Suresh Uniyal
Cinema lovers know Alam Ara to be the first-ever Indian sound film. Released in 1931, the film was made under the banner of Imperial Films and was directed by Ardeshir Irani. Such was the rage to experience sound in theatre that the crowds went berserk and police had to be summoned to control it. No wonder, the film went houseful for 8 weeks subsequent to its release.
Alam Ara, however, was not the only sound film that was in the making at that time. It became the first Indian talkie by virtue of quick completion, leaving behind first Bengali talkie Jamai Shashti and Shirin Farhad–which went to become a bigger hit than Alam Ara. Both these films were made by Madan Theatres. Shirin Farhad that also released in the same year, i.e. 1931, had 18 songs in total. The film was based on the love story from the Shahnameh of Farhad and Shirin by Nizami Ganjavi and was directed by J.J. Madan. The film worked thanks to the stellar performances by Master Nissar and Jehanara Kajjan and the brilliant work of international sound artists.
Master Nissar deserves a special mention here. His training in Parsi theatre right from his childhood and his knack for singing landed him this deal with Madan Theatres. Both Nissar and Kajjan became overnight stars after the humongous success of the film.
If the response to the first talkie of Indian cinema was unprecedented, the story of advent of sound films in Indian cinema is equally fascinating. With many films vying to race ahead of each other and create history, it was nothing short of a nailbiting drama. The production of these films started in 1930. While Maneklal Patel’s Krishna Film Company and Bhogilal K M Dave’s Sharda Film Company were leading in this race initially, due to lack of adequate sound equipment, Sharda Film Company was left much behind. Imperial and Krishna Film Company, eager to make a mark in the pages of history, started shooting for their sound films.
Madan Theatres and Krishna Film Company were also simultaneously making short comedy talkies and both of these companies were successful in releasing their sound short films on February 5, 1931, months before the release of Alam Ara.
In fact Madan Theatres had promoted their short film to be the first talkie of Indian Cinema and had released it in Empress Theatre, Mumbai. The main attraction of this short comedy film was the song- Apne Maula Ki Jogan Bani- sung by Parsi Theatrical Company’s singer-actress Munnibai. Apart from Munnibai, the talkie-short starred Nirmalendu Lahiri, K.C. Day, Durgadas Banerjee, Rani Bala among others. Krishna Film Company too advertised their short film to be the first Indian talkie-short that had a unique music line-up with Gujarati Garba, Bengali, Konkani and Arabic songs. Musical instruments were moderated by Indian School of Music’s Professor Devdhar.
On February 14, 1931, it became clear that Imperial Film Company had beaten all its contemporaries to wrap up shooting for Alam Ara that was to become the first Indian talkie of Indian cinema. It was produced by Joseph David, the popular writer and director of Parsi theatre, and directed by Ardeshir Irani.
On March 7, 1931, it was formally announced that India’s first talkie Alam Ara starring Master Vithal, Susheela, Zubeida, Jillo, Elizer and Prithviraj Kapoor will be showcased at Majestic Cinema on March 14, 1931. Madan Theatres’ Jamai Shashti released within a few weeks of Alam Ara’s release and Shirin Farhad followed soon too. But thanks to its quick completion, it was Alam Ara that went on to create history and called India’s first-ever talkie.