| 1 | '''Franz Osten (1876-1956)''' |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 4 | Hindi director born in Munich as Franz |
| 5 | Ostermayer, the elder brother of successful |
| 6 | producer Peter Ostermayer. They set up a |
| 7 | travelling cinema, Original Physograph (1907) |
| 8 | and founded Munchner Kunstfilm (1909) after |
| 9 | Osten had been making shorts for Pathé, |
| 10 | Gaumont and Eclair. Their first feature: Die |
| 11 | Wahrheit (1910). Osten’s début as director: |
| 12 | Erna Valeska (1911). War correspondent in |
| 13 | 1915. Joined Peter’s company Emelka (later |
| 14 | Bavaria Film) in 1918. Made Der Ochsenkrieg |
| 15 | (1920) with young cameraman Frank Planer of |
| 16 | later Hollywood fame, one of Osten’s several |
| 17 | contributions to a budding genre that after |
| 18 | WW2 became known as the Heimatfilm. In |
| 19 | fact, the Ostermayr/Osten brothers claimed to |
| 20 | be the originators of the genre. When |
| 21 | Himansu Rai and Emelka made a deal to |
| 22 | produce Prem Sanyas aka Light of Asia, |
| 23 | Osten was assigned to direct. Continued |
| 24 | directing Rai’s productions, often shooting in |
| 25 | India as well as in Europe, in addition to |
| 26 | directing for numerous companies in Berlin. |
| 27 | Moved with cameraman Josef Wirsching and |
| 28 | set designer Karl von Spreti to India to work |
| 29 | at Himansu Rai’s Bombay Talkies (1934). |
| 30 | While in Bombay, became a member of the |
| 31 | Nazi Party (1936). Interned by the British at |
| 32 | the outbreak of WW2 while shooting his last |
| 33 | film there, Kangan. Released and allowed to |
| 34 | return to Germany (1940). Employed by |
| 35 | Bavaria Film until 1945, for casting and setting |
| 36 | up its film archive. In addition to Indian