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Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for
Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...
. It was launched by
Ardeshir Irani Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1929 in
Bombay, Maharashtra 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 ...
, India. Sagar was initially started as a branch company of Ardeshir's Imperial Film Company. Several key figures from Imperial, such as
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 ...
were shifted to Sagar. The studio was in operation from 1930 to 1939. In 1940, it combined with General Pictures to form National Studios. It made "
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 ( ...
based films, mythologicals and stunt movies". Sagar fostered the career of many artists who rose to prominence. Early directors such as
Prafulla Ghosh Prafulla Chandra Ghosh (24 December 1891 – 18 December 1983) was the first Premier of West Bengal, India from 15 August 1947 to 14 August 1948. He also served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal in the "Progressive Democratic Alliance Fro ...
,
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...
,
Ezra Mir Ezra Mir (26 October 1903 – 7 March 1993) ( fl. 1924–1993) was an Indian film-maker, known for his documentary films. Mir changed his Jewish birth name, Edwyn Meyers, to Ezra Mir because he felt his original name "lacked Indianness". After ...
and
Nanubhai Vakil Nanubhai Vakil (23 May 1902 – 29 December 1980) was a Hindi and Gujarati film director. He was the first to make a Gujarati talkie film with a biopic on the saint Narsinh Mehta in 1932. ''Narsinh Mehta's'' (1932) star cast included the actress ...
were promoted by the company. Mehboob Khan got his first break as a director in '' Al Hilal'' in 1935. He was referred to as "the most important alumnus" from Sagar, who went on to become one of Indian cinema's "most influential film-makers". With the launch of the studio, five
silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, whe ...
were produced in 1930. Their first silent film was ''Dav Pech'' (The Web) (1930). Their first
talkie film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed befor ...
was ''Meri Jaan'', also called ''Romantic Prince'' (1931). That year Sagar made nine films. The company also produced films in
Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
,
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and Punjabi. The first Tamil talkie was produced by Sagar Movietone; ''
Kalidas Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...
'' (1931), directed by
H. M. Reddy Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy (12 June 1892 – 14 January 1960), known as H. M. Reddy, was an Indian film director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He directed the first Indian multilingual sound film ''Kalidas'' (1931), shot in ...
and starring T. P. Rajalakshmi. However, production reference for ''Kalidas'' has also been credited to Imperial Film Company, the parent company of Sagar.SM, p. 61 The first Gujarati Talkie ''
Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-Saint#Hinduism, saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh becam ...
'' was produced by Sagar in 1932. Films such as ''
Manmohan Manmohan means 'Winner of the heart'. It is another name of Krishna, the Hindu deity, one of the "avatars" (or "incarnation") of Lord Vishnu. Manmohan may also refer to: *Man Mohan Adhikari (1920–1999), former Prime Minister of Nepal *Manmohan (a ...
'' (1936), '' Jagirdar'' (1937), '' Hum Tum Aur Woh'' (1938) and '' Ek Hi Raasta'' (1939) were stated to be a notable collaboration between Mehboob Khan as director and Anil Biswas as music composer. Both Mehboob Khan and Biswas worked at Sagar for a long period, with their collaboration extending to National Studios.


