P K Rosy was the first Dalit and female actor in Malayalam cinema, and Google created a doodle in her honor on Friday to commemorate her 120th birthday. Rosy, who was born in 1903 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, immediately took a shine to the acting world. After starring as the lead female character in the 1928 film Vigathakumaran (The Lost Child), she gained widespread recognition. Her portrayal of an upper-caste woman in the movie sparked controversy, especially because of a scene in which the male protagonist kisses a flower in her hair. There are rumors that after Rosy's expulsion from the state, she boarded a lorry and headed to Tamil Nadu, where she eventually settled as "Rajamma" after marrying the truck's driver.
Though PK Rosy was never in the spotlight, her love of acting and the courage she displayed in acting in a film at a time when the job was considered inappropriate for women influenced and encouraged many women to enter the industry, which was previously entirely male-dominated. Therefore, in 2019, the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) launched a film society honoring PK Rosy, and named it ‘PK Rosy Film Society."
WCC said,
Many years after she stopped acting, her contribution to Malayalam cinema and society as a whole came to light. Google writes, "Thank you, PK Rosy, for your courage and the legacy you leave behind."
