The Films Division of India (FDI), commonly referred as Films Division, was established in 1948 following the independence of India. It was the first state film production and distribution unit, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, with its main intent being to "produce documentaries and news magazines for publicity of Government programmes" and the cinematic record of Indian history. FDI was divided into four wings; these are Production, Distribution, International Documentary and Short Film Festival. The Division produces documentaries/news magazines from its headquarters in Mumbai, films on defence and family welfare from New Delhi and featurettes focussing on rural India from the regional centres at Calcutta now (

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

) and

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. In 1990, it was started at the annual

Mumbai International Film Festival The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. It ...

, for documentary, short and animation films at Mumbai. It housed a museum of cinema, the National Museum of Indian Cinema ( NMIC), inaugurated on 19 January 2019. In March 2022, it was merged with National Film Development Corporation.

History

Established in 1948, FDI followed the model of state controlled and monopolized production, distribution and exhibition of documentary films, news reels and propaganda films, soon transforming into the biggest producer documentary and short film production in the country. For decades to come, FDI would produce thousands of documentaries and newsreels that would reach as many as 25 million Indians a week. As James Beveridge of the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

would later observe, FDI “delivered a body of documentaries and newsreels which must constitute the largest peace-time programme of public information films ever seen among the democratic countries.”

Works

Films Division had produced mainly for the state-owned TV channel, Doordarshan. It produced some classics like

Ek Anek Aur Ekta ''Ek Anek Aur Ekta'' or "One, Many, and Unity" (also known as ''Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiyan'' after the title song) is a traditionally animated short educational film released by the Films Division of India (Government of India). It was released ...

. The films division had produced over 8000 films since inception and about 5000 films are being made available for online purchase and downloads.

Film club

In 2012 Films Division started a film club at Mumbai which screens films from archives.

NMIC

The Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

inaugurated National Museum of Indian Cinema in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

on 19 January 2019. The “National Museum of Indian Cinema” is a store house of information for the public and it facilitates the film makers, film students and critics to know about the development of cinema in the world.

Selected filmography

* ''

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

'' (1961), by Satyajit Ray * ''

Through the Eyes of a Painter ''Through the Eyes of a Painter'' is 1967 Indian film written, directed and filmed by M. F. Husain, the famous Indian painter. The film was produced by the Films Division of Government of India. Overview Hussain chose Rajasthan as the place, w ...

'' (1967), by M.F. Hussain * ''

The House That Ananda Built ''The House That Ananda Built'' is a 1968 Indian short documentary film directed by Fali Bilimoria. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. References External links * *Watch The House That Ananda Built' on YouTub ...

'' (1968) * '' Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869–1948'' (1968) * ''Aao Hajj Karen'' (1980) * ''

Bansuri Guru ''Bansuri Guru'' is a 2013 Indian documentary film about the life of classical instrumentalist Hariprasad Chaurasia. Directed by Rajeev Chaurasia as his directorial debut, the film is introduced by Amitabh Bachchan. Production ''Bansuri Guru' ...

'' (2013)

References

External links

Official site

Films Division of India
at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting {{authority control Government agencies of India Film production companies based in Mumbai Organizations established in 1948 Organisations based in Mumbai Film distributors of India Producers who won the Best Children's Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award 1948 establishments in India