New
Theatres, a Kolkata based film studio, was one
of the premier filmmaking institutions that promoted
cinema as art and entertainment. During the 1930s
and the early 1940s, the company produced multi-lingual
films which were popular all over the sub-continent.
In fact, New Theatres nurtured the talents of
many who later made a mark on the history of Indian
cinema as actors, directors and technicians.
The Company was established by Birendra Nath
Sircar (1901-1980), the son of Sir Nripendra Nath
Sircar, an eminent jurist who was a member of
the Viceroy’s Law Advisory Committee. Birendra
Nath completed a course in Civil Engineering in
the U.K and joined Martin Burn & Company as
an engineer. In 1928-29 he quit his job and started
learning the ropes of the movie business, which
had become a passion during his foreign sojourn.
In 1931 he produced two silent films – Chashar
Meye and Chorkanta under the banner
of International Film Craft. The idea was to test
the market and also to fine tune the technical
and production capabilities of his future enterprise.
The success of these two efforts convinced Birendra
Nath of his capabilities as a movie producer and
in the same year the construction of the New Theatres
Studio Number-1 (NT-1) at Chandi Ghosh Lane, Tollygunje
began in full earnest. In order to exercise some
control over the distribution of the films it
would produce, two cinema halls Chitra and Mitra
too were constructed by New Theatres during the
same time. A second studio, NT-2 was built at
the nearby Anwar Shah Road in 1932-33.
Dena Paona (1932), based on the popular
novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya, was the
first film to be released under the banner of
New Theatres. The film, a ‘talkie’,
was directed by Premankor Atharthi and starred
Amar Mullick, Durgadas Bandopadhaya, Nivanani
Devi and Haimabati Devi. The film was a huge hit
and laid the foundations of the glorious era that
followed.
New Theatres quickly became the hub of the Bengali
intelligentsia of the age who were attracted by
the possibilities of the emerging medium of cinema.
Birendra Nath, a stickler for quality, attracted
talented directors such as PC
Barua, Premankor Atharthi, Debaki Bose, DN
Ganguly, Bimal
Roy and Phani Majumdar under his wings. Superstars
of the age such as KL
Saigal, Pahadi
Sanyal, Amar Mullick, Kanan
Devi, Chandrabati Devi, Lila Desai and Prithviraj
Kapoor were in his payroll. Technicians like Mukul
Bose (Sound Recordist- Director), Yusuf Moolji
(Cameraman), Nitin Bose (Cameraman-Director) and
Subodh Mitra (Editor) were well aware of the various
technical innovations being introduced in Hollywood
and Europe and were able to adapt many of these
within the limitations of the New Theatres Studio
lot. Music composers and singers such as RC Boral,
Timir Baran and Pankaj Mullick too were associated
with New Theatres productions.
 The
company became known for its excellent screen
adaptations of works of litterateurs like Sarat
Chandra Chattopadhaya and Rabindranath Tagore
and noted writers such as Premendra Mitra, Kazi
Nazrul Islam Shailajaranjan Mukhopadhyaya and
Buddhadev Bose worked as story-script-dialogue
writers and lyricists in various New Theatres’
films. New Theatres’ production of Sarat
Chandra’s novels Devdas
(1935) is considered one of the landmarks
of Indian cinema. This bilingual film (Hindi &
Bengali) film, directed by PC Barua and starring
PC Barua as Devdas in the Bengal version and KL
Saigal as Devdas in the Hindi version, was a raiging
hit across the whole of India and established
the character of Devdas as the archetypal jilted
lover and romantic soul for generations to come.
Other films based on the works of Sarat Chandra
like Grihadaha (1936) and Biraj Bou
(1946) too were well received by the audience.
Among the works of Tagore to be adapted for the
screen were Chokker Bali (1934) and Sesher
Kabita (1937) - both had the young Chhabi
Biswas in important roles. In 1932, on the occasion
of Tagore’s 70th birth anniversary, New
Theatres arranged the filming of Natir Puja
– an adaptation of his poem Pujarini.
This effort is important in the annals of Indian
cinema as it is perhaps Tagore’s only major
involvement with the medium. The screenplay was
written under the guidance of Tagore himself by
his nephew Dinenandranth ‘Dinu’ Tagore
who also composed the background music. A student
of Santiniketan Ashramik Sangha acted in the film
while, Tagore himself played the role of Upali,
a major character in this dance-drama. The film
was shot with a static camera at the New Theatres
Studio by the noted cameraman Nitin Bose. Natir
Puja was released at the Old Empire Theatre
in the presence of Tagore himself.
The period 1935-1945 were the halcyon days of
New Theatres and it produced a string of films
which are now deemed as classics for their innovative
content and technical excellence. Bhagyachakra
(1935) was the first Bengali film to use
playback. Mukti (1937), the PC Barua
masterpiece, was one of the first Indian sound
films to be shot extensively on outdoor locations.
The film, which had a young Bimal Roy as the cameraman,
is also remarkable for its use of long tracking-shots,
a rarity, given the substantial weight of the
movie equipments of the period. Mukti also had
the distinction of being the first film to use
a Tagore composition in its soundtrack –
the poet allowed Pankaj Mullick to set his poem
Diner Sheshe Ghumer Deshe into music
and the result was a song that continues to haunt
generations.
A bulk of the Bengali films produced by New Theatres
had Hindi or Urdu versions and so the company’s
films had a pan-Indian audience. Street Singer
(1938), a musical, directed by Phani Majumdar,
starring KL Saigal, Kanan Devi and Prithviraj
Kapoor was the Hindi version of the Bengali hit
Saathi. The Saigal song, Babul Mora
Naihar Chhutore Jaaye composed by R.C.Boral
was a major hit of the times. In fact Saigal's
rendition of Babul Mora was done live
in front of the camera. Though playback had come
into vogue, he convinced director Phani Majumdar
he would do a better job live in front of the
camera. Thus Saigal 'walked the streets' in the
studio singing Babul Mora, with the entire
orchestra following him out of the camera's reach.
The result was magic! Dushman (1938),
Sapera (1939) and the Hindi version of
the Bengali film Udayer Pathe (1944)
Humrahi (1945) - both directed by Bimal
Roy - were some other important bi-lingual films
produced by New Theatres. Udayer Pathe/Humrahi
is important in the history of Indian cinema as
it was one of the first films to incorporate a
sense of ‘realism’ in its content
and aesthetics.
New Theatres also produced a number of documentaries
and newsreels. Among these were the coverage of
the AICC Kolkata Session (1939) and Premier’s
Appeal (1939). Earthquake Havoc in Bihar (1934)
and After Earthquake (1935) - two films
directed by Debaki Bose are finest examples of
documentary films made in the pre-independence
period. The pioneering spirit of Birendra Nath
Sircar inspired him to produce two animated films
– P.Bros and On a Moonlight
in 1934. These two one-reelers are among
the earliest animation films in the history of
Indian cinema. Michke Potash (1950) directed
by Bhaktaram Mitra, was another major animation
film produced by New Theatres.
 After
1947, New Theatres began to lose its pre-eminence
at the all-India level and its productions became
limited to the Bengali industry. The economic
decline of West Bengal coupled with the shrinking
of the market for Bengali films produced in Kolkata
caused by the Partition of Bengal affected the
finances of the studio based film production industry
in Kolkata. New Theatres also suffered from some
speculative investments made by some unscrupulous
businessmen. Although some films like Ramer
Sumati (1947), Nurse Sissy (1947),
Anjangarh (1948) and Mahaprasthener
Pathe (1952) were quite popular, the glory
days of the New Theatres was definitely over and
many of its important luminaries migrated to the
greener pastures of Mumbai. Birendra Nath Sircar
retired from the movie business in 1955 after
the completion of Bakul which was the
hundredth and the final feature film to be produced
under the aegis of New Theatres. In 1972, Birendra
Nath was honoured with the Dada Sahib Phalke Award
for his immense contribution to the Indian cinema.
The studio lots NT-1 and NT-2 were taken up by
various business concerns but declined over the
years due to recurring labour problems and mismanagement.
In the early 1980s, these were taken over by the
government of West Bengal. The studio premises
and some of the old equipments are at present
used extensively for shooting of Bengali films
and TV serials. Recently the government has begun
exploring the possibilities of upgrading the facilities
with help of private partners.
The story of New Theatres is intimately associated
with the pioneering spirit early years of Indian
sound cinema. Its classic films firmly established
cinema as the entertainment of the Indian masses.
Kanan Devi once recalled New Theatres was
"the banyan tree that gave shade to us all."
The supremely talented team at New Theatres under
the leadership of Birendra Nath Sircar also contributed
in creating high standards of artistic and technical
excellence.
Contributed by Monish K Das, an alumnus
of the Film and Television Institute of India
(FTII), Pune with specialization in Film Editing,
1992. He now lives and works as a documentary
filmmaker and social communication consultant
in Kolkata.
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