Bombay Talkies

The Bombay Talkies Limited (commonly known as the Bombay Talkies) was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation the Bombay Talkies produced 102 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay (now known as Mumbai). Prominent Indians associated with the Bombay Talkies included filmmakers and film stars Himanshu Rai, Rajnarayan Dube and the Devika Rani. Rajnarayan Dube was the great financier and known as the pillar of Indian cinema.

As the first public limited film company in India, Bombay Talkies was registered under the Indian Companies Act. Soon after its listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, it emerged as an organized company with well-managed financials, acquiring a reputation for public issues, dividends and bonuses. At the peak of its financial success, Bombay Talkies commanded a highly profitable status, which impressed prominent Indian businesspeople of the time including F. E. Dinhsaw, Sir Firoze Sethna and others. Funding from these sources enabled directors Franz Osten and Niranjan Pal to create some of the first Bombay Talkies productions.