Unknown Indian actress, who hid her identity for life

Merle-Oberon used to do bleach treatment to look fair, skin got damaged, reached Oscar

At that time the British were inflicting atrocities on Indians in the country. At that time an Indian girl was making people crazy about her beauty and killer looks in Hollywood. Indian Hollywood star Merle Oberon did more than one great films in the 'Black and White' era. Made a different identity in the field of acting. She became the first actress to be nominated for an Oscar in South Asia. Read the story of unsung actress Merle Oberon in her own country...

American author Mayukh Sen is working on bringing the story of Indian-origin actress Merle Oberon to the world from the perspective of South Asia. Sen said that in the year 2009, when I came to know that Merle Oberon was the first actress from South Asia, who was nominated for an Oscar. After that started watching his movies. Gradually, my interest in knowing about him grew. Then it came to know that the actress who spent the golden era in Hollywood never let many things of her life come in front of the world.

decided to become an actress after watching the film

Actress Merle Oberon was born in 1911 to an Anglo-Indian family in Bombay (now Mumbai). His father died in the year 1914. After this the family settled in Kolkata. Oberon started acting in the year 1920 through the 'Calcutta Amateur Society'. American writer Sen says in a conversation with BBC News, Merle Oberon saw the film 'The Dark Angel' in the year 1925, which was a silent movie. Inspired by the film's actress Wilma Banky, he decided to become an actor. An army colonel introduced him to a film director, Rex Ingram, who offered him a small role in one of his films. After this she went to France in the year 1928.

Oberon is in the memories of Kolkata...

According to the BBC, Oberon's mother Charlotte Shelby was a dark complexion, who lived with the daughter as a maid. In the year 2014, the documentary 'The Trouble with Merle' revealed that Shelby was Oberon's grandmother. However, the documentary mentions Tasmania as his place of birth. It says that Oberon came to India after the accidental death of her father. He referred to Tasmania as his hometown, while rarely mentioning Calcutta. However, he is mentioned in the memoirs of many Englishmen written about Calcutta between 1920 and 1930. It is also claimed that she was an operator on the switch board of a telephone exchange before becoming an actress.

Married to the filmmaker who gave the big break

British filmmaker Alexander Korda gave Merle Oberon her first major break by casting her in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933). Merle later married Alexander Korda. She got some more Hollywood films, after which she went to America. In the year 1935, he was nominated for an Oscar for his brilliant role in the film 'The Dark Angel'. Played the lead role in the film 'Classic Wuthering Heights'(1939), which was widely praised. In this he was accompanied by veteran actor Laurence Olivier. This made him a special place in Hollywood. Divorcing Korda in 1945, Oberon married American cinematographer Lucian Ballard.