The Royal Bioscope Company was the first

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

company in Bengal, and possibly the first in India, set up in 1898 by

Hiralal Sen Hiralal Sen ( bn, হীরালাল সেন, ''Hiralal Shen''; 2 August 1868 – 26 October 1917) is generally considered one of India's first filmmakers. In 1903, he filmed the popular Alibaba and Forty Thieves, the first full-length In ...

, along with

Matilal Sen Bimal Krishna Matilal (1 June 1935 – 8 June 1991) was an eminent British-Indian philosopher whose writings presented the Indian philosophical tradition as a comprehensive system of logic incorporating most issues addressed by themes in Weste ...

, Deboki Lal Sen, and Bholanath Gupta. The initial productions used an

Urban Bioscope The Urban Bioscope, also known as the Warwick Bioscope was a film projector developed by Walter Isaacs in 1897 for Charles Urban of the Warwick Trading Company. The projector used a beater movement. It has two names because it was created by Charle ...

bought from Warwick Trading Company in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The company produced shows, generally exhibited at the

Classic Theatre A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

in Calcutta, where the films featured in the intervals in the stage shows. When Sen began producing his own films regularly they were chiefly scenes from stage productions at the Classic, between 1901 and 1904. The longest film produced was ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'' (1903), again based on an original Classic Theatre staging. Sen also made many local views and newsfilms, took commissions, made advertising films and put on private shows for members of high society. Sen was also to produce a number of short newsreels, including '' Anti-partition demonstration'' (1905), '' Swadeshi movement'' (1905), and '' With Our King and Queen Through India'' (1912). Sen also produce some of the first advertisement movies. As newer film ventures entered the marketplace, Royal Bioscope's fortunes declined, and production ceased in 1913.

External links

The Pioneer from Manikganj & Zindabahar
Cinema of Bengal Film production companies based in Kolkata Indian companies established in 1898 {{film-company-stub