Begum Khurshid Mirza

Begum Khurshid Mirza (Urdu: بیگم خورشید مرزا ) (aka Renuka Devi (Hindi: रेणुका देवी ) (1918–1989) was a Pakistani television actress and film actress before the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

Early life

Begum Khurshid Mirza was born as Khurshid Jehan to Sheikh Abdullah and Waheed Jahan Begum, the founders of Women's College, where she had her education. Her father was a practising lawyer and philanthropist who was keen to bring education and enlightenment to Muslim women. Khurshid grew up in Aligarh and married in 1934 to a police officer Akbar Mirza.

Film career

Khurshid Mirza’s left the cloistered world of Aligarh and pursued film career in Bombay. Mostly associated with Bombay Talkies, she acted in few of their films including Bhakti (1939), Badi Didi (1939), Jeevan Prabhat (1937), Bhabhi (1938) and Naya Sansar (1941), under the screen name Renuka Devi. She moved to Lahore film industry and played leading roles in box-office hits Sahara (1943), Ghulami (1944) and Samrat ChandraGupta (1945). Besides acting, she also used to sing for her films.