Homi Wadia 73 Views
Born on May 22, 1911, Homi Wadia was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. The man who joined college for a day and then left to assist his brother JBH Wadia who was a film director, produced and directed some landmark films starting with the iconic Hunterwali in 1935, which launched Fearless Nadia, whom he later married.
He continued to make films till 1978 and his memorable films include Miss Frontier Mail and Hatim Tai, one of India’s early fantasy films.
Homi Wadia was a part of Wadia Movietone and after it closed down in 1942, he went on to form Basant Pictures. He made a total of 40 films and even after retirement, stayed active till his death.
He made a number of mythological films like Shri Ram Bhakta Hanuman, Shri Ganesh Mahima as also on fables like Ali Baba and 40 Thieves ( which was made twice, 1954 and 1966).
He was one of the founding members of Film & TV Producers Guild of India in 1954. It is a matter of regret that in 1981 he got in to a dispute with trade union leader Datta Samant which led to his giving up film making and closing down Basant Studio.
He died in 2004 at the age of 93