A doodle created by Google on Friday commemorated the 120th birthday of PK Rosy, the first female lead in Malayalam cinema. According to Google, Rosy’s story is relevant to discussions about media representation and serves as an inspiration to many.
In the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, PK Rosy was born in 1903. Google gave the actress high marks for her performance, saying, “Rosy broke barriers with her role in the Malayalam film Vigathakumaran (The Lost Child) in an era when performing arts were discouraged in many sections of society, especially for women.” Rosy’s story is relevant to discussions about media representation, despite the fact that she was never recognized for her work. Today, many people are inspired and motivated by her story.”
Rosy faced a lot of challenges as a child, and because she was from the Dalit-Christian community, she encountered a lot of resistance from different parts of society. Rosy’s upbringing was very humble because both of her parents bet every day and she worked small jobs to support her family.
Rosy once excelled in Kakkarissi plays, a type of folk theater in Kerala that combines Tamil and Malayalam.
She portrayed Sarojini, a high-caste Nair girl, in her debut film, Vigathakumaran (The Lost Child), which was released in 1928. After the film, the actress received a lot of criticism, and stones were thrown at Rosy at the first screening. She was opposed by orthodox religious groups that saw movies as equivalent to prostitution. Rosy was forced to flee her home, which the social groups later set on fire.
The film’s co-actor, JC Daniel, went bankrupt as a result of this backlash, and no copies of the film can be found.