Jamshedji Framji Madan CBE (1856, Bombay â€" 28 June 1923),
professionally known as J. F. Madan, was an Indian theatre and film
magnate who was one of the pioneers of film production in India, an
early exhibitor, distributor and producer of films and plays. He
accumulated his wealth on the Parsi theatre district scene in Bombay
in the 1890s where he owned two theatre companies. He moved to
Calcutta in 1902 where he founded Elphinstone Bioscope Company, and
began producing and exhibiting silent movies including Jyotish
Sarkar's Bengal Partition Movement in 1905. He expanded his empire
considerably after acquiring rights to Pathé Frères films. He
produced Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra in 1917 and Bilwamangal in 1919.
Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra was the first feature film to be shot in
Calcutta. Elphinstone merged into Madan Theatres Limited in 1919 which
brought adapted many of Bengali's most popular literary works to the
stage. Madan Theatres was a major force in Indian theatre throughout
the 1920s and 1930s.He was born into a Parsi family in Bombay. Madan's
father suffered a huge monetary loss when Bombay Reclamation Bank,
which was responsible for reclaiming land between the seven islands of
Bombay, failed. JF Madan had to leave school, and he joined
Elphinstone Dramatic Club as a prop boy in 1868. By 1875, this amateur
club turned into a professional theatre company staging shows all over
India.In 1882, Madan left the theatre company and had a short
successful stint in business at Karachi. He moved to Calcutta in 1883.
His success in a business of supplying goods to army cantonments
enabled him to buy Corinthian Hall, where theatre shows used to be
staged. Also, he took over the Elphinstone Theatre Company, where he
started his career, from Cooverji Nazir, one of the founders of the
theatre. Corinthian Hall was turned into Corinthian Theatre, and it
became very popular for Parsi theatre shows, which were full of
grandeur and had women actors, a rarity in those days.
professionally known as J. F. Madan, was an Indian theatre and film
magnate who was one of the pioneers of film production in India, an
early exhibitor, distributor and producer of films and plays. He
accumulated his wealth on the Parsi theatre district scene in Bombay
in the 1890s where he owned two theatre companies. He moved to
Calcutta in 1902 where he founded Elphinstone Bioscope Company, and
began producing and exhibiting silent movies including Jyotish
Sarkar's Bengal Partition Movement in 1905. He expanded his empire
considerably after acquiring rights to Pathé Frères films. He
produced Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra in 1917 and Bilwamangal in 1919.
Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra was the first feature film to be shot in
Calcutta. Elphinstone merged into Madan Theatres Limited in 1919 which
brought adapted many of Bengali's most popular literary works to the
stage. Madan Theatres was a major force in Indian theatre throughout
the 1920s and 1930s.He was born into a Parsi family in Bombay. Madan's
father suffered a huge monetary loss when Bombay Reclamation Bank,
which was responsible for reclaiming land between the seven islands of
Bombay, failed. JF Madan had to leave school, and he joined
Elphinstone Dramatic Club as a prop boy in 1868. By 1875, this amateur
club turned into a professional theatre company staging shows all over
India.In 1882, Madan left the theatre company and had a short
successful stint in business at Karachi. He moved to Calcutta in 1883.
His success in a business of supplying goods to army cantonments
enabled him to buy Corinthian Hall, where theatre shows used to be
staged. Also, he took over the Elphinstone Theatre Company, where he
started his career, from Cooverji Nazir, one of the founders of the
theatre. Corinthian Hall was turned into Corinthian Theatre, and it
became very popular for Parsi theatre shows, which were full of
grandeur and had women actors, a rarity in those days.
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