What is "sindoor"

alt. A traditional red or orange cosmetic powder from India, usually worn by Hindu woman along the parting of the hair as a sign of marriage. n. A traditional red or orange cosmetic powder from India, usually worn by Hindu woman along the parting of the hair as a sign of marriage.

Sindooram (in Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Oriya, or Sindoor in Hindustani: सिन्दूर, سندور, Bengali: সিঁদুর and Gujarati: સિંદૂર) is a traditional red or orange-red colored cosmetic powder from India, usually worn by married women along the parting of their hair. Use of sindooram denotes that a woman is married in many Hindu communities, and ceasing to wear it usually implies widowhood. The main component of modern sindooram is usually vermilion. Traditionally, Sindooram is made from Bixa orellana pods, but commercial sindooram contains synthetic dyes and chemicals like Vermilion containing mercury and lead.

Sindoor is a 1987 Indian Bollywood film produced by A. Krishnamurthy on Tinu International Films on banner and directed by K. Ravi Shankar. It stars Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Govinda, Jaya Prada and Neelam Kothari in pivotal roles and music composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. The film is remade as Sumangali (1989) in Telugu, starring Krishnam Raju, Jaya Prada in lead roles.

Sindoor is a 1947 Hindi social film directed by Kishore Sahu. The film was produced Sasadhar Mukherjee Productions for Filmistan and had the actor Mehmood in one of his early films. The story, dialogues and part of the lyrics were written by Kishore Sahu. One of the lyricists was Qamar Jalalabadi, with music composed by Khemchand Prakash. The film starred Kishore Sahu, who played the hero, with Shamim, Paro Devi, Gulab, Mehmood, Pratima Devi, Sushil Sahu and Moni Chatterjee.

The film revolves around the social issue of widow remarriage and was cited as being of "social relevance". The theme of widow remarriage was considered "controversial" in the 1940s, with the film stated to be bold in showing the hero accepting the widow at the end of the film. The climax scene, according to a report in the Illustrated Weekly of India is "remembered" even now, with Sahu being cited as a "socially conscious film-maker".