The Rise And Fall Of Filmistan: Celebrating A Legendary Studio That Shaped Bollywood’s Golden Era

Filmistan studio was founded jointly by Shashadhar Mukherjee, Rai Bahadur Chunilal, Ashok Kumar, and Gyan Mukherjee in 1943, and produced its first film Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944), and never looked back till 1964, with the last film being made there being Dooj Ka Chand.

Bollywood’s epicentre in the 50s

In a span of 21 years, Filmistan gave many successful hits like Shaheed, Shabnam, Sargam, Anarkali, Nagin, Jagriti, Munimji, Paying Guest, and Tumsa Nahin Dekha. Filmistan was not only a studio but an institute and launching pad for many newcomers, actors, writers, and directors. The famous writer Nasir Hussain got his first break as a director with the blockbuster Tumsa Nahin Dekha, which made Shammi Kapoor a star and was produced by Filmistan. In the 50s and 60s, Filmistan was the epicentre of the Hindi film industry and a meeting place for newcomers, actors, and writers — with many getting their first break there itself. During those days, it was a favourite tourist spot and people from all over India used to visit it. But after 1964, it stopped producing films and was only used as a studio.

Mumbai at that time was only up to Bandra; Goregaon was a suburb. Strugglers would go to Goregaon by local train and walk till Filmistan.

Dharmendra’s Filmistan connection

Dharmendra was a struggler at that time and was staying with an old Bengali lady at Matunga. At times, he didn’t even have the money for the train ticket, which was priced at Rs 2, so he would walk from Matunga to Filmistan in Goregaon.

In the movie Guddi (1971), directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, there is a scene where Jaya Bachchan, Samit Bhanja, and Dharmendra go to see the studio, and Dharmendra tells them how once upon a time all the top stars would be here, but now it looks like a khandar, with very few shootings taking place — telling them about its glorious past.

The rise and fall of Filmistan is beautifully narrated. And now, with the redevelopment happening, what was once the identity of the Hindi film industry will now just be a residential complex.