As a way of honouring PK Rosy, Malayalam cinema’s first female lead, on her 120th birth anniversary, Google on Friday, February 10, dedicated their doodle for the actor. But PK Rosy’s relevance in the history of Malayalam cinema goes way beyond the fact that she was the first female lead in the industry. As a woman, who belonged to the Pulaya community, which is classified as Scheduled Caste, Rosy was hounded out of the state, for daring to play the role of an upper caste Nair woman in the 1930 film Vigathathakumaran, directed by JC Daniel.
In 2019, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC), in an effort to restore the actor’s name, had launched a film society in her name and the collective in their statement had said, “This act of naming our film society a PK Rosy Film Society is a humble attempt to be sensitive and to take note of all those who have been excluded from dominant cinema histories through their gender, caste, religious or class locations and our own imagination, and have been brought to light by many scholars, historians and activists."
Read more about PK Rosy here: PK Rosy's story: How Malayalam cinema's first woman actor was forced to leave the state
Born as Rajamma in 1903, to Paulose and Kunji, PK Rosy, used to work as a grass cutter, while also showing an avid interest in acting. She picked up the folk art form of Kakkarissi Natakam from the traditional school of performing arts. This was an art form which originated from Tamil Nadu and uses a mix of Malayalam and Tamil in a musical drama format.
When JC Daniel’s Vigathakumaran was screened in Thiruvananthapuram, it is said that the audience was angry that Rosy, a Dalit woman played the role of a Nair woman. The angered crowd is also said to have pelted stones at the screen, damaging it. Rosy was subjected to severe harassment following this, forcing her to leave Thiruvananthapuram. Some accounts even say that her hut was burnt down by the upper caste groups. She is said to have married a truck driver named Kesava Pillai and left to Tamil Nadu, where she named herself 'Rajammal'.