Aurora Film Corporation

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Aurora Film Corporation
Privately held company
Industry Film production
Founded 1906
Headquarters India

Aurora Film Corporation is a film production company based in Kolkata, India, and primarily involved in producing Bengali films. Aurora has produced and/or distributed several landmark Bengali-language films.

Early years

Anadi Nath Bose established the Aurora Film Company around 1906.[1] The company at that time was a travelling cinema unit, and exhibited films, magic and drama shows in different parts of Bengal.[1][2] The company made some short silent films, generally featuring female dancers and filmed with a hand-winding camera.[2] It also started to produce newsreels and continued to import films from abroad.[2]

In 1911, Bose, cinematographer Debi Ghosh, and magician Charu Ghosh formed the Aurora Cinema Company, opening a studio and film-processing laboratory in North Kolkata. Bose assumed sole management of the company in 1912.[2] Bose and Debi Ghosh began making more short features in 1916, notable among them Bisha Briksha, based on the novel of the same name by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay.[1] In 1917, the company received a contract from the British government to produce features for the entertainment of the armed forces.[2] In 1919, Bose began screening his films at the Manmohan Theatre in North Kolkata, and released the company's first feature-length film, Dasyu Ratnakar, in 1921, screening it at the Russa Theatre (today the Purna Cinema) in South Kolkata.[2] In 1921 Bose renamed his company Aurora Film Corporation.[1]

Later years

In 1946, a fire in Aurora's studio in Kolkata destroyed most of its films.[2] Founder Anadi Bose died on 21 September the same year. His sons (Ajit Bose and Arun Bose) and, later, grandson (Anjan Bose), took over the management.[2]

Aurora was involved in the distribution and/or production of several acclaimed films. The company bought Pramathesh Barua's production company (Barua Pictures), and produced two films starring Barua, Pujari and Niyoti.[2] Aurora was the distributor for Satyajit Ray's debut film Pather Panchali (1955); it was the distributor for Ray's Parash Pathar (1958) and producer for Jalsaghar (1958).[3] The company partially financed Aparajito (1956), the second instalment of Rays' Apu Trilogy.[4] Noted film director Ritwik Ghatak made documentaries for the company.[2]

Aurora became inactive in the feature film industry in the 1970s, although it continued to produce shorts and documentaries as of 2011.[3] The last feature film Aurora produced was Duronto Joy in 1973, and the last one it distributed was Moyna Tadanta in 1982.[3]

The company maintains a studio in the Salt Lake neighbourhood of Kolkata, and a post-production facility in Tollygunj.[2] According to Anjan Bose, the current (2011) managing director and the grandson of founder Anadi Nath Bose, Aurora is "the only film producing house in India being run by a family for three generations".[2]

Notable firsts

Aurora pioneered newsreels in India.[2] These newsreels contain important video documents featuring personalities such as Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose, and events such as the celebration of the India's first Independence Day and the funeral of Rabindranath Tagore.[2]

Aurora produced the first children's film of India, Hate Khari.[2]

The company's Raja Rammohan (1965) was the first Bengali film to be declared tax-free (patrons did not have to pay entertainment tax). Bhagini Nivedita (1962) was the first Bengali film to be shot in England.[3]

References

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