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On account of its association with European technicians, particularly Germans , the Bombay Talkies set a high technical standard for Film Making in India. Bombay Talkies also imparted a higher level of dignity to the medium of movie making and acting. This film company gave some very illustrious mega-stars to the Indian film industry, which included Devika Rani , Ashok Kumar and Raj Kapoor . Bombay Talkies also gave a new dimension to themes of films, and produced films on controversial topics like the story of love (''Achhut Kanya'') between an Untouchable girl and a high caste Hindu Brahmin boy. Other notable movies produced by the Bombay Talkies included famous movies of the period like ''Jawani ki Hawa'' ( 1935 ), starring Devika Rani, and ''Jeevan Naiya'' ( 1936 ), a romantic movie starring Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar.

After the outbreak of World War II in 1939 , Bombay Talkies faced a number of problems, resulting in a Nervous Breakdown and subsequent demise of Himanshu Rai, the founder and key figure of the studio. The control of the film company passed on to his wife, Devika Rani, who was also made the controller of production of the Bombay Studios. Devika Rani continued the high tradition of Bombay Talkies. Some of the famous movies of the period included ''Kangan'' and ''Bandhan'', and famous artists who in films produced by Bombay Talkies were Madhubala and Dilip Kumar .

Soon a rift arose between Devika Rani and her business partners, resulting in the decline and eventual failure of the studio. Currently, the premises of the Bombay Talkies are in a dilapidated state, and have lost the pristine glory which they once commanded.


TIMELINES

  • 1934 : The Bombay Talkies conceived and established

  • 1935 : Jawani ki Hawa, a thriller, starring Devika Rani

  • 1936 : Jeevan Naiya, Ashok Kumar’s debut movie; another famous movie Achhut Kanya produced

  • 1940 : Death of Himanshu Rai, the founder of the Bombay Talkies

  • 1942 : Madhubala’s debut as a child artist named ''Baby Mumtaz'' in the movie Basant.

  • 1943 : Kishmet, a successful thriller

  • 1954 : The Bombay Talkies was closed down



TRIVIA

  • The Bombay Talkies arranged a special screening of their controversial film ''Achhut Kanya'' (1936) for Jawaharlal Nehru , who became the first Prime Minister Of India in 1947 .

  • Kismat , a movie produced by the Bombay Talkies in 1947 created a record for run of a movie – the movie continued to run for more than three and half years in Roxy, a movie theatre of Calcutta .

  • FURTHER READING

  • ''Franz Osten and the Bombay Talkies: Journey from Munich to Malad'' by Amrita Ganger (Max Mueller Bhavan, Bombay, 2001)