Prabhat Film Company
Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Indian Film industry |
| Founded | 1 June 1929 |
| Founder | Vishnupant Govind Damle, V. Shantaram, S Fatelal, Keshav Rao Dhaibar, Seetaram Kulkarni |
| Defunct | 13 October 1953 |
| Headquarters | , India (1933 onwards) |
Key people | V. Shantaram |
| Services | Films |
| Website | www |
It was formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, towards the end of silent films' era, by the noted film director V. Shantaram, along with V.G. Damle, Keshav Rao Dhaibar, S. Fatelal and S.V. Kulkarni. The company moved to Pune in 1933, where it established its own studio and produced a total of 45 films in both Marathi and Hindi over 27 years, including are Kunku (Duniya Na Mane in Hindi), Swarajyacha Toran also called Udaykal, based on Shivaji's life, Dharmatma on life of saint Eknath, Sant Tukaram, based on the saint-poet and social reformer, Shejari also called Padosi, on communal harmony, Manoos (a.k.a. Aadmi) about alcoholism and Amar Jyoti about woman's emancipation. While several companies such as, Imperial Film Company, Krishna Cinetone, East India Film Company, Madan Theatre, Ranjit, Wadia Movietone were very active during the advent of Talkie films in India, Prabhat, along with New Theatres of Kolkata, stood out for their excellence and social awareness.
Today, the Film and Television Institute of India Pune, at Law College Road, is situated in its former premises, and houses the 'Prabhat Museum' which displays artefacts, original contracts and partnership deeds of Prabhat Film Company, along with costumes, properties, equipment, posters and stills.
The University of Chicago Library has a collection of 27 films produced by the Prabhat Film Company between 1932 and 1949