Explore the legacy of Bombay Talkies, India’s pioneering corporate film studio. Founded in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Just as today India has corporate film studio companies like Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd., Dharma Productions Pvt. Ltd., Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd., Eros International Media Ltd., etc., likewise Bombay Talkies was India’s first corporate film studio that ruled the 30s and 40’s and launched top stars like Devika Rani, Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, and others.
Bombay Talkies, uniquely, was a listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). It operated with a board of directors, issued public shares, and paid dividends and bonuses. The studio also ran a trainee program, hiring university aspirants, training them, and then assigning roles.
The Foundation Of Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies was founded by filmmakers Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. The duo first met in London, where Himanshu Rai was making a film, Light Of Asia (1925), on the life of Gautam Buddha. Devika Rani was the set designer. Love blossomed, and subsequently, they married. They returned to Mumbai with the dream of building a world-class film studio. Thus came up Bombay Talkies. It was built in the suburb of Western Mumbai’s Malad region and was equipped with state-of-the-art equipment from Germany and British talent. The studio had every facility, ranging from sound- and echo-proof film shooting sets, laboratories, and editing rooms to a preview theater.
The film studio hired international technical crew like cinematographer Josef Wirsching, art director Karl von Spretti, and director Franz Osten. Bombay Talkies revolutionized Indian filmmaking, breaking from mythological or fantasy trends to establish a new style. Their debut film was a murder mystery Jawani Ki Hawa (1935), with Devika Rani and Najamul Hussain. The film was a huge hit as it was a suspenseful love story that the Indian audience had never watched.
The Successful Projects Premiered In Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies‘ next Achhut Kanya, with Ashok Kumar as the new hero, was India’s first major box office hit film. The tragic love story between a low-caste girl and a Brahmin boy won the Indian hearts. Soon the Rani and Kumar Jodi became hit and Bombay Talkies gave several hit films like Jeevan Naiya, Kangan, Bandhan, Jhoola, etc.
The biggest box office blockbuster produced by Bombay Talkies was Kismet (1943), directed by Gyan Mukherjee. The film was such a hit that it ran for over three years at the Roxy cinema in Kolkata.
After the death of Himanshu Rai in 1940, Devika Rani took the reins of Bombay Talkies, but after World War II the British government jailed the German technicians working at Bombay Talkies. This was the first jolt to Bombay Talkies. Later, Devika had a stiff within the board of directors consisting of a rebel group led by Ashok Kumar, Gyan Mukherjee, and S Mukherji, who formed a new company, Filmistan, in 1943.
Shattered by the formation of Filmistan, Devika Rani sold her Bombay Talkies shares and left the Indian film industry. She married a Russian painter, Svetoslav Roerich, and left India in 1945.
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