By Avijit Ghosh

All living. Breathing. 100 per cent talking: thus proclaimed the posters outside Cinema Majestic in Girgaum, Bombay. The vernacular posters were even more inviting. One of them said, ‘‘78 murda insaan zinda ho gaye. Unko bolte dekho.’’
The curiosity was irresistible. Crowds thronged to watch Alam Ara, India’s first talking movie, released on March 14, 1931. Even though the film was commercially released a few days later, mounted policemen had a tough time controlling the avid onlookers.

The making of Alam Ara by Imperial Movietone is, perhaps, more fascinating than its actual story of Kumarpur’s ageing king and his bickering queens. Several other companies, such as Madan Theatres, were also in the me-first race. But, for director Ardeshir Irani, that was the least of his problems.
Soundproof studios were seasons away. Due to the railway tracks near the studio, the movie was shot at night after trains stopped. Huge microphones were intelligently hidden to avoid being captured on film.

The hard work paid off. Alam Ara not only became a runaway success, it also became the template of future.

The film had an interesting ensemble. Hero Master Vithal was a stunt star in Marathi films. Heroine Zubeida came from a royal family. Bollywood’s first fami ly, The Kapoors, were represented by Prithviraj Kapoor. LV Prasad, who later set up the famous Prasad Pro ductions in Chennai, also enacted a small part.

Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema, by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Wille men, notes that among the movie’s seven songs, ‘‘W M Khan’s rendering of a wandering minstrel’s number, De de khuda ke naam par, became partic ularly popular.’’ Film historian B D Garga put matters in perspective, by observing that Alam Ara and Shirin Farhad, another 1931 talkie, ‘‘turned the film industry topsy-turvy and con signed the silent films to scrap heap’’.

The repercussions were huge. In the transition from silence to sound, many studios fell through the cracks. Fluen cy in Hindi and Urdu became impor tant. Anglo-Indian actors suffered. So did firang films. Arrival of sound also gave birth to singing stars who could effectively deliver dialogues.
All this might have been delayed but for someone whom LK Advani re cently described as a rare individual who actually created history: Mo hammed Ali Jinnah. When Master Vithal of Sharda Studio shifted loyal ties and signed with Imperial Movi etone to play the lead actor, the studio sued the Maratha stunt star. He was defended by Jinnah, then a renowned Bombay lawyer.

ALAM ARA
(1931, B&W, 124 MINUTES)

Producer:
Imperial movietone

Director:
Ardeshir irani

Cast:
Master vithal, Zubeida, Prithviraj kapoor, Lv prasad