Google Doodle pays tribute to legendary Malayali actress PK Rosy
If you belong to the southern part of India, you must have heard about the legendary Malayali actress PK Rosy. Recently, on her 120th birth anniversary, Google paid her tribute through their unique Google Doodle.
Deemed as the first female lead in Malayali cinema and also the first Dalit actress in the whole of Indian cinema, PK Rosy was born as Rajamma on 10th February 1903 in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. She is best remembered for breaking barriers with her role of Sarojam in the 1928 black and white Malayali film Vigathakumaran (or The Lost Child in English) where she acted opposite J.C. Daniels who also directed the film. It was her debut movie where she played the role of someone exactly opposite to her in real life, that of a upper caste Nair woman. But back in those days, this was not received well by the audience and was met with harsh criticism. In fact, stones were hurled at her during the inaugural screening of the film. She even faced opposition from various other orthodox religious groups who often considered acting as equivalent to prostitution. Matters became such that Rosy was forced to escape from her own home which was later burned down by such conservative social groups.
While no copy of the film can be traced in the present-day as it was completely erased in the aftermath of the backlash, that didn’t stop Rosy from following her dreams. She acted in a few other films as well as Kakkarissi plays (a folk art form in Kerala where music and theatre are blended together in harmony) as part of the “Cheramar Kalavedi” (a progressive association of artists spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala) in a time when performing arts were discouraged for women.
However, it didn’t take long for Rosy to realise that her career had the potential to harm her near and dear ones. That is why she retired within a few years and led a life of seclusion under a different name until her death in 1988. She married an upper caste man maned Kesava Pillai and the couple had two children.
Unfortunately, despite shattering the glass ceiling, Rosy failed to earn any recognition during her lifetime. However, till date, her inspirational life story is relevant, especially when it comes to representation of minorities in media, both in terms of being a Dalit as well as a woman. In fact, today, her story serves as motivation to many and Malayali actresses continue her legacy by naming themselves after her.
Being part of the Dalit Christian community since childhood, Rosy faced extreme discrimination from several spheres of the society. It was worse because both of her parents were humble daily earners. Not only that, Rosy herself did menial jobs as a kid to support herself and her family, long before stepping into the entertainment industry.
Many claim that she gave herself the name Rosy, the short of Rosamma when she became a actress. Interestingly, Rosy was long forgotten until her name was dug out by a film critic Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan in the 1960s. A decade later, another critic Kunnukuzhi published the first ever article about her. In 2013, a film named Nashta Nayika was made by Malayali filmmaker Vinu Abraham that is loosely based on Rosy’s life. Two more films have also been made to honour her including The Lost Child and Ithu Rosiyude Katha (This is Rosy’s Story) in recent years.