Before Amitabh Bachchan, Mukesh Khanna, Hritihk Roshan, India’s first superhero was not a male superstar but…
Who doesn’t love superhero movies? Bollywood filmmakers have often tried to create superhero films to rival Hollywood established franchises. As a result, masses have enjoyed films like Shaktimaan, Krrish and others. Even before Batman, Superman, Krrish or Ra-One was created, India cinema had produced a superhero film. The film was Hunterwali, an action flick featuring Fearless Nadia in the lead role.
Released in 1935, Hunterwali was about a princess who secretly becomes a masked hero to fight crime. The lead star was Nadia, who was also an Australian stuntwoman, born and bought up in India. While her stage name was Fearless Nadia, her real name was Mary Ann Evans. She performed all the stunts by herself including horseback riding, whip use, and even some deadly fight scenes.
Soon, Nadia began the talk of the town after the Hunterwali’s success. In 1930s, she was cast in several other stunt films playing as a mask woman in many of them. Some of her successes include, Miss Frontier Mail (1936), Diamon Queen (1940), and Jungle Princess (1942). In 1943, she reprised her role as Princess Madhuri in Indian cinema’s first-ever-sequel Hunterwali ki Beti. This, too, was a big success.
Nadia continued to act in stunt films for years. Later, she moved to do few character roles in a some films. Her final screen appearance was in the 1968 release, Khiladi. She passed away in the year 1996 at the age of 88. It was years after Bollywood saw more of superhero films like Amitabh Bachchan’s Ajooba, Anil Kapoor’s Mr India, Mukesh Khanna in Shaktimaan and more, but none of them could beat Hunterwali’s craze and success.
