Prabhat Film Company was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends.
Gujarati cinema, also known as Gollywood or Dhollywood, is the Gujarati language film industry. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its inception.
Bansari is a Bollywood social film. It was released in 1943. Music composition was by Gyan Dutt with lyrics written by D. N. Madhok. The film was produced by Chandulal Shah for Ranjit Studios. Directed by Jayant Desai, it starred Ishwarlal, Noor Mohammed Charlie, Dixit, Shamim Bano, Kesari and Urmila.
Chandulal Jesangbhai Shah was a famous director, producer and screenwriter of Indian films, who founded Ranjit Studios in 1929.
Gohar Khayyam Mamajiwala, also known as Miss Gohar, was an Indian singer, actress, producer and studio owner.
Ezra Mir was an Indian film-maker, known for his documentary films.
Jayant Desai was an Indian film director and producer. After graduating from the University of Bombay Desai joined Ranjit Studios in 1929 where he directed numerous films including Toofani Toli (1937), Tansen (1943), Har Har Mahadev (1950) and Amber (1952). Tansen was the second highest grossing Indian film of 1943. Besides film direction he also acted in several films. In 1943 he left Ranjit Studios to found his own production company, Jayant Desai Productions. In 1960s he founded Jupiter Films and Hemlata Pictures.
Ghory and Dixit were a comedy duo comprising Nazir Ahmed Ghory and Manohar Janardhan Dixit. They were active in Indian cinema during the 1930s and 1940s. They were called the Indian Laurel and Hardy. The duo had starred in several films including Do Badmaash, Sitamgarh, Toofani Toli and Bhola Raja. Most of their films were produced by Ranjit Studios. Unlike Laurel and Hardy they played only supporting roles in their films.
Rajkamal Kalamandir was a noted film production company and studio in Mumbai. It was established by V. Shantaram in 1942, after he left Prabhat Films. The studio produced films both in Hindi and Marathi, and it was best known for Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959) and Pinjra (1972). In its heyday, Rajkamal was one of the most sophisticated studios of the country.
K. Amarnath was one of the earliest film makers of Indian Cinema. His career as a movie producer and director spanned over four decades in the film industry.
The Secretary is a 1938 Hindi-language Indian comedy film directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi. The film was produced by Chandulal Shah under the Ranjit Pictures banner. The music was provided by Gyan Dutt with lyrics by Pyare Lal Santoshi. The main cast was Noor Mohammed Charlie, Trilok Kapoor, Madhuri, Kalyani Das, Waheedan Bai and Rajkumari.
Mehtab (1913–1997) was an Indian actress of Hindi/Urdu films who worked from 1928 to 1969. She was born in Sachin, Gujarat, to a Muslim family and named Najma. Her father, Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Mohammad Yakut Khan III, was the Nawab of Sachin, near Surat in the state of Gujarat. Starting her career in the late 1920s with small roles in films like Second Wife (1928), Indira B. A. (1929) and Jayant (1929), she went on to do character roles before acting in the lead opposite Ashraf Khan in Veer Kunal (1932). After almost a decade of doing mainly action-oriented roles, she came into prominence with the Kidar Sharma-directed Chitralekha (1941).
Thokar also called The Kick is 1939 Hindi/Urdu film directed by A. R. Kardar. Produced by Chandulal Shah for his production banner Ranjit Movietone, it had music by Gyan Dutt. The story writer was M. Sadiq, with cinematography by Gordhanbhi Patel. The cast included Kumar, Ishwarlal, Madhuri, Yakub, Noor Mohammed Charlie, Ram Marathe, Waheedan Bai and Dixit.
Chaturbhuj Doshi (1894–1969) was a Hindi and Gujarati writer-director of Indian cinema. He was one of the top Gujarati screenplay writers, who helped script stories for the Punatar productions. He is stated to be one of the leading figures who launched the Gujarati film industry with work on notable films like Gunsundari (1948) and Nanand Bhojai (1948). Doshi, was “well known” for his family socials and had become “a celebrity in his own right”. He made a name for himself as a journalist initially and was referred to as the "famous journalist" and publicist by Baburao Patel, editor of Filmindia.
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. A Jewess by birth, she changed her name to find acceptability in Hindi cinema like the other Anglo-Indian and Jewish actresses of her time, Sulochana, Seeta Devi, Madhuri, and Manorama. After initially working with British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta, she shifted to Bombay and performed mainly in films produced by Sagar Movietone with her co-star in most films being Motilal. Some of the popular films with Motilal were Dr. Madhurika (1935) and Kulvadhu (1937) directed by Sarvottam Badami. Their first film together was Shaher Ka Jadoo (1934), which was also Motilal's debut film, and then Lagna Bandhan (1936) both directed by Kaliprasad Ghosh. She acted in Silver King (1935) with Motilal. It was an action film directed by C. M. Luhar, which became a "huge success".
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. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1929 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. Sagar was initially started as a branch company of Ardeshir's Imperial Film Company. Several key figures from Imperial, such as Mehboob Khan 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 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, 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".
Mazhar Khan (1905–1950) was an actor-producer-director in Indian Cinema. He was widely known for his natural performances. He started his career as a police officer, which he left to study law for a short period. Abandoning his studies he came to Bombay and started his career in cinema with the silent film Fatal Garland opposite the top actress of the time, Ermeline. He became a popular actor, gaining success in several silent films. During his stint in silent films he worked with well-established directors like Bhagwati Mishra, Ezra Mir, Moti P. Bhagnani, R. S. Chowdhary, and M. D. Bhavnani. The magazines of those days, circa 1940s, compared Mazhar to Hollywood actors like Paul Muni, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