History

The people involved in the formation of Sagar Movietone were: Ardeshir Irani who started the company as a subsidiary of Imperial Films in 1929; Chimanlal Bhogilal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel who joined and took over the company in 1930. *
Ardeshir Irani Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
(186-1969) earlier founded Star Films (1920) with Bhogilal Dave, then Majestic Films (1923), Royal Art Studios (1925) and Imperial Film Company in 1926. Under the banner of Imperial Films, Irani produced the first talkie film of India ''
Alam Ara ''Alam Ara'' () is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves on a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a '' fakir'' (Muhammad Wazir Khan) ...
'' (1931) and the first colour film '' Kisan Kanya'' (1937). According to an interview Mehboob Khan gave to Filmfare on 16 August 1957, Irani wanted to contract actor
Master Vithal Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
, who had become popular doing
Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...
' The Thief Of Baghdad (1924) style of swashbuckling roles and was known as "The Indian Fairbanks". Vithal at that time was working for Sharda Film Company and it was deemed unethical of a man of Irani's stature to lure Vithal to Imperial. Irani then started Sagar Film Company as a "subsidiary of Imperial Film Company", in 1929, with Mehboob Khan heading the production unit. The matter regarding Vithal was taken to court (1929) when Vithal was forcibly kept in Nanubhai Desai's house in Pune under the say of Bhogilal Dave, who now ran Sharda Film Company. Irani hired lawyer
Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
, who advised Vithal to go for a bid. Sharda Film Company was unable to match Imperial's bid and lost Vithal to them. Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel joined Irani as partners at Sagar in 1930.SM, p. 36 The Select Film Circuit was owed money by Irani, he instead offered Desai and Patel a partnership for an amount of Rs. 50,000. Once Desai and Patel joined, Irani left Sagar, leaving them as the sole proprietors. *Chimanlal Desai was representative and distributor for Imperial Film Company and Sharada Film Company in South India with his base in Bangalore. Prior to getting into the film distribution business, Desai had worked in coal supply, in printing and then in the textile business. It was while working as a cloth merchant with his brothers in Bangalore that Desai was approached to help with a film distribution concern, Select Film Circuit, owned by Vasantray Desai and managed by Vasantray's younger brother Thakorbhai Desai. Chimanlal Desai decided to invest in the company, inviting his friend Dr. Ambalal Patel to join in with Rs. 5000. The two started distributing films through Select Film Circuit, which now belonged to them. They became the sole distributors for Imperial Films and Sharda Film Company based in Bombay for the South India market. In 1929, when the business hit a snag due to problems in sending films by the film companies, Desai decided to travel to Bombay himself to find a solution. There, he was invited by Ardeshir Irani, who owed money to Desai, to join as a partner in Sagar for a sum of Rs. 50,000. Later, in 1930, Desai and Patel became the sole proprietors, when Irani left to focus on Indian cinema's first talkie, ''Alam Ara'', while Sagar concentrated on their first talkie film, ''Meri Jaan''. Desai remained the active partner in the production department. *Ambalal Patel was born in
Sojitra Sojitra is a village in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is in the Anand district Anand District is an administrative district of Gujarat state in western India and whose popular nickname is Charotar.  It was carved out of the Kheda dist ...
,
Kheda district Kheda District is one of the thirty-three districts of Gujarat state in western India. Its central city, Kheda, is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Formerly known as Kaira district, it was divided in two with the sou ...
,
Bombay Presidency The Bombay Presidency or Bombay Province, also called Bombay and Sind (1843–1936), was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India, with its capital in the city that came up over the seven islands of Bombay. The first mainl ...
(now
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
). Leaving his job as a doctor, he joined the Velchand group, who were in bicycles sales. He then joined the Bombay Cycle & Motor Agency that sold cars manufactured by General Motors. After joining Desai as a partner in Select Pictures Circuit in 1925, the company expanded distributing films from Bombay. He joined Desai in Bombay, where they went into partnership in Sagar Movietone in 1930. He left Sagar in 1936, and returned to Bangalore. He was later to help form Sudama Pictures with
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...
and
Sabita Devi Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a Hindi film actress in Indian cinema. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with Mehtab, Bibbo, Durga Khote, Gohar, Devika Rani and Seeta Devi. ...
along with
Ranjit Studios Ranjit Studios, also known as Ranjit Movietone, was an Indian film production company with studio facilities located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The studio was founded by Chandulal Shah along wi ...
. Badami was to make three films for Sudama, '' Sajani'' (1940), '' Chingari'' (1940) and '' Bambai Ki Sair'' (1941) before he left Sudama Pictures.SM, p. 120


