East India Film Company
Encyclopedia
The East India Film Company was the first Indian film company to screen a movie at an International Film Festival. Started in 1932 in Calcutta by R. L. Khemka, it went on to be a pioneer in producing films across four regional film industries, namely Bengali
, Hindi, Tamil
, and Telugu
in the decade after its founding, till then production companies were restricted regionally.
studio, its location recording equipment, and its Mitchell Camera
s. In 1933, East India Film Company's first Bengali production, Jamuna Puline was released, with Priyanath Ganguli as the director after he left the Madan Theatre
. Riding on its success, the company became the first Bengali studio to venture into not just Hindi but also various South India
n languages. East India Film Company was soon producing a dozen movie releases per year, including several hits like Ramayan (Tamil) and Savithri (Telugu).
The East India Film Company's Seeta, made by Debaki Bose
, was the first talkie shown in an international film festival when it was shown in 1934 at the Venice Film Festival
, where it won an honorary diploma. Subsequently, Bose also made his noted film, Sonar Sansar (Hindi: Sunhera Sansar) in 1936 under the East India Film Company banner.
Shot in Calcutta on a lavish budget of Rs.75,000, East India Film Company's Sati Savithri was a huge hit. Based on a popular stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, the film was directed by debutant C. Pullaiah
and starred stage stalwarts Vemuri Gaggiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as Yama and Savithri, respectively. Like Seerta, this film was also shown in Venice Film Festival
, where it too won an honorary diploma.
Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema refers to the Bengali language filmmaking industries in the Bengal region of South Asia. There are two major film-making hubs in the region: one in Kolkata, West Bengal, India and the other in Dhaka, Bangladesh .The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s, when the first...
, Hindi, Tamil
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
, and Telugu
Telugu cinema
The Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, also referred to as Telugu Cinema or Tollywood, is the Telugu film industry in India. The Telugu language film industry is known for being one of the three largest in terms of no.of films produced yearly in India. The Prasads IMAX theatre in Hyderabad is one of the...
in the decade after its founding, till then production companies were restricted regionally.
History
The company was formed in 1932 by R. L. Khemka, a local businessman, after acquiring the RCA PhotophoneRCA Photophone
RCA Photophone was the trade name given to one of four major competing technologies that emerged in the American film industry in the late 1920s for synchronizing electrically recorded audio to a motion picture image. RCA Photophone was a sound-on-film, "variable-area" film exposure system, in...
studio, its location recording equipment, and its Mitchell Camera
Mitchell Camera
Mitchell Camera Corporation was founded in 1919 by Henry Boger and George Alfred Mitchell. Their first camera was designed and patented by John E. Leonard in 1917, from 1920 on known as the Mitchell Standard...
s. In 1933, East India Film Company's first Bengali production, Jamuna Puline was released, with Priyanath Ganguli as the director after he left the Madan Theatre
Madan Theatre
Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or in short, Madan Theatres was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema....
. Riding on its success, the company became the first Bengali studio to venture into not just Hindi but also various South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
n languages. East India Film Company was soon producing a dozen movie releases per year, including several hits like Ramayan (Tamil) and Savithri (Telugu).
The East India Film Company's Seeta, made by Debaki Bose
Debaki Bose
Debaki Bose , also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was a top director, writer, actor of Bengali cinema/Indian cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalpoush, Burdwan, Bengal, British India. He died on 17 November 1971 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is known for his innovative use of sound...
, was the first talkie shown in an international film festival when it was shown in 1934 at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, where it won an honorary diploma. Subsequently, Bose also made his noted film, Sonar Sansar (Hindi: Sunhera Sansar) in 1936 under the East India Film Company banner.
Shot in Calcutta on a lavish budget of Rs.75,000, East India Film Company's Sati Savithri was a huge hit. Based on a popular stage play by Mylavaram Bala Bharathi Samajam, the film was directed by debutant C. Pullaiah
C. Pullaiah
Chittajallu Pullaiah popularly known as C. Pullaiah is an eminent Telugu film director. He is one among those film personalities associated with the Telugu movie right from its silent movie days. His son C. S...
and starred stage stalwarts Vemuri Gaggiah and Dasari Ramathilakam as Yama and Savithri, respectively. Like Seerta, this film was also shown in Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
, where it too won an honorary diploma.
Filmography
- Sunehra SansarSunehra SansarSunehra Sansar is a 1975 Bollywood film directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Rajendra Kumar, with Mala Sinha as his wife, and Hema Malini as his past love, who has re-entered his life to seek vengeance for abandoning her years ago....
(1936) - Baghi Sipahi (1936)
- Murderer (1935)
- Selima (1935)
- Step Mother (1935)
- Chandra-Gupta (1934)
- Kismet Ki Kasauti (1934)
- Night Bird (1934)
- Seeta (1934)
- SultanaSultanaSultana may refer to:* "Sultâna", is the term used for the mothers of the Ottoman emperors if and only if the aforementioned mother of an ottoman emperor was acquired the title of "Valide Sultân"....
(1934) - Aurat Ka Pyar (1933)
- King for a Day (1933)
- Nala Damyanti (1933)
- Radha KrishnaRadha KrishnaRadha Krishna is a Hindu deity. Krishna is often referred as svayam bhagavan in Gaudiya Vaishnavism theology and Radha is a young woman, a gopi who is Krishna's supreme beloved. With Krishna, Radha is acknowledged as the Supreme Goddess, for it is said that she controls Krishna with Her love...
(1933)