| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1954 |
| Founder(s) | Mehboob Khan |
| Headquarters | 100 Hill Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai |
| Services | film studio, recording studio |
Mehboob Studio is an Indian film studio and recording studio in Bandra (W), Mumbai, founded by director-producer Mehboob Khan in 1954 who owned Mehboob Productions, and is most known for the films like Mother India (1957), which won the Filmfare Awards for Best Film and Best Director and was a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[1] It is spread over 20,000 square yards and includes five shooting stages and soon become popular with directors like Guru Dutt, Chetan Anand and Dev Anand, and in following decades it was used by Manmohan Desai extensively. A recording studio was added in 1970s and both still remain in use to-date.[2][3]
The studio was used from November 2010 – January 2011 for the first-ever exhibition of sculptor Anish Kapoor in India, of which the other part was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.[4][5]
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Director Mehboob Khan who started his directorial journey in 1935, had already established Mehboob Productions in 1942 and had made hits like Anmol Ghadi (1946) and Andaz (1949), when started looking a land closer to central Mumbai compared with older studios like Filmistan and Bombay Talkies which were situated in far-flung, Goregoan and Malad. Eventually he settled for seaside Bandra, then a quiet and marshy area, long before the Reclamation that took place in the later decades. The plot close to historic Mount Mary's Church was brought in 1951 from Jaffer Bhai, a local Bohra Muslim, a portion of land housed a school run by a Parsi lady and the rest had farmland for vegetables. The construction was completed in 1954.[6]
Meanwhile Mehboob had made Aan (1952) and was midst of shooting Dilip Kumar starrer, Amar (1954), when the studio opened its doors. Mehboob shot his next to films, Paisa hi Paisa and Awaaz, but it was not until he made Mother India here in 1957, that he tasted both critical and cinematic success again. Mother India went on to receive an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film nomination and won the Best Film and Best Director Best Film Awards at that years Filmfare Awards.[1] By the end of a decade from its inception, Mehboob was being preferred by stars and directors alike, as many starts like close by. Whenever Mehboob Khan was not shooting his films, it was leased out to other producers and directors.[7][8]
Guru Dutt shot his iconic Kaagaz Ke Phool here [9], and actor-director Dev Anand shot many of his film under Navketan Films banner here, starting with Hum Dono and followed by Guide, and even maintained an office at the studio complex for 20 years.[7]
But Mehboob Khan on the other hand, could never recapture his mantle after the success of Mother India, his subsequent films flopped including his last one Son of India (1962); when he died in 1964 at the age of 56, he left behind financial debts on his family.[10] In fact, Son of India was also the last film produced under the Mehboob Productions banner. [11] The fortunes of the studio revived in 1970s with the rights of Mother India reverted to the family and a recording studio was added. In the coming decades it survived not the onslaught of real estate development, but also a fire which gutted stage no. 1 and 2 in December 2000.[7] As a part Mehboob Khan's birth centenary celebrations, the Indian postal department released of a commemorative stamp of Mehmood Khan at a function held at the Studios in September 2007. [12]
The studio saw its reinvention as an arts and cultural space, when in 2010 its Stage no. 3, was used from for the first-ever exhibition of sculptor Anish Kapoor in India, November 2010 – January 2011 [13], and later became the venue for "Mahindra Blues Festival" one February 5 & 6th 2011.[14]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Hum Dono | |
| 1965 | Guide | |
| 1966 | Amrapali | |
| 1970 | Johny Mera Naam | |
| 1971 | Lal Patthar | |
| 1975 | Aandhi | |
| 1998 | Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | |
| 2005 | Black | |
| Paheli | ||
| 2007 | Saawariya | |
| 2010 | Guzaarish | Ethan's House |
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