Production


Work

By the time Desai and Patel took over, nearly ten silent films were made starting with ''Dav Pech'' (The Web) (1930). Out of a total of 12 silent films, only two; ''Hoor-E-Misr'' and ''Dilawar'' were made following Desai and Ambalal joining Sagar. From the sixty-six films produced by Sagar, fifty-two were in Hindi, five in Tamil. three in Telugu, four in Gujarati and one in Punjabi.SM, p. 288 When Irani left Sagar in 1930 to concentrate on ''Alam Ara'' (1931), Sagar started work on its first talkie ''Meri Jaan'' (Romantic Prince) (1931), operating equipment used by Irani during the day for ''Alam Ara'', while Sagar technicians used it during the night. Some of the notable films from Sagar were: ''Veer Abhimanyu'' (1931), directed by Prafulla Ghosh and starring Jal Merchant,
Zubeida Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (1911 – 21 September 1988) was an Indian actress. She starred in the first Indian talkie movie ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Her credits include early hits ''Devdas'' (1937), and Sagar Movietone's first talkie, ''Meri Jaan''. ...
, Yakub, Jilloobai, and
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 ...
. ''
Narsinh Mehta Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-Saint#Hinduism, saint of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh becam ...
'' (Gujarati) (1932), directed by
Nanubhai Vakil Nanubhai Vakil (23 May 1902 – 29 December 1980) was a Hindi and Gujarati film director. He was the first to make a Gujarati talkie film with a biopic on the saint Narsinh Mehta in 1932. ''Narsinh Mehta's'' (1932) star cast included the actress ...
became the first feature film in Gujarati. The cast included Master Manhar, Mohanlala, Marutirao and Mehtab. ''
Chandrahasa Chandrahasa () is a king of the Kuntala kingdom in Hindu mythology. The story of Chandrahasa is described in the Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna who was accompanied by Krishna guarding the ashvamedha c ...
'' (1933), directed by Sarvottam Badami, ''Farzande Hind'' (1934), ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' which introduced Motilal. '' Grihalaxmi'' (1934) was directed by
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...
. A family melodrama about an educated wife going through humiliation at the hands of her husband, but continues to stay with him, it starred
Sabita Devi Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a Hindi film actress in Indian cinema. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with Mehtab, Bibbo, Durga Khote, Gohar, Devika Rani and Seeta Devi. ...
, Jal Merchant and Yakub. Badami was known for directing "socially relevant" films for Sagar Movietone. It was a remake of ''Bhaneli Bhamini'' (1927), which carried a social message against sexually transmitted disease. ''Al Hilal'' (1935) was the debut direction by
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 ...
and introduced
Sitara Devi Sitara Devi (named Dhanlakshm; 8 November 1920 – 25 November 2014) was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prest ...
in the leading role opposite Kumar. ''Dr. Madhurika,'' a film, though successful at the box-office, got a mixed response from a select audience group, which were disappointed with the female protagonist submitting in the end.


Actors

Motilal was born in
Simla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, the ...
. While in Bombay he visited a shooting schedule at Sagar Studios. He was spotted by director K. P. Ghosh and offered the lead in ''Shehar Ka Jadoo'' (1934). He had no formal training, which acted to his benefit, becoming known for his natural acting. He was to work in several top films produced by Sagar most of them opposite Sabita Devi, ''Silver King'', ''Dr. Madhurika'', ''Do Diwane'', ''Jagirdar'' (1937), ''Kokila'', ''Kulvadhu'' and ''Hum Tum Aur Woh''. He left Sagar to join Ranjit Studios.SM, p. 215
Sabita Devi Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a Hindi film actress in Indian cinema. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with Mehtab, Bibbo, Durga Khote, Gohar, Devika Rani and Seeta Devi. ...
was one of the top paid actresses at the time. She started her career in silent films, and with the arrival of talkies learned Hindi. She shifted from
British Dominion Films Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (26 March 1893 – 18 November 1978), better known as Dhiren Ganguly or D.G, was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award-winning and Padma Bhushan recipient film entrepreneur/actor/director of Bengali Cinema. He had set up a number of ...
Ltd., Calcutta, to Kinema Arts, and then worked for the Calcutta-based East India Film Company. She moved to Bombay and joined Sagar Film Company. She acted opposite Motilal in his debut film ''Shaher Ka Jadoo'' (1934). She was the star of Sagar Movietone and acted in several films produced by them. Her last film for them was '' Ladies Only'' (1939). She left Sagar and went into partnership with Dr. Ambalal Patel and Sarvottam Badami at Sudama Pictures.SM, p. 211
Surendra Surendra is an Indian masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Surendra (actor/singer) * Surendra Bhave * Surendra Chaturvedi * Surendra Dubey * Surendra Gambhir * Surendra Hiranandani * Surendra Jain * Surendra Jha 'Sum ...
came to Bombay on the insistence of film distributor Lala Alopi Prasad. Mehboob Khan gave him his debut role in ''
Deccan Queen The 12123 / 12124 Deccan Queen is a daily Indian passenger train service operated by the Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways connecting the cities of Mumbai and Pune. Introduced on June 1, 1930, the Deccan Queen was India's "first sup ...
'' (1935) and ''
Manmohan Manmohan means 'Winner of the heart'. It is another name of Krishna, the Hindu deity, one of the "avatars" (or "incarnation") of Lord Vishnu. Manmohan may also refer to: *Man Mohan Adhikari (1920–1999), former Prime Minister of Nepal *Manmohan (a ...
'' (1936). ''Manmohan'' was made as a Bombay response to the Calcutta-produced ''
Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden ...
'' (1935). Surendra's acting and singing were appreciated by the audiences and he went on to act in several roles that show-cased his sensitive appeal. He moved to National with Mehboob Khan giving performances in successful films such as ''Aurat''.SM, p. 221 Bibbo acted in India's first sound film ''Alam Ara''. She worked in thirteen films produced by Sagar. Her popular pairing with Surendra had them acting in several films together, most famous being ''Manmohan'', ''Gramaphone Singer'' and ''Ladies Only''. When Sagar shut down, she shifted to Circo Productions.SM, p. 223 Yakub started his acting career as an extra in silent films in Sharda Film Company. He joined Sagar Film Company and was a regular in most films produced by them. He acted in their first talkie, ''Meri Jaan''. He worked with Mehboob Khan in several films and formed a working and friendly relationship with him. He shifted to National Studios with Khan when Sagar shut down acting in ''Aurat'' (1940) cited as one of the finest performances in Indian cinema.GulazāraChatterjee2003, p. 638 Other stars who worked with Sagar were Kumar, Maya Banerejee, Snehprabha Pradhan, Wahidan Bai, Kanhaiyalal and popular comedians such as
Noor Mohammed Charlie Noor Mohammed Charlie (1911–1983), popularly known as Charlie, was a Pakistani actor born on 1 July 1911 in Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, British India. Best known for his comedy roles, he was the first 'star' comedian and has been ...
,
Bhudo Advani Bhudo Advani (17 August 1905 – 25 July 1985) was an Indian character actor and comedian. He started his acting career in theatre with the notion of spreading awareness on social issues. He came to Bombay on the advice of an Ajanta Cinetone rep ...
and V. H. Desai.
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It also means god of 3 worlds, heaven, hell & earth, which in turn represents Hindu god Shiva. It is commonly used as a male given name in India. Peopl ...
the playback singer, first acted in a Sagar production ''Nirdosh''.


