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, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
. 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 is considered one of the gre ...
with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1929 in
Bombay, Maharashtra
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, 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 Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
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 the 1930s. Plays were primarily in the Hindustani langua ...
based films, mythologicals and stunt movies". Sagar fostered the career of many artists who rose to prominence. Early directors such as
Prafulla Ghosh,
Sarvottam Badami
Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
,
Ezra Mir and
Nanubhai Vakil 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 without 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, wh ...
were produced in 1930. Their first silent film was ''Dav Pech'' (The Web) (1930). Their first
talkie film was ''Meri Jaan'', also called ''Romantic Prince'' (1931).
That year Sagar made nine films. The company also produced films in
Gujarati,
Telugu,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
,
Bengali and
Punjabi. The first Tamil talkie was produced by Sagar Movietone; ''
Kalidas'' (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 of Gujarat, India, honored as the first poet, or ''Adi Kavi,'' of the Gujarati language. Narsinh Mehta is member of Nagar Brahman community. Narsinh became a devotee of ...
'' was produced by Sagar in 1932.
Films such as ''
Manmohan'' (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 is considered one of the gre ...
(1886-1969) 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 around a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a ''fakir'' (Wazir Muhammad K ...
'' (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, 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 and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...
'
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 187611 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 inception of Pa ...
, 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,
Kheda district,
Bombay Presidency (now
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, 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 List of states and union territories ...
). 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, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
and
Sabita 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 w ...
. 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. Early in her career, she starred in a number of silent films, which were followed by a breakthrough in the first Indian talkie ''Alam Ara'' (1931). Her other notable ...
,
Yakub
Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct ...
, Jilloobai, and
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
. ''
Narsinh Mehta
Narsinh Mehta, also known as Narsinh Bhagat, was a 15th-century poet-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 became a devotee of ...
'' (Gujarati) (1932), directed by
Nanubhai Vakil became the first feature film in Gujarati. The cast included Master Manhar, Mohanlala, Marutirao and
Mehtab. ''
Chandrahasa'' (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, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
. 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, Jal Merchant and
Yakub
Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct ...
.
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 Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
and introduced
Sitara Devi 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 (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Himachal Pradesh, 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 the summe ...
. 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 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 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 came to Bombay on the insistence of film distributor Lala Alopi Prasad. Mehboob Khan gave him his debut role in ''
Deccan Queen'' (1935) and ''
Manmohan'' (1936). ''Manmohan'' was made as a Bombay response to the Calcutta-produced ''
Devdas'' (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
Yakub, Yaqub, Yaqoob, Yaqoub, Yacoub, Yakoub or Yaâkub (, also transliterated in other ways; ''Yakob,'' as commonly westernized) is a male given name. It is the Arabic version of Jacob and James. The Arabic form ''Ya'qūb/Ya'kūb'' may be direct ...
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 (,1 July 1911 – 30 June 1983), popularly known as Charlie, was an Indian/ Pakistani actor born in 1911 in Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, British India. Best known for his comedy roles, he was the first 'star' ...
,
Bhudo Advani and V. H. Desai.
Mukesh Mukesh is an epithet for the Hindu god Shiva, and literally means "conqueror of the Muka demon". It is commonly used as a male given name in India.
People with the name Mukesh include:
* Mukesh (singer) (1923–1976), Indian playback singer from ...
the playback singer, first acted in a Sagar production ''Nirdosh''.
Directors
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
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 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" () is a folk tale in Arabic added to the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popu ...
''. He moved to National Studios on its formation and directed three big hits; ''Aurat'', ''
Bahen'' (1941) and ''
Roti
Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries.
It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...
'' (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 ...
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 wo ...
'' (1957), which went on to become a classic.
[SM, p. 207]
Sarvottam Badami
Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
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, Devi Bhagavata Purana''. The most ...
'' (1932), ''Galav Rishi'' and ''
Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam'' (1932) for Sagar. His first Hindi film for them was
Chandrahasa (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 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 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, 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'' (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
Baburao: A Pioneer of Indian Cinema. Baburao was a key figure in the early days of Indian cinema. He started his career as a journalist ...
, 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 reportedly ...
'' 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.
Filmography
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 is considered one of the gre ...
*
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...
*
Sarvottam Badami
Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Telugu language, Telugu, and Tamil language, Tamil films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, ''Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set ...
Bibliography
*''Sagar Movietone''; by Biren Kothari. Translated by Parth Pandya. Saarthak Prakashan, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, 2014.
Profileat Book Buy
References
External links
Sagar Movietoneat
IMDb
IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...
{{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