Jamshedji Framji Madan (27 April 1857,

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

– 28 June 1923), professionally known as J. F. Madan, was an Indian theatre and film magnate who was one of the pioneers of film production in India, an early exhibitor, distributor and producer of films and plays. He accumulated his wealth on the

Parsi theatre Parsi theatre is a generic term for an influential theatre tradition, staged by Parsis, and theatre companies largely-owned by the Parsi business community, which flourished between 1850 and 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani language ( ...

district scene in Bombay in the 1890s where he owned two theatre companies. He moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in 1902 where he founded

Elphinstone Bioscope Company Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or Madan Theatres in short, was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema. History Madan, a young Parsi businessman, who had exp ...

, and began producing and exhibiting silent movies including Jyotish Sarkar's ''

Bengal Partition Movement Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

'' in 1905. He expanded his empire considerably after acquiring rights to

Pathé Frères Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipme ...

films. He produced ''

Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra ''Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra'' ( mr, सत्यवादी राजा हरिश्चंद्र; en, Truthful King Harishchandra) is a 1917 silent black and white Indian short film directed and produced by Dhundiraj Govind Phal ...

'' in 1917 and ''

Bilwamangal ''Bilwamangal'' (pronounced ), also known as ''Bhagat Soordas'', is a 1919 Indian black-and-white silent film directed by Rustomji Dhotiwala, based on a story by Champshi Udeshi about the medieval Hindu devotional poet Bilwamangala (also ident ...

'' in 1919. ''Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra'' was the first feature film to be shot in

. Elphinstone merged into Madan Theatres Limited in 1919 which brought adapted many of Bengali's most popular literary works to the stage. Madan Theatres was a major force in Indian theatre throughout the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life

He was born into a

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

family in

. 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

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

boy in 1868. By 1875, this amateur club turned into a professional theatre company staging shows all over India.pp 17–20, The Gramophone Company's First Indian Recordings, 1899–1908, Michael Kinnear, Popular Prakshan, 2004,

Entrepreneur

In 1882, Madan left the theatre company and had a short successful stint in business at

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. He moved to

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 Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: ** First Epistle to the Corinthians ** Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating ...

, and it became very popular for

shows, which were full of grandeur and had women actors, a rarity in those days. In 1902, he started bioscope shows in a tent in Maidan, Calcutta along with similar shows in Corinthian Theatre. The equipments used were procured from

of Paris. Most of the films shown in those shows were from Pathé Productions. These bioscope shows were organised under the banner of

. 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). During the First World War, he helped as a supplier to Supply and Transport Corps in the British Indian Army in

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

for his support, and was invested as a Commander of the Order in 1923. After the war, 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 Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or Madan Theatres in short, was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema. History Madan, a young Parsi businessman, who had expe ...

s and its associates had great control over theatre houses in India during that period. In 1919, Madan produced the first Bengali feature film, ''

''. 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.

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

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and Ceylon, which were part of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. J. J. Madan, third son of J. F. Madan, became managing director of Madan Theatres after the latter'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.

Indian-American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

actor

Erick Avari Erick Avari (born Nariman Nariman Erach Avari; 13 April 1952) is an Indian-American actor whose roles in science-fiction and action productions include ''Stargate'' (1994), '' Independence Day'' (1996), and ''The Mummy'' (1999). Early life E ...

is a great-great-grandson of J. F. Madan (and great-grandson of J. J. Madan). Cyrus J. Madan is also the great-great grandson of J.F. Madan. He lives in Kolkata (India) with his wife Trista Madan. They have three children Jamshed, Shara and Tashya. Cyrus is a reputed figure in the Indian Horse Racing and theatre circles.

References

External links

*
Bengali article on J F Madan at abasar.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madan, Jamshedji Framji 1856 births 1923 deaths Film producers from Mumbai Bengali film producers Parsi people from Mumbai Indian theatre managers and producers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 19th-century Indian businesspeople Film directors from Mumbai 20th-century Indian businesspeople 20th-century Indian film directors Indian silent film directors Indian silent film producers Film producers from Kolkata Film directors from Kolkata