Directors

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 ...
was shifted from Imperial to Sagar at its formation. He played supporting roles in several initial Sagar films. With the help of his friends cinematographer
Faredoon Irani Faredoon A. Irani was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Hindi films. He shot Mehboob Khan's films '' Andaz'' (1949), '' Aan'' (1952) and ''Mother India '' (1958). During his career, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer recor ...
and Gangaram, a laboratory assistant, he developed a story narrating it to Ambalal Patel. The film was '' Al Hilal'' (Judgement Of Allah) and it marked the entry of Mehboob as a director. He was to direct several successes for Sagar such as ''Deccan Queen'', ''Manmohan'', ''Jagirdar'', '' Watan'', '' Hum Tum Aur Woh'', '' Ek Hi Raasta'' (1939) and ''
Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who hear ...
''. He moved to National Studios on its formation and directed three big hits; ''Aurat'', '' Bahen'' (1941) and ''
Roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinid ...
'' (1942). He went on to form his own production company
Mehboob Productions Mehboob Studio is an Indian film studio and recording studio in Bandra (W), Mumbai, founded in 1954 by director and producer Mehboob Khan, who previously owned Mehboob Productions (founded 1942), and is most known for films such as ''Mother Indi ...
in 1943 and remade ''Aurat'' in 1957 as ''
Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woma ...
'' (1957), which went on to become a classic.SM, p. 207
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...
came to Bombay from Bangalore to learn automobile engineering. He was asked by Ardeshir Irani to help in the recording for ''Alam Ara''. Though he only knew Kannada and English, he was asked to direct regional films such as ''
Harishchandra Harishchandra () is a legendary king of the Solar dynasty, who appears in several legends in texts such as the ''Aitareya Brahmana'', ''Mahabharata'', the ''Markandeya Purana'', and the ''Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most famous of these storie ...
'' (1932), ''Galav Rishi'' and '' Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam'' (1932) for Sagar. His first Hindi film for them was
Chandrahasa Chandrahasa () is a king of the Kuntala kingdom in Hindu mythology. The story of Chandrahasa is described in the Ashvamedhika Parva of the epic Mahabharata. Chandrahasa befriends Arjuna who was accompanied by Krishna guarding the ashvamedha c ...
(1933), following which he directed ''Grihalakshmi''. He made satirical comedies such as ''Teen Sau Din Ke Baad'' (1938), and ''Ladies Only'', both of which were big commercial successes. His specialty, however, was sensitive, socially relevant films, which included ''Dr. Madhurika'', ''Ver Ka Badla'', ''Jeevanlata'', ''Village Girl'', ''Kokila'', ''Kulvadhu'' and ''Ladies Only''. All these films had Sabita Devi as the leading lady, paired most often with Motilal. He left to join Dr. Ambalal Patel at Sudama Pictures.
Ezra Mir Ezra Mir (26 October 1903 – 7 March 1993) ( fl. 1924–1993) was an Indian film-maker, known for his documentary films. Mir changed his Jewish birth name, Edwyn Meyers, to Ezra Mir because he felt his original name "lacked Indianness". After ...
initially worked in Madan Studios in a few films as an actor. He went to Hollywood and joined Universal Studios, working in several categories, before returning to India in 1930. He was invited to work on ''Nurjehan'' (1930) by Ardeshir Irani. His next film direction ''Zarina'' (1932) was offered to him by Desai for Sagar, which became a success. His other films included ''Pagal Premi'' (Mad Cap) where he introduced Noor Mohammed Charlie in a main role and ''Farzand-E-Hind'' (Phantom Of The Hills) (1934). He then left Sagar and moved to Calcutta. He was to make a shift from feature films to documentaries, during WWII. He made a series of short films under the series ''Road To Recovery'' In 1940, he joined the Government Advisory Board.SM, p. 203 The other directors of note at Sagar were C. M. Luhar, Virendra Desai (Desai’s second son), Nanubhai Desai and Ramchandra Thakur.


Others

Faredoon Irani Faredoon A. Irani was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Hindi films. He shot Mehboob Khan's films '' Andaz'' (1949), '' Aan'' (1952) and ''Mother India '' (1958). During his career, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer recor ...
was a noted cinematographer. He started his career as "an apprentice" at Imperial Films. His first independent film was a Gujarati short four-reeler; ''Shri Krishna Danlila'', shown along with ''Meera Bai'' in 1932. His work in ''Bulbul-E-Baghdad'' was appreciated when the film became a big commercial success. Faredoon worked on Mehboob Khan's ''Al Hilal''. Anil Biswas started his career as a music director with his first film; ''Dharam Ki Devi'' (1935) at Indian Arts. ''Jagirdar'' (1937) was Biswas' first big success. His other films for Sagar were ''Kokila'', ''Dynamite'', ''Gramaphone Singer'', ''Hum Tum Aur Woh'', ''Postman'', ''300 Days And After'', ''Watan'', ''Comrades'' and ''Ek hi Raasta''. Zia Sarhadi wrote the lyrics, story, screenplay and dialogues for Sagar films. Other people of note working at Sagar were Safdar Aah, Pandit Indra,
Wajahat Mirza Wajahat Hussain Mirza Changezi ( hi, वजाहत मिर्ज़ा; 20 April 1908 – 4 August 1990) was an Indian screenwriter and film director who penned the dialogues of some of the most successful films in India during the 1950s ...
, Pransukh Naik and S. P. Rane.


National Studios

Sagar Movietone closed down by end of 1939. The last two completed films of Sagar were ''Civil Marriage'' (1939) and ''
Alibaba Ali Baba (character), Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves''. Ali Baba or Alibaba may also refer to: Films * Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1902 film), ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1902 film), a F ...
'' (1940), with ''Kumkum The Dancer'', a bilingual in Hindi and Bengali, scheduled to be released by Christmas 1939. "And that is the end of Sagar!" stated Filmindia in its December 1939 Studio Close-ups column. The closure was reported by
Baburao Patel Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics. Career He was the editor and publisher of India's first film trade magazine, ''Filmindia'', the first edition of which was published in 1935. B ...
, editor of cine-magazine ''
Filmindia ''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language. Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedl ...
'' in his column "An Eventful Year" in the December 1939 issue, Desai, in association with Yusuf Fazalbhoy of General Pictures, amalgamated the two companies, Sagar Movietone and General Pictures, to form "National Studios" in 1939. The person of importance in National was Mehboob Khan, with his first film under National; '' Aurat'' (1940) becoming a big success both with the critics as well as the audiences.


See also

*
Ardeshir Irani Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani (5 December 1886 – 14 October 1969) was a writer, director, producer, actor, film distributor, film showman and cinematographer in the silent and sound eras of early Indian cinema. He was the one of the greatest l ...
*
Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com.
– 28 ...
*
Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...


Bibliography

*''Sagar Movietone''; by Biren Kothari. Translated by Parth Pandya. Saarthak Prakashan, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, 2014.


Filmography

List:


References


External links


Sagar Movietone
at
Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{Authority control Film production companies based in Mumbai Mass media companies established in 1929 Mass media companies disestablished in 1940 Defunct companies of India Film studios in Mumbai 1929 establishments in India 1940 disestablishments in India