Varma Films
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| Industry | Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Founders | Six brothers in the Varma family (Ramrakha, Munshiram, Bhagwan Das, Biharilal, Walatiram and Santram) |
| Headquarters | , India |
| Products | Film production Film distribution |
Varma Films was a film production and distribution company founded in Bombay, India and predominantly involved in producing and distributing Hindi-language films.
History
Founded in 1948 by six brothers in the Varma family (Ramrakha, Munshiram, Bhagwan Das, Biharilal, Walatiram and Santram),[1] Varma Films was initially involved only with distributing films and afterward with producing as well as distributing Hindi-language films. The first film distributed by the company was Suhaag Raat (1948).[2] The first film produced by Varma Films was Patanga (1949).[3] Subsequently, the company either produced and/or distributed the following films: Thes (1949), Neki Aur Badi (1949), Sagai (1951), Badal (1951), Parbat (1952), Aurat (1953), Ladla (1954) and Pooja (1954).
Of the ten films mentioned above, three were box-office hits: Suhaag Raat was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1948;[4] Patanga was the seventh highest-grossing film of 1949;[5] and finally Badal was the eighth highest-grossing film of 1951.[6] Presumably, the most prominent among the six brothers who founded Varma Films were Munshiram and Bhagwan Das. Munshiram was the producer of four of the above films (Sohag Raat, Thes, Neki Aur Badi and Aurat) whereas Bhagwan Das worked as a producer for one film (Badal) and a director for two films (Aurat and Pooja). In 1954, Bhagwan Das married actress Purnima, who had worked in a majority of the films produced by Varma Films; it was Purnima’s second marriage.[7]
After the Varma Films banner was retired in the mid-1950s, the six Varma brothers continued their film production and distribution activities with affiliated companies. Varma Pictures was associated with Night Club (1958) and Main Nashe Mein Hoon (1959), V P Productions with Baghi Sipahi (1958), Varma Productions with Ankh Micholi (1962), and finally Varma Brothers with Budtameez (1966). Bhagwan Das Varma worked as the producer as well as the director for Baghi Sipahi. Varma Brothers also briefly dabbled with the subtitled theatrical distribution of Italian films in India. Specifically, the films distributed by the company were Boccaccio '70 (1962), Marriage Italian Style (1964) and The 10th Victim (1965).
A second generation of participation in the film industry was pursued by the children of the founders of Varma Films. Jagdish Varma, son of Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films, started a new production and distribution company called J.V. Film Enterprises associated with Insaaniyat (1974) and Oonch Neech Beech (1989). Aroon Varma, son of Santram Varma, also one of the founders of Varma Films, started a new company called Varma Film Enterprises and produced Balidaan (1971). Kiran Singh née Kiran Varma, daughter of Santram Varma, married actor and producer Sujit Kumar, and together with him produced Anubhav (1986), Asmaan Se Ooncha (1989), and Khel (1992). Madhu Makkar née Madhu Varma, daughter of Munshiram Varma (another founder of Varma Films), played the female lead in Insaaniyat (1974) opposite veteran actor Shashi Kapoor;[8] Surinder Makkar, spouse of Madhu Makkar, worked as a character actor in Insaaniyat. More participation from the children of Munshiram Varma came from his sons Sunil and Pammy (a.k.a. Rajesh). Sunil Varma was the executive producer of Insaaniyat. Pammy Varma, was the co-producer of Mard (1985), which was the second highest-grossing film of 1985,[9] and the eighth highest-grossing film of the 1980s (1980 to 1989).[10] Furthermore, after years of working as the assistant director/second-unit director of Manmohan Desai, leading director of the 1970s,[11] Pammy Varma made his debut as the independent director of Ek Misaal (1986). Finally, Purnima Das Varma’s son from her first marriage, Anwar Hashmi, worked as a character actor in Baharon Ki Manzil (1968).[12]
A third generation of participation in the film industry came from the grandchildren of the six Varma brothers that founded Varma Films. Most prominent among them is Emraan Hashmi, a film actor. He is the grandson of Purnima Das Varma who had married Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. Purnima’s son from her first marriage, Anwar Hashmi, is Emraan’s father, making Bhagwandas Varma Emraan’s step grandfather.[13] Other participation from the grandchildren of the six original Varma brothers includes film and TV actors Sid Makkar and Zulfi Syed. Sid is the son of Madhu Makkar née Madhu Varma, and grandson of Munshiram Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. Zulfi is married to Sheena, granddaughter of Santram Varma, also one of the founders of Varma Films.[14] Finally, Jatin Kumar, also grandson of Santram Varma, and son of Sujit Kumar and Kiran Singh née Kiran Varma, was the producer of Aetbaar (2004).[15]
Filmography
(Films produced and distributed by Varma Films as well as affiliated firms. Films only distributed by Varma Films or affiliates are marked with a *)
| Year | Title | Company Credit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Suhaag Raat* | Varma Films Oriental Pictures |
First film distributed only by Varma Films. Oriental Pictures was the production company. Produced for Oriental Pictures by Munshiram Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | |
| 1949 | Thes* | Varma Films Oriental Pictures |
Oriental Pictures was the production company. Varma Films was the distribution company. Produced for Oriental Pictures by Munshiram Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | |
| Neki Aur Badi* | Varma Films Oriental Pictures |
Oriental Pictures was the production company. Varma Films was the distribution company. Produced for Oriental Pictures by Munshiram Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | ||
| Patanga | Varma Films | First film produced and distributed by Varma Films. | ||
| 1951 | Sagai | Varma Films | ||
| Badal | Varma Films | Produced by Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | ||
| 1952 | Parbat | Varma Films | ||
| 1953 | Aurat | Varma Films | Produced by Munshiram Varma; Directed by Bhagwan Das Varma; both were two of the founders of Varma Films. | |
| 1954 | Ladla | Varma Films | ||
| Pooja | Varma Films | Directed by Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | ||
| 1958 | Baghi Sipahi | V. P. Productions | V. P. Productions was a company affiliated with Varma Films. Produced and directed by Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. | |
| Night Club | Varma Pictures | Varma Pictures was a company affiliated with Varma Films. | ||
| 1959 | Main Nashe Mein Hoon | Varma Pictures | Varma Pictures was a company affiliated with Varma Films. | |
| 1962 | Ankh Micholi | Varma Productions | Varma Productions was a company affiliated with Varma Films. | |
| 1966 | Budtameez | Varma Brothers Filmistan |
Varma Brothers was a company affiliated with Varma Films. Varma Brothers and Filmistan were the production companies for Budtameez, with Varma Brothers handling the Indian distribution and Filmistan controlling the release for in the rest of the world. Produced by Jagdish Varma, son of Bhagwan Das Varma, one of the founders of Varma Films. |
References
- ^ "Pictures In Making-Varma Films". Filmindia. 14 (11): 84. November 1948. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Sohag Raat". Filmindia. 14 (5): 71. May 1948. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Patanga". Filmindia. 15 (5): 312. May 1949. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Top Earners 1948". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Top Earners 1949". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ "Top Earners 1951". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ Sharma, Shishir Krishna (25 March 2020). "'Dil Se Bhula Do Tum Hamein'-Poornima". Indian Cinema Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Shashi Kapoor Passes away at 79: A pictorial tribute to the Bollywood legend". Indian Express. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Top Earners 1985". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ "Top Earners 1980-1989". Box Office India. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
- ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish (1994). Encyclopedia of Indian cinema. Taylor & Francis. p. 84. ISBN 9780195635799.
- ^ "My wife and my audience, both took time to understand me: Emraan Hashmi – Times of India". Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "Happy Birthday Emraan Hashmi: Did you know his grand mom was a big film star in 1950s". Hindustan Times. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Dasgupta, Piyali (5 January 2012). "Zulfi Syed all set to tie the knot". Times of India. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Verma, Sukanya; Bhattacharya, Priyanka (17 June 2002). "Careless whispers:John and Bipasha romance on the sets of Aitbaar". rediff.com. Retrieved 4 July 2021.