Franz Osten

Franz Osten Biography

Franz Osten was a German filmmaker, whose association with Bombay Talkies and Himanshu rai gave many landmark movies to silent era and early talkies of Indian cinema. Noted scriptwriter Niranjan Pal wrote many landmark scripts for Himanshu rai and Franz Osten team of Bombay talkies, of which Achhut Kanya (1936), Janmabhoomi (1936), Jeevan Naiya (1936) and Jawani Ki Hawa (1935) need special mention. In fact Franz Osten, Himanshu Rai and Niranjan pal were the founding members of Bombay talkies.

He was born as Franz Ostermayr in Munich in the year 1876. Noted film director Peter Ostermayr was his younger brother. He trained in photography and was interested in acting. He, along with Peter started a travelling cinema called the "Original Physograph Company", which is the parent company of well-established ‘Bavaria Film Studios’ of Germany today.  He started off with documentary films and was not a big success with his first attempt. In 1911 directed his first feature, Erna Valeska. With World War 1, he had to take a break from filmmaking and became a correspondent and later a soldier. He resumed theater with The War of the Oxen and Chain of Guilt, after the world war came to an end.

He met Niranjan Pal at London in the early 1910s and got impressed by his plays - The Light of Asia and Shiraz. He wanted to make its Indian version and Himanshu Rai, a stage actor and lawyer also associated with the team. It gave way to the formation of Indian Production Company – Bombay talkies. Some of the silent films of Osten include - The Light of Asia (1925), Shiraz (1928) and A Throw of Dice (1929), known to be the first Indian movie where an onscreen kiss was shot. Most of his early movies were bi-lingual. Jeevan Naiya was a social drama directed by Franz which made Ashok Kumar an overnight star.

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Updated: October 10, 2014