Cuckoo Moray

Cuckoo Moray, also credited as Cuckoo or Cukoo (1928 – 30 September 1981), was an Anglo-Indian dancer and actress in Indian cinema.^[1] Cuckoo was the queen of film dancing in Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Though unfamiliar in name, she was known as the "rubber girl" of Hindi cinema and her talent made cabaret dancing a must in the Bollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s. It has been recently confirmed that Cuckoo's real name was Cuckoo Moray.^[2]

Born during the late British Raj, Cuckoo made her screen debut in the film Arab Ka Sitara in 1946. Soon after in Stum Chandi, directors and greater audiences noticed her dancing abilities for the first time. Then, the turning point in Cuckoo's career was in Mehboob Khan's films. Her dance number in his film Anokhi Ada (1948) established her as the lead dancer of the era and in Andaz (1949), a romantic drama starring Nargis, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor, gave the dancing star an opportunity to display her acting skills. In Mehboob Khan's 1952 technicolor film Aan, which was her first colour film, she had a brief cameo in a dance sequence. She only appeared in 2 colour films in her career Aan & Mayurpankh. She would charge Rs 6,000^[3] for a dance number, an enviable fee in the 50s.^[4]

Cuckoo remained the top dancer in Hindi films until dancers such as Helen and Vyjayanthimala came into the industry. Cuckoo was a family friend of the Anglo-Burmese dancer and actress Helen. She was also known for helping unknown actors get their break in Bollywood, such as Pran in Ziddi. Cuckoo had introduced a 13-year-old Helen into films as a chorus dancer in films such as Shabistan and Awaara (both 1951). Cuckoo and Helen most notably appeared in song and dance sequences together, such as in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) and Yahudi (1958). Her last film appearance was in Mujhe Jeene Do in 1963 after which, she had disappeared from the film industry.

Cuckoo was fond of luxury and reportedly had three luxury cars, one was used by her, the other meant for her pet dog and the last one by Helen. She owned several apartments and a lot of jewelry but is said to have lost them for violating income tax rules.^[5] Because of this, she had no money left. As her fortunes dwindled, she battled terminal cancer, dying at the age of 52.^[6] Cuckoo died on 30 September 1981 due to cancer^[3] at the age of 53. At the last moment, the situation became such that the film industry left her in oblivion. There was no money even to buy medicines, due to which Cuckoo could not get herself treated and no one from the film industry came forward to help her. She was forgotten and unattended by the film industry at the time of her death.

• Cuckoo Moray at IMDb
• Full filmography and biography of Cuckoo (in French)