Books & Journals

BOOKS

Camille Legrand – Un opérateur Pathé sur la route des Indes, 1895-1920 – 2021
Pioneering Parsis of Calcutta – Prochy N. Mehta, Niyogi Books, 2020
Silent Cinema in India – A Pictorial Journey – B. D. Garga, 2012
Extensive chapter on J F Madan, the firm, and filmography
Stages of Life: Indian Theatre Autobiographies – Kathryn Hansen, 2013
The Parsis in Western Indian: 1918 -1920 – Nawaz B Mody, 1998
Contains a detailed biography of J F Madan written by his great grand daughter, Homai N. Modi
So Many Cinemas: The Motion Picture in India – B.D. Garga, 1996
The Gramophone Company’s First Indian Recordings – Michael S. Kinnear, 1994
Contains details of the role of the Corinthian Theatre in producing early sound recordings in India, as well as additional information about the company.
Chapter on J F Madan and company
Bollywood: A History – Mihir Bose, 2006
Covers the life of J F Madan and Madan Theatres Ltd.
Parsi Lustre on Indian Soil – HD Darukhanawala, 1939
Bengali Cinema: “An Other Nation” – Sharmistha Gooptu, 2010
History of Indian Cinema – Renu Saran, 2014
The Oxford Companion to Indian Cinema – 2004
The Encyclopedia of Early Cinema – Richard Abel, 2005
On and Behind Indian Cinema – J.K. Bajaj, 2014
Cinema at the End of Empire – Priya Jaikumar, 2006
Narratives of Indian Cinema – Manju Jain, 2009
Orientating Hollywood: A Century of Film Culture between Los Angeles and Bombay – Nitin Govil, 2014
National Identity in Indian Popular Cinema, 1947-1987 – Sumita S. Chakravarty, 1993
Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema – Saibal Chatterjee Gulazāra, 2003
Calcutta: A Cultural and Literary History – Krishna Dutta, 2003

JOURNAL ARTICLES & RESEARCH
Empire That Was Madan’s (Cinema and Society in Dialogue in the Early 20th Century India) – Dr Smarani Mukherjee, 2025.
A NFAI Research Fellowship Project.
Madan Theatres Ltd: Knowing the Company Better – Biren Das Shama, University of Calcutta, 2004
Provides detailed information on the development of the company, much of it based on an extensive interview with J J Madan conducted by the Government of India in 1923
The Forgotten Empire: Madan Theatres Ltd. – Biren Das Shama, University of Calcutta, 2004
Thieves of Bombay: United Artists, Colonial Copyright, and Film Piracy in the 1920s – Nitin Govil, Eric Hoyt, BioScope South Asian Screen Studies, 2014
Managing Theatre and Cinema in Colonial India: Maurice E. Bandmann, J.F. Madan and the War Films Controversy – Christopher Balme, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 2017
The Parsi Theatre: It’s Origins and Development – Somnath Gupt, 2005
Discusses the role of J F Madan in Parsi Theatre
Primitives, Pioneers and Places of Cinema in Colonial Ceylon (Sri Lanka)” – V. Tampoe-Hautin, 2013
Focuses on early cinema development in Sri Lanka
Italy’s Role in Indian Silent Cinema, Amrit Gangar, I for Italy, November-December 1998, Italian Embassy, New Delhi.
The Culture-specific use of sound in Indian cinema – Shoma A. Chatterji, 1999
Discusses the use of sound in Madan theatres/cinemas
The Advent of Sound in Indian Cinema: Theatre, Orientalism, Action, Magic – Virchand Dharamsey, Journal of the Moving Image, 2010
Light of Asia: Indian Silent Cinema 1912-1934 – edited by Suresh Chabria, 2013
Provides a comprehensive filmography
Pioneers of the film industry in India – BNA Germany, 2013
Gives an overview of the company and lists some early Elphinstone newsreel films
A gem called Jahanara Kajjan – Pran Neville, Hindu Times, 2015
Describes the actor’s film career at Madan Theatres
Blast from the Past: Patience Cooper – Bollywood Direct
Journeys in and beyond the city – cinema in Calcutta 1897 -1939 – Ranita Chatterjee, University of Westminster, 2011