Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia. It was most known for stunt, fantasy and mythological films, including Hunterwali (1935).
Wadia Movietone was a noted Indian film production company and studio based in Mumbai, established in 1933 by Wadia brothers J. B. H. Wadia and Homi Wadia. It was most known for stunt, fantasy and mythological films, including Hunterwali (1935).
Wadia brothers belong to a Parsi family, and their ancestors came from the shipbuilding Wadia family (Wadia Group), originally from Surat, which also built the British wartime ship HMS Trincomalee (1817). Their ancestors moved to Bombay in the 18th century. [1] It was co-established in 1933, by producer and screenwriter J. B. H. Wadia, his younger brother director Homi Wadia, film distributor Manchersha B. Billimoria, and brothers Burjor and Nadirsha Tata. [2] [3]
However, the Tata brothers left the partnership within three years. The company then continued production of film, documentaries and newsreels from its studios near Lowjee Castle, Mumbai, the Wadia family mansion, owned by their great-grandfather Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia, a noted shipbuilder, who founded the Wadia Group in 1736. The company even had its logo as a ship, honouring their family legacy. [4] [1] They company made Hunterwali (1935) starring Fearless Nadia, Boman Shroff and John Cawas, which became a surprise hit and its first big success. [5] [6] Thereafter, they made several films based on the Arabian Nights. [7]
However, by the end the 1930s, the genre of stunt, fantasy and mythology films which dominated the early films, was beginning to fail and the company ran into heavy losses, after they invested into ambitious projects which flopped. [7] The last film made by the company was Raj Nartaki (1941) under the direction of Madhu Bose. Thereafter, the studio premises were up for sale; V. Shantaram bought the studio in 1942 and established Rajkamal Kalamandir on the premises. Homi Wadia, who worked as a director the company, went on to establish Basant Pictures in the same year, though initially as a film production house. Subsequently, he established a film studio under the same banner in 1947, which functioned till 1981. [2]
Riyad Vinci Wadia, grandson of J.B.H. Wadia inherited the studio in 1990. [2] He is most known for his film, Bomgay (1996) and a documentary on Nadia, Fearless: The Hunterwali Story. He died in 2003. [8]
The Wadia family is a Parsi family from Surat, India currently based in Mumbai, India. The family rose to wealth in the mid-1700s as shipbuilders serving the British East India Company as the latter established its sway over India.
Mary Ann Evans, also known by her stage name Fearless Nadia, was an Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman, who worked in Indian cinema. She is most remembered as the masked, cloaked adventurer in Hunterwali, released in 1935, which was one of the earliest female-led Indian films.
Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia (Lowjee Nusserwanjee Wadia) (1702–1774) was a Parsi from Surat province of Gujarat in India and was a member of the Wadia family of shipwrights and naval architects. Lovji was founder of Wadia Group in 1736.
Firoz Dastur was an Indian actor and an Indian classical vocalist from the Kirana gharana.
Babubhai Mistry was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as Sampoorna Ramayana (1961), Mahabharat (1965), and Parasmani (1963) and Mahabharat
Riyad Vinci Wadia was an Indian independent filmmaker from Bombay, known for his short film, BOMgAY (1996), possibly the very first gay themed movie from India. Born into the filmmaking Wadia family, he inherited the production company Wadia Movietone which is known for the Fearless Nadia movies which are one of their kind in the superwoman and stunt genre when other movies of their time usually portrayed women in submissive roles. Wadia is also known for his award-winning documentary on Nadia, Fearless: The Hunterwali Story (1993), which was written about in Time magazine and made a name for Riyad at the very outset of his brief but impactful career.
Homi Wadia was an Indian film director and producer in Bollywood. He was the co-founder of Wadia Movietone productions, established in 1933 and later after the closure of Wadiatone, he founded Basant Pictures in 1942. In a career spanning five decades, he directed over 40 films, including Hunterwali (1935), Miss Frontier Mail (1936), Diamond Queen (1940), Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman (1948) and fantasy film Hatim Tai (1956). He was also a founding member of the Film & Television Producers Guild of India, established in 1954. Homi Wadia was married to actress and stunt woman Fearless Nadia. Homi was the younger brother of JBH Wadia, who was himself a movie director.
Jamshed Boman Homi Wadia, commonly referred to as J. B. H. Wadia, was a prominent Bollywood movie director, screenwriter, producer and founder of Wadia Movietone Studio. He was born in prominent Parsi family which hailed from Surat, Gujarat whose ancestral business was ship building. Their family name of Wadia stands for master shipbuilders. In a family of entrepreneurs Wadia is credited with creation of movies involving populist stunt roles including those by Fearless Nadia and bringing concept of stunt actresses in Indian cinema.
Boman Shroff was an actor, stunstman, director, writer, producer in Hindi cinema, in the silent era and the early talkies.
John Cawas was a stuntman and actor in Hindi movies. Cawas made his debut in the Hindi film Hunterwali (1935), which became a career-defining movie for Fearless Nadia and Wadia Movietone. Cawas himself was famous for his performance of Tarzan in various movies.
Raj Nartaki is a 1941 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Modhu Bose under the Wadia Movietone banner. It starred the famous dancer Sadhana Bose with Prithviraj Kapoor, Jal Khambata, Nayampalli and Protima Das Gupta. It was made simultaneously in English, Bengali and Hindi. The film was distributed in Europe and US through Columbia in Hollywood. It managed to recover its cost with the virtue of being released in three languages. Raj Nartaki established J. B. H Wadia's reputation as an intellectual film maker. The story is set in the early 19th century in the Manipur Kingdom and is about social barriers and a court dancer.
Bambaiwali is a Bollywood action adventure film. It was released in 1941. The film was directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. It starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Sardar Mansoor, Dalpat and Boman Shroff.
Hunterwali Ki Beti is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1943, and is the sequel to the 1935 film Hunterwali. Both films starred Fearless Nadia as the heroine and were produced by the Wadia brothers JBH and Homi of Wadia Movietone.It was the first Indian movie to have sequel.
Hunterwali is a 1935 Indian Hindi-language action film by the Wadia Movietone company of Bombay, featuring Fearless Nadia as the heroine. A story of a princess who fights injustice as the masked crusader Hunterwali, the film propelled Nadia and the Wadia brothers of Wadia Movietone to fame.
Diamond Queen is a 1940 Hindi action adventure comedy film. It was directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. It starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Radha Rani, Sayani Atish, Sardar Mansur, Dalpat, Kunjru, and Boman Shroff. This film was the seventh in the Diamond thriller series with the first being Veer Bharat in 1934, directed by Homi Wadia under the production of J. B. H. Wadia. It is cited as one of the best films produced by the Wadia brothers. The film's success saw Homi Wadia becoming a producer by which he was able to obtain raw stock for his films due to the rationing of two films per producer during the Second World War.
Miss Frontier Mail is a 1936 Indian action crime thriller film directed by Homi Wadia and produced by Wadia Movietone. The film starred Fearless Nadia, billed as the "Indian Pearl White" in the film. Her co-stars were Sardar Mansur, John Cawas billed as "Eddie Polo", Atish Sayani and Gulab. It was the third in the Diamond Thriller series. Like each film in the series, this too was a success. Nadia plays Savita whose father is the station master framed for a murder committed by a masked man. The masked man is intent on disrupting the railway service of the town to make way for an airline service. The highlights are Nadia's stunts on top of a speeding train fighting a gang of rail-road bandits.
11 O'Clock is a 1948 action film directed by Homi Wadia. It starred Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Atish Sayani and Aftab. The Austin car, which was a regular in most Fearless Nadia films, was given a billing with the main cast as "Austin Ki Bacchi". The music was composed by Chitragupta. Homi Wadia had left Wadia Movietone, having parted ways with his brother JBH Wadia and started his own film company called Basant Pictures. He was to continue with the action genre, but produced more mythological films under this banner. His co-sponsor was M. B. Billimoria, who also distributed the film.
Punjab Mail is 1939 action adventure Hindi film directed by Homi Wadia for Wadia Movietone. The score was provided by Madhavlal Damodar Master, and stars Fearless Nadia, John Cawas, Sayani Atish, Sardar Mansoor, Boman Shroff and Sarita Devi. The film once again had Nadia playing the avenging female with mask and whip astride a horse dispensing justice and beating up the villains.
Khiladi is a 1968 Hindi action film directed by Homi Wadia for Basant Pictures. It was produced under the Homi Wadia Production banner with music composed by Lala Sattar and lyrics written by Faruk Kaiser. Fearless Nadia starred in nearly fifty Wadia films, making stunt history starting with Hunterwali (1935). Khiladi was Nadia's last role in films. The film starred Nadia, Dilip Raj, Sujata, Amarnath, Suzie, Uma and Vishwas Kunte.
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.