Fearless Nadia – The Original Stunt Queen of Bollywood

Who doesn’t like a film with action-drama and fight scenes? Indian Cinema has never failed to present films full of such action-drama. Consequently, the Cinema industry in India, like any other cinema industry demands stunt persons to fill up as stunt doubles for actors on the screen. This made it possible for stunt works to be a profession and art. Stunt persons are the unsung heroes of the cinema world. At its initiation, Indian Cinema didn’t use women for the roles of female characters. Similarly, the existence of female stunt persons was very rare. However, history did come across a female stunt person who shone like an icon and stood up as a symbol of sheer excellence and art.

‘Fearless Nadia’ is a name that stood tall in Indian Cinema during the early 1900s. She was a stuntwoman who performed in Indian Cinema. Hailing from Australia, her real name is Mary Ann Evans. She was born on 8th January 1908, in Perth, Western Australia and died on 9th January 1996. Her legacy inspired many for years and people remember her as the original stunt queen of Bollywood. Her skills and beauty made her acquire the reference of a ‘sex symbol’ too.

Her advent to India happened in 1928, when she came to Bombay (Mumbai). Her mother and a son, Robert Jones accompanied her. Prior to that in 1915, the Germans martyred her father during the World War I. Due to this untimely tragedy, Nadia and her family moved to Peshawar (now in Pakistan). She stayed in the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) for some time before returning to Bombay. It was during her stay there that she acquired skills of horseback riding, hunting, fishing and shooting. After coming to Bombay, she started studying ballet and was trained by Madam Astrova.

Prior to coming into the performing arts, Nadia took up a job as a sales girl in the Army & Navy Store in Bombay. She expressed that she desired to learn “short-hand and typing to get a better job”. With Madam Astrova’s troupe, she performed in front of British soldiers and at military bases. Her performance places also included the likes of crowds in small towns and villages. She also performed for the Indian royalty. As she was navigating through all of these experiences, she also learned the art of cartwheels and splits. Her excellence in these skills later helped her during her film stunts.

Her career in performing arts started with the theatre arts. She toured India as a theatre artist. In 1930, she started performing with Zako Circus. It was during her venture in the world of theatre arts when she learned about Indian Cinema. Jamshed “J.B.H” Wadia, the founder of Wadia Movietone, which was a pioneer of stunts and action in the 1930s, introduced her to Indian Cinema.

Initially, J.B.H was confused and hesitant when Nadia insisted on giving a shot for the movies. However, he eventually decided to try his luck and let her do a cameo as a slave girl. The cameo was part of a hand-painted colour sequence, which highlighted her blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. Desh Deepak was the film, where she did the cameo. Her role as Princess Parizaad in Noor-e-Yaman followed this. Soon she turned out to be a big hit among the audience. Her skills at performing circus and other stunts helped her outshine others in the industry. Homi, the younger brother of J.B.H joined him later and decided to turn Nadia into a star.

History, the industry, the audience, people mostly remember her as the Hunterwali. Hunterwali was a hindi language Bollywood film released in 1935. It was an action film, which the Wadia Movietone released with Fearless Nadia as the heroine. Her role was that of a masked crusader who fought injustice. She used a whip as her weapon.

Hunterwali was an epitome of success for both Nadia and the Wadia Movietone. Also, the film marked Nadia's first lead role. What amazed the audience more were the applause deserving stunts, which she performed a lot in the film. The film, a blockbuster set the base for the formation of Nadia's cult icon image which lasted over the years till today. Other filmmakers started taking her in their films and she went on to become the most popular stunt actress of her time. Apart from her stunts, it was also her dialogues, which caught the audience’s attention. One such dialogue of the film, which managed to win the audience’s heart the most was "Aaj se mein Hunterwaali hun (from today, I am the woman with the whip)". Other instances from the film which set the audience’s liking to gain absolute momentum, was when she lifted a man over her head. In that moment, her sidekicks would pirouette on the sidess around her, while she performed gymnastics amidst a sequence. Such action packed sequences went on to be a staple of her films later.

In the film "Jungle Princess (1942)" Nadia performed with two lions and two lionesses. She narrated in a 1989 BBC Interview how she worked with the lions. She also stated that all her stunts prior to that had been quite dangerous. She asserted that she looked at the lion’s eyes without blinking just like her trainer advised her. Soon the lions started following her and she pulled their tails, sat on them and opened their mouths.

Nadia was also a feminist icon. She set herself apart from the damsel in distress trope, which was ruling the Indian film industry in the 40s. Nadia's legacy still stands tall and inspires many. Riyad Vinci Wadia, Nadia's grear grandnephew documented her life and films. The documentary was titled, "Fearless: The Hunterwali Story". The role of Kangana Ranaut in Vishal Bharadwaj's film “Rangoon" was inspired by Nadia. She will forever remain as an icon of beauty, power and elegance.