Jamshedji Framji Madan
Encyclopedia
Jamshedji Framji Madan born in a Parsi family in Bombay, was one of the pioneers of the Indian film industry
.
boy in 1868. By 1875, this amateur club turned into a professional theatre company staging shows all over India.
. He moved to Calcutta in 1883. His success in a business of supplying goods to army cantonments enabled him to buy Corinthian Hall, where theatre shows used to be staged. Also, he took over the Elphinstone Theatre Company, where he started his career, from Cooverji Nazir, one of the founders of the theatre. Corinthian Hall was turned into Corinthian Theatre, and it became very popular for Parsi Theatre shows, which were full of grandeur and had women actors, a rarity in those days.
In 1902, he started bioscope show
s in a tent in Maidan
, Calcutta along with similar shows in Corinthian Theatre. The equipments used were procured from Pathé Frères of Paris
. Most of the films shown in those shows were from Pathé Productions. These bioscope shows were organized under the banner of Elphinstone Bioscope Company. Elphinstone Bioscope Company produced a number of short films. He also started film shows in Alfred Theatre, which he bought in the same year.
In 1907, he established Elphinstone Picture Palace (currently known as Chaplin Cinema), which was the first permanent show house in Calcutta. He also opened Madan Theatre and Palace of Varieties (now known as Elite Cinema).
After World War I
, his business started growing rapidly. In 1919, his film production business became a joint stock company
with the name of Madan Theatres Limited. Madan Theatre
s and its associates had great control over theatre houses in India during that period. In 1919, Madan produced the first Bengali feature film, Billwamangal
. It was first screened in the Cornwallis Theatre (now known as the Sree Cinema).
The Electric Theatre (now known as Regal Cinema), Grand Opera House (currently known as Globe Cinema) and Crown Cinema (now known as Uttara Cinema) were all owned by Madan Theatres.
, one of the early stars of Indian Cinema, acted in many of the movies produced by Madan Theatres.
Madan also took the initiative in obtaining the film rights for works of stalwarts of Bengali literature
like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore
. Madan Theatres produced films like Bishabriksha (1922 and 1928), Durgesh Nandini (1927) and Radharani (1930) based on Bankim Chandra's works. Giribala (1929) was based on Tagore's work.
J J Madan, third son of J F Madan, became managing director of Madan Theatres after JF's death in 1923. Madan Theatres reached a peak in the late 1920s when it owned 127 theatres and controlled half of the country's box office. Madan Theatres produced a number of popular and landmark films until 1937.
American actor Erick Avari
is a great-grandson of J J Madan.
Cinema of India
The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...
.
Early life
Madan's father suffered a huge monetary loss when Bombay Reclamation Bank, which was responsible for reclaiming land between the seven islands of Bombay, failed. JF Madan had to leave school, and he joined Elphinstone Dramatic Club as a propTheatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
boy in 1868. By 1875, this amateur club turned into a professional theatre company staging shows all over India.
Entrepreneur
In 1882, Madan left the theatre company and had a short successful stint in business at KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
. He moved to Calcutta in 1883. His success in a business of supplying goods to army cantonments enabled him to buy Corinthian Hall, where theatre shows used to be staged. Also, he took over the Elphinstone Theatre Company, where he started his career, from Cooverji Nazir, one of the founders of the theatre. Corinthian Hall was turned into Corinthian Theatre, and it became very popular for Parsi Theatre shows, which were full of grandeur and had women actors, a rarity in those days.
In 1902, he started bioscope show
Bioscope show
A Bioscope show was a fairground attraction consisting of a travelling cinema. The heyday of the Bioscope was from the late 1890s until World War I....
s in a tent in Maidan
Maidan (Kolkata)
The Maidan is the largest urban park in Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a vast stretch of field and home to numerous play grounds, including the famous cricketing venue Eden Gardens, several football stadia, and Kolkata Race Course. Maidan is dotted with several statues and...
, Calcutta along with similar shows in Corinthian Theatre. The equipments used were procured from Pathé Frères of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Most of the films shown in those shows were from Pathé Productions. These bioscope shows were organized under the banner of Elphinstone Bioscope Company. Elphinstone Bioscope Company produced a number of short films. He also started film shows in Alfred Theatre, which he bought in the same year.
In 1907, he established Elphinstone Picture Palace (currently known as Chaplin Cinema), which was the first permanent show house in Calcutta. He also opened Madan Theatre and Palace of Varieties (now known as Elite Cinema).
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, his business started growing rapidly. In 1919, his film production business became a joint stock company
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
with the name of Madan Theatres Limited. 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....
s and its associates had great control over theatre houses in India during that period. In 1919, Madan produced the first Bengali feature film, Billwamangal
Billwamangal
Billwamangal is a 1919 Bengali black-and-white silent film by Rustomji Dhotiwala. It is credited as the first Bengali feature film and was released on November 1, 1919 at Comwallis Theatre in Calcutta....
. It was first screened in the Cornwallis Theatre (now known as the Sree Cinema).
The Electric Theatre (now known as Regal Cinema), Grand Opera House (currently known as Globe Cinema) and Crown Cinema (now known as Uttara Cinema) were all owned by Madan Theatres.
Strategies for success
His films were marked by a high degree of technical sophistication, facilitated by his employment of experienced foreign directors like Eugenio De Liguoro, Camille Le Grand and Georgio Mannini. Such expertise was complemented by grand sets and popular mythological storylines which ensured good returns. Many of these films were versions of earlier popular theatrical forms. Liguoro directed Nala Damayanti (1920) and Dhruva Charitra (1921), Le Grand directed Ratnavali (1922), and Mannini directed Savitri Satyavan (1923). Patience CooperPatience Cooper
Patience Cooper was an Indian film actress. An Anglo-Indian from Calcutta , Cooper had a successful career in both silent and sound films. She was one of the early superstars of Bollywood. Cooper is credited with the first double roles of Indian cinema - as twin sisters in Patni Pratap and as...
, one of the early stars of Indian Cinema, acted in many of the movies produced by Madan Theatres.
Madan also took the initiative in obtaining the film rights for works of stalwarts of Bengali literature
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
. Madan Theatres produced films like Bishabriksha (1922 and 1928), Durgesh Nandini (1927) and Radharani (1930) based on Bankim Chandra's works. Giribala (1929) was based on Tagore's work.
Legacy
Madan and his relatives were involved in a variety of businesses including liquor imports, food, pharmaceutical products, real estate, insurance, etc. But among all these, Madan Theatre was the most well-known and most well-established. It spread over Burma and Ceylon, which were part of British India.J J Madan, third son of J F Madan, became managing director of Madan Theatres after JF's death in 1923. Madan Theatres reached a peak in the late 1920s when it owned 127 theatres and controlled half of the country's box office. Madan Theatres produced a number of popular and landmark films until 1937.
American actor Erick Avari
Erick Avari
Erick Avari is an Indian American television, film and theater actor known for his roles in various science-fiction serial productions.-Early life:...
is a great-grandson of J J Madan.