she became a well-known item number dancer. She was also invited to Buckingham Palace for a dance performance.[9] Azurie also acted in Bengali films like Maya, Sonar Sansar and Lagna Bandhan.[10]

Pakistan

During this time she married a Muslim man and settled in Rawalpindi, Pakistan after independence.[11] [12] There she opened the academy of classical dance where Azurie taught for many years. Azurie also acted in a few Pakistani films but retired from it soon.[13] [14] She travelled with a group of artists and performed in different places.[15] [16]

In Islamabad, Azurie was a member of the board of the National Council of the Arts. She was founding member of the Pak-American Cultural Centre, in Karachi, where she taught classical dance for many years.[17] [18] [19]

Filmography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Iyer . Usha . The audacious and amazing Azurie, 'a League of Nations in whom every dance of the world is found' . 2020-12-07 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  2. Web site: Azurie . 2020-12-07 . Cinemaazi . en.
  3. Web site: Rehman . I. A. . 2020-11-05 . The end of spring . 2020-12-06 . DAWN.COM . en.
  4. Web site: Homegrown . How A Half-German Woman Became India's First Item Girl . 2020-12-06 . homegrown.co.in . en.
  5. Web site: WMC-Pakistan . 2014-11-22 . THE CITY'S UNSUNG WOMEN ARE ITS REAL HEROES, SAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS . 2020-12-06 . Women Media Center . en-US.
  6. Web site: Azurie – Cineplot.com . 2020-12-06 . en-US.
  7. Web site: Kathak dancer Adnan Jehangir performs in Italy – Business Recorder . 2020-12-06 . en-US.
  8. Web site: thebusiness.pk . Madam Azurie .
  9. Web site: Songs of Yore completes three years . 2020-12-06 . Songs Of Yore . en-GB.
  10. Web site: Kahlon . Sukhpreet . Brilliant, dazzling Azurie, Indian cinema's first dancing star . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112200423/https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2020/mar/10/24849 . live . 12 November 2020 . 2020-12-06 . Cinestaan.
  11. Web site: 2020-11-01 . Saleem Asmi — a journalist and a lover of artwork and music . https://web.archive.org/web/20240323165443/https://www.publishing-news.com/2020/11/01/saleem-asmi-a-journalist-and-a-lover-of-art-and-music/ . dead . 23 March 2024 . 2020-12-06 . Publishing News . en-US .
  12. Web site: Travelplannings, Pakistan . 2020-12-06 . www.travelplannings.it .
  13. Web site: 2020-10-31 . Saleem Asmi — a journalist and a lover of art and music . 2020-12-06 . The Express Tribune . en.
  14. Web site: What we learn from Saleem Asmi . 2020-12-06 . www.thenews.com.pk . en.
  15. Web site: Cinema Citizens . 2020-12-06 . INDIAN MEMORY PROJECT . en-US.
  16. Web site: worldchristquest . 2019-12-24 . Baloch ice cream karachi branches of christianity . 2020-12-06 . World Christ Quest . en.
  17. Web site: Iyer . Usha . The audacious and amazing Azurie, 'a League of Nations in whom every dance of the world is found' . 2020-12-06 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  18. Web site: Did 'U' Know - Additions in April 2020 . 2020-12-06 . narthaki.com.
  19. Web site: 2020-10-31 . Saleem Asmi – a journalist and a lover of artwork and music . 2020-12-06 . News Headlines, English News, Today Headlines, Top Stories ENGLISH HEADLINE . en-US .
  20. Web site: With 'Veere', the Women of Mumbai Cinema Are Taking Back Their Power . 2020-12-06 . The Wire.
  21. Web site: Suresh Complete Movies List from 2009 to 1935 . 2020-12-06 . www.bollywoodmdb.com.
  22. Iyer . Usha . 2014 . Film Dance, Female Stardom, and the Production of Gender in Popular Hindi Cinema . PhD dissertation . University of Pittsburgh .
  23. Web site: Search Results . 2020-12-06 . eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
  24. Book: Asmi . Saleem . Saleem Asmi: interviews, articles, reviews . Shāhid . Es Em . Rehman . I. A. . 2012 . S.M. Shahid . 978-969-8625-19-1 . Karachi.
  25. Web site: admin . The end of spring . 2020-12-06 . IBC ENGLISH latest News . en-US . 5 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201105113603/http://ibcenglish.net/index.php/2020/11/05/the-end-of-spring/ . dead .

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