Famous Pictures

Advertisement of Talkies, Talkie Distributors

These advertisements pointed to the essence of cinema as an art of images rather than sound, and speculated about the early demise of the talkies and a return to silent films.

Anonymous

National Film Archive of India

The Cinema, May 1931, Vol.4, No.10, p.40

1932-05

The Media Lab

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Eng

Sagar’s Super Talkies

Advertisement of Talkies, Talkie studios

Advertisement of Sagar Movietone’s “super talkies” in the Cinema. The advert highlights “clear recording, able direction, scientific singing” etc., as the hallmarks of Sagar’s super talkies. Prominently, the advert foregrounds Mirabai besides other talkies ready for exhibition and others under production, like Zarina, Subhadra Haran, Krishna Bhagwan, Krishna Sudama, Narasinh Mehta etc. the agents of Sagar’s talkies are listed at the end.

Anonymous

National Film Archive of India

The Cinema, April 1932, Vol.5, No.8, p.8

1932-04

The Media Lab

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Eng

Challenge of Sound

Sound Technology, talkies, sound recording

S.B Thakkar’s conversations with Prabhat’s sound recordist Shankarrao Damle figure in this article. Inter alia, S. Damle mentions the underdeveloped technology and technicians available to Indian studios in the beginning, which led a few studios to hiring the foreign engineers who came with the imported talkie equipment. There were at the same time indigenous innovators like Modhu Sil in Calcutta, Goverdhanbhai Patel in Bombay. S. Damle reminisces the Audio Camex equipment he handled for the first time. The article states that the ‘sound man’ in those days was a ‘second grade citizen’ of the film studio. Though the studio floors were sound proofed, they often were not adequate in the event of pigeons cooing in the premises. ‘Crackling’ was another technical misfortune that beset the sound recording process. The article speaks of the role of the sound engineers associated with the equipment dealers, who had a monopoly over the maintenance and repair of the machines, more than the sound recordists themselves.

S.B. Thakkar

National Film Archive of India

Cinema Vision India, Vol.1, No.2, April 1980, pp.13-18

1980-04

The Media Lab

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Eng

Why Punjab Productions Failed

Talkies, Talkie studios in Punjab

A article on talkies produced in Punjab, “Why the Punjab Productions Failed,” assessed the failure of Pakdaman Raqasa.

B.R Oberai

National Film Archive of India

The Cinema, July 1933, Vol.6. No.8, pp.28&29

1933-07

The Media Lab

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Eng

Pakdaman Raqasa

Advertisement of Talkies

Fezi Sound System was used for Elephanta Movietone’s 1932 talkie Pakdaman Raqasa or Innocent Dancing Girl directed by Shah G. Agha. Nazir Mohammad himself recorded the sound, and the film was advertised for distributors and exhibitors as one with “perfect and clear recording.

Anonymous

National Film Archive of India

The Cinema, June 1932, p.6

1932-06

The Media Lab

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Eng