silent era films

Silent Era Films

Devdas, a silent film produced by Eastern Films Syndicate, Calcutta, and directed by Naresh Mitra was the first celluloid version of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay's famous story. It starred Phani Burma as Devdas.It was later to be remade eight more times in Indian Cinema with the most popular version still cited as P. C. Barua’s Devdas in 1935 starring K. L. Saigal. 

Bhakta Vidur directed by Kanjibhai Rathod and produced by Kohinoor Film Company was the first Indian cinema film to face a ban, leading to a "major censorship row". Cited by Rajadhyaksha and Willemen as "One of the most famous silent mythologicals", the film featured Vidur in Gandhian attire complete with Gandhi cap and the Khaddar shirt. The film was banned in Karachi and Madras. 

Bilat Ferat or Bilet Pherat a.k.a. England Returned was the acting debut of Dhirendranath Ganguly who co-directed and produced the film under his Indo-British Film banner. The film is the first full length Bengali feature film.  It was also stated to be the first "love story" shown in Indian cinema. 

Mahasati Ansuya also called Sati Ansuya was directed by Kanjibhai Rathod for Kohinoor Film Company. It starred Sakina and Vaidya. According to Rajadhyaksha and Willemen, the film was a success at the box office and "gained notoriety for a nude shot of Sakina". 

Nal Damayanti, a mythological, was one of the notable films of 1921. Directed by Eugenio de Liguoro for Madan Theatres, it starred Patience Cooper, E. D. Liguoro and D. Sarkari.  It was cited to be the first international co-production with Italy. 

Surekha Haran was directed by Baburao Painter for Maharashtra Film Company. Painter hired V. Shantaram, who had been employed by the studio doing all-purpose jobs, to play the role of Krishna.[ Shantaram's acting in the film brought him into prominence leading to several small roles till Savkari Pash where he was cast in the main role.

Pati Bhakti also called Human Emotions was directed by J. J. Madan for his banner Madan Theatres Ltd. The film was based on a play by Harikrishna Jauhar. The Madras censors "demanded" the removal of an "obscene dance" scene. It made actress Patience Cooper, who starred in the film, "one of the biggest star of that time".The film also featured some of the earliest kissing scenes.

Patni Pratap, a Madan Theatres Ltd. production and directed by J. J. Madan, had actress Patience Cooper playing the first "double role" in Indian cinema. 

Savitri also called Savitri Satyavan is cited as India’s "first international co-production". Directed by Giorgio Mannini and produced by Cines (Rome) and Madan Theatres, it was based on the mythological tale of Savitri Satyavan. Rina De Liguoro played the role of Savitri, while Angelo Ferrari acted as Satyavan. The film was "promoted" as Italy’s most "daring" film.

Gul-E-Bakavali was directed by Kanjibhai Rathod for Dwarkadas Sampat's Kohinoor Film Company banner. Made as a fantasy, the film was a big success breaking records and running in theatres for fourteen weeks. 

Prithvi Vallabh (1924) directed by Homi Master was based on K. M. Munshi's Gujarati novel bearing the same title. The film was a success at the box-office and was "widely acclaimed". 

Savkari Pash (1925)  directed by Baburao Painter for Maharashtra Film Company, Kolhapur, was the acting debut of V. Shantaram. The film was the "earliest example" of parallel cinema in its realistic depiction of social issues. 

The Light of Asia was directed by Franz Osten with assistance from Himanshu Rai; it starred Rai in the role of Siddhartha (Buddha). The film was adapted from Edwin Arnold's epic poem The Light of Asia (1861). 

The Telephone Girl was noted as a film that made "Pioneering use of real locations",  It was directed by Homi Master for Kohinoor Film Company. Sulochana (Ruby Myers), made her debut with The Telephone Girl and became one of the popular stars of 1920s and early 1930s

Balidan based on a play by Rabindranath Tagore, was directed by Naval Gandhi for Orient Pictures Corporation. It was a social reformist film, which involved a "progressive, rational king and an orthodox, ritual-bound priest". The film was hailed as "An excellent and truly Indian film" by The Indian Cinematograph Committee, 1927.  It has been cited by P. K. Nair as one of the top ten lost films of Indian Cinema. 

Durgesh Nandini directed by Priyanath Ganguly and produced by Madan Theatres Ltd, was based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. This was one of the three films based on Chattopadhyay's stories that Seeta Devi acted in, the others were Krishnakanta's Will(1927), and Kapal Kundala (1929).

Madhuri directed by Rama Choudhary for the Imperial Film Company, and Anarkali, also called Loves of a Mughal Prince directed by Charu Roy and Prafulla Roy for Great Eastern Corporation, were successful films starring Sulochana (Ruby Myers). Both films were made into Talkie versions later, with Madhuri in 1932 and Anarkali in 1935. 

Prapancha Pash (1929) also called A Throw of Dice was directed by Franz Osten and financed by British Instructional Films Ltd. and the UFA Studios, Berlin. The film starred Himanshu Rai, Charu Roy and Seeta Devi. Devika Rani, who worked as an assistant set designer on this film, married Himanshu Rai the same year. 

Kapal Kundala directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly, was the first Indian film to achieve a "silver jubilee" run of 25 weeks.