Description
Ever since cinema became a popular medium of mass entertainment, audiences have been intensely curious about life and work behind the silver screen. Bombay Talkies: An Unseen History of Indian Cinema presents a breathtaking collection of rare, never-before-seen photographs from the personal archive of legendary cinematographer Josef Wirsching. Most of these images were captured in the 1930s and 1940s while Wirsching was working at Bombay Talkies Ltd., the pioneering film studio founded in 1934 by Himansu Rai and Devika Rani. Fleeing the rise of fascism in Europe, German and British technicians brought avant-garde sensibilities—such as the moody styling of German Expressionism—into the heart of colonial Bombay’s burgeoning film industry.
Working alongside a transnational collective of creative pioneers including director Franz Osten, actors like Ashok Kumar, and iconic music directors, Bombay Talkies set unprecedented technical and professional standards for Indian cinema, giving birth to timeless classics like Achhut Kanya (1936), Mahal (1949), and Pakeezah (1972). Through evocative essays by leading scholars—including Sudhir Mahadevan, Priya Jaikumar, Rachel Dwyer, Kaushik Bhaumik, Virchand Dharamsey, and Eleanor Halsall—this volume explores the studio’s cosmopolitan labor ecology, material practices, and the cross-fertilization of global cultures. With over 90 percent of pre-independence Indian films lost to history, Wirsching’s intimate set photographs, publicity stills, and candid captures serve as a priceless visual archive of the magic that birthed modern Indian cinema.
Bombay Talkies: An Unseen History of Indian Cinema
Edited by Debashree Mukherjee | Foreword by Georg Wirsching
Book Specifications:
Category: Cinema / Film History / Photography
Pages: 240+ pages | Illustrations: Rare behind-the-scenes photographs
Format: Hardcover (HC)
Association: Published in association with the Alkazi Collection of Photography
