Varma Films

Varma Films
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1948
FoundersSix brothers in the Varma family (Ramrakha, Munshiram, Bhagwan Das, Biharilal, Walatiram and Santram)
Headquarters
Bombay
,
India
ProductsFilm production
Film distribution

Varma Films was a film production and distribution company founded in Bombay, India. The company was predominantly involved in producing and distributing Hindi-language films and to a lesser extent distributing some Italian-language films with English subtitles in India.

During its 18-year existence, starting from its inception with the release of the film Suhaag Raat[1] in 1948, to the release of its last film, Budtameez[2] in 1966, Varma Films and its affiliates distributed 18 films, of which 15 were Hindi-language films and the remaining 3 were Italian-language films. This corresponds to an average of one film per year. In his sample of 274,991 films with 269,385 individual producers over the years 1949 to 2018, film researcher Stephen Follows finds that the average producer starting out in 1950 would go on to produce 6 films over their career span.[3] With 18 of the films distributed by Varma Films and its affiliates including 12 films produced by the company, the above benchmark is an indicator of the notability of Varma Films arising from their prolific productivity.

In addition, the prominence of Varma Films and its affiliates emanates from the notable array of stars that worked in its films during the so-called Golden Age of Hindi Cinema that stretched for the first two decades following India's independence in 1947.[4][5] Three of these films (Neki Aur Badi (1949),[6] Badal (1951)[7] and Baghi Sipahi (1958))[8] starred Madhubala, called “the biggest star in the world” by David Cort of Theatre Arts Magazine.[9] Another film (Main Nashe Mein Hoon (1959))[10] featured Raj Kapoor, one of the greatest and most influential actors and filmmakers in history of Indian cinema.[11][12] Other distinguished stars that acted in the films linked with Varma Films and its affiliates includes Nutan, Mala Sinha, Sadhana, Geeta Bali, Kamini Kaushal, Rehana, Bharat Bhushan, Shyam, Premnath, Ashok Kumar and Shammi Kapoor. Similarly, the noteworthy stars that worked in the Italian-language films distributed by the affiliates of Varma Films includes Sophia Loren, Anita Ekberg, Romy Schneider, Ursula Andress and Marcello Mastroianni.

Further contributing to the significance of Varma Films are the directors who worked in the films produced and/or distributed by the filmmakers. Extant research on film directors shows that director talent, as measured by the total number of films directed during a director’s entire career, has a significant effect on the financial and critical success of their films.[13] Furthermore, academic research also finds that it is only when a director makes at least 7 films that one can conclude that the director’s talent transcends sheer luck.[14] The prolific directors who worked for the Hindi-language films produced and/or distributed for Varma Films as well as its affiliates and the total number of movies made by these directors during their entire careers (shown in parentheses) includes Amiya Chakrabarty (14 films), Ravindra Dave (28 films), Manmohan Desai (20 films), O.P. Dutta (9 films), H. S. Rawail (21 films), Kidar Sharma (32 films),[15] and Naresh Saigal (11 films).[16] Likewise, the prolific directors who worked in the Italian-language films distributed by the affiliates of Varma Films, and the total number of movies made by these directors during their entire careers (shown in parentheses), includes Vittorio De Sica (31 films),[17] Frederico Fellini (26 films),[18] Elio Petri (19 films)[19] and Luchino Visconti (21 films).[20] Overall, these numbers corroborate the talent of the directors that worked for films associated with Varma Films and its affiliates.

Finally, given the belief that a film’s songs are a crucial ingredient of the box-office success of any mainstream Indian film,[21] the prominence of Varma Films comes from the songs in its films. For a majority of the films produced by Varma Films and its affiliates, the songs were composed by Shankar-Jaikishan, a composer duo who are widely considered to be one of the greatest ever music composers of the Hindi film industry.[22] More evidence on the noteworthiness of the songs composed by the Shanker-Jaikishan duo for Varma Films and its affiliates comes from Binaca Geetmala, the radio countdown show hosted by the iconic Ameen Sayani.[23] With its blend of chart-topping Hindi filmi songs and Sayani’s distinctive style, the show captured the hearts of listeners and became a rage across the Indian subcontinent.[24] The song Zahid Sharab Pine De Masjid Me Baithkar from the film Main Nashe Main Hoon, ranked number 2 on Binaca Geetmala’s Annual list of Top Songs for 1959.[25] Further, the song, Budtameez Kaho Ya Kaho Jaanvar from the film Budtameez ranked number 10 on Binaca Geetmala’s Annual list of Top Songs for 1966.[26] Interestingly, what is probably the most memorable song in a film produced by Varma Films was the evergreen song Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon composed by another renowned composer C. Ramchandra for Patanga (1949), a film produced by Varma Films.[27]

  1. ^ "Suhaag Raat (1948)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Budtameez(1966) Cast - Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. ^ Follows, Stephen (8 April 2019). "On Average How-Many Films Does A Producer Produce". stephenfollows.com. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  4. ^ K. Moti Gokulsing, K. Gokulsing, Wimal Dissanayake (2004). Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change. Trentham Books. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-85856-329-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Gooptu, Sharmistha (July 2002). "Reviewed work(s): The Cinemas of India (1896–2000) by Yves Thoraval". Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (29): 3023–4.
  6. ^ "Neki Aur Badi (1949) Cast - Actor, Actress, Director, Producer, Music Director". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Badal (1951)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Baghi Sipahi (1958)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  9. ^ Cort, David (4 August 1952). "The Biggest Star in the World—and she's not in the Beverley Hills". Theatre Arts Magazine. pp. 23–26. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Main Nashe Mein Hoon (1959)". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Raj Kapoor and the Golden Age of Indian Cinema". hcl.harvard.edu. 19 February 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Raj Kapoor: A lonely childhood and a not-so-regular dad". Indian Express. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  13. ^ John, Kose; Ravid, S. Abraham; Sunder, Jayanthi (2017). "Managerial Ability and Success: Evidence from the Career Paths of Film Directors". Journal of Corporate Finance. 44. Elsevier: 425–439. doi:10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2014.11.001. ISSN 0929-1199.
  14. ^ De Vany, Arthur (2003). "Motion Picture Directors: Luck, Talent and Rewards". Economics of Art and Culture Invited Papers at the 12th International Conference of the Association of Cultural Economics International. Contributions to Economic Analysis. Vol. 260. Emerald Group Publishing. p. 3. doi:10.1108/S0573-8555(2003)0000260004. ISBN 978-0-44450-995-6.
  15. ^ Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian film-makers and films. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 66,81,88,98,269,307. ISBN 978-0-9489-1140-8.
  16. ^ "Albums with Naresh Saigal as Director". myswar.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  17. ^ Cardullo, Bert (2009). Vittorio De Sica: Actor, Director, Auteur. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 117–143. ISBN 978-1-4438-1233-7.
  18. ^ Bondanella, Peter (2002). The Films of Federico Fellini. Cambridge University Press. pp. 188–195. ISBN 978-0-5215-7573-7.
  19. ^ Curti, Roberto (2021). Elio Petri: Investigation of a Filmmaker. McFarland & Company. pp. 309–314. ISBN 978-1-4766-8034-7.
  20. ^ Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (2003). Luchino Visconti. British Film Institute. pp. 231–242. ISBN 978-0-8517-0960-4.
  21. ^ Gandhy, Bahroze & Thomas, Rosie (1991). "Three Indian Film Stars". In Gledhill, Christine (ed.). Stardom: Industry of Desire. London: Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-415-05217-7.
  22. ^ "Shankar Jaikishan Emperors of Music | Bollywood | Cinema Of India". Scribd. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  23. ^ "From Binaca Geetmala to Geetmala Ki Chhaon Mein: The Journey of Ameen Sayani". Medium.com. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  24. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (21 February 2024). "Ameen Sayani, Beloved Indian Radio Presenter of 'Binaca Geetmala,' Dies at 91". Variety.com. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Binaca Geetmala Annual List 1959". Hindigeetmala.com. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  26. ^ "Binaca Geetmala Annual List 1966". Hindigeetmala.com. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  27. ^ "Bollywood Retrospect: Composer C Ramchandra's 10 most memorable songs". DNAIndia. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2023.