1916
Universal Pictures set up Hollywood's first Indian
Agency.
1917
J.F. Madan's Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra is
the first feature made in Calcutta. Phalke
makes a short film about filmmaking, How Films
Are Made.
1918
The Indian Cinematograph Act modeled on that
of Britain defines the term of censorship and
cinema licensing. Phalke's Hindustan Film Company
is established. Patankar's Ram Vanvas is the first
Indian Serial with a length of 20,000 feet.
1919
Baburao
Painter starts the Maharashtra Film company
at Kolhapur. Dwarkadas Sampat forms the Kohinoor
Film Company.
1920
Film Censor Boards set up in Bombay, Madras,
Calcutta and Rangoon. Ardheshir Irani starts his
first studio, Star Film Company. Nala Damayanti
is first International Co-production. Suchet Singh,
who had trained in Hollywood releases Shakuntala
starring Dorothy Kingdom. The Bengali Film Weekly
Bijoli starts.
1921
Kohinoor's Bhakta Vidur (1921) runs foul of the
censors as its protagonist bears more than an
uncanny resemblance to Mahatma Gandhi. Dhiren
Ganguly makes the Anti-West satire England Returned.
R.S. Prakash starts the Star of the East Film
Company. In Calcutta, Anandi Bose starts Aurora
Film Corporation, a distribution company.
1922
Entertainment Tax on Film exhibition is levied
in Calcutta. Rewashankar Pancholi starts Empire
Film Distributors in Karachi and Lahore, importing
American films.
1923
Entertainment tax of 12-½ % is levied
in Bombay. The Saurashtra Kinemograph is set up
in Rajkot. The elite literary journal Bharati
(founded in 1877) carries a serialized history
of Bengali cinema.
1924
Dhiren Ganguli is expelled by the Nizam from
Hyderabad for exhibiting Razia Begum. India's
first periodical exclusively devoted to cinema
Mouj Majah (Gujarati) is launched in Bombay by
J.K. Dwivedi. Nanubhai Desai and others start
Saraswati Film. Maneklal Patel starts Krishna
Film. Kamala Movietone started in Lahore.
1925
The first major film adaptation of the social
reform novel - Baburao Painter's Savkari Pash.
Fatima Begum, probably the first Indian woman
producer, starts her production company and debuts
with Bulbul-e-Parastan. Sharda Film is started
and formalizes the stunt film genre. The Indo-German
co-production The Light of Asia is released abroad
to great critical acclaim. The Madurai Bala Shanmughananda
Sabha is started dominating pre-independence Tamil
Theatre and film.
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