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Rise & Fall of Bombay
Talkies: Vinayak Prabhu rediscovers this forgotten treasure
 Bombay Talkies was set up in 1934
by Himanshu Rai with an authorised capital of Rs 25 lakhs.
It was built on the site of F E Dinshaw's summer mansion in suburban
Malad.
Designed and equipped on modern lines with sound and echo-proof
stages, automatic laboratory, editing rooms, preview theatre, and
manned by a highly skilled staff (many of German origin), Bombay
Talkies set a standard of technical excellence unsurpassed by any
other studio.
Bombay Talkies' first film, Jawani Ki Hawa (1935) starring
Devika Rani, was a regular whodunit with shades of Agatha
Christie. With Jeevan Naiya (1936), another romantic drama
which featured Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar, Bombay Talkies was off
to a good start.
 Bombay Talkies also became a training
ground for a large number of directors/technicians of the stature
of N R Acharya, Najam Naqvi, R D Mathur, S Mukherji, S Vacha,
M I Dharamsey, and artistes like Devika Rani, Renuka Devi,
Snehaprabha Pradhan, Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar, Kishore Sahu, and
Rama Shakul. Himanshu Rai attracted real talent into the
company's orbit, generating confidence in and giving dignity to
the medium.
 The Bombay Talkies was
all order and efficiency. Perhaps Himanshu Rai's long association
with the German Film industry had something to do with this. With
a Board of Directors comprising half a dozen baronets, Bombay Talkies
had an elitist aura about it. Its films, though supervised by foreign
technicians, were rooted in the real India. They were marked by
naturalness of acting, colloquial speech and technical competence.
 After Rai's death in 1940, the control of the
company passed on to his wife, Devika Rani. Bombay Talkies went
into decline when differences arose between Devika Rani and her
partners.
A dilapidated relic today, the Bombay Talkies once showcased
some of the best acting talent in the country.
Today, the proud walls of the Bombay Talkies have been reduced
to rubble, and the talent lost and forgotten.
Article & Photographs:
Vinayak Prabhu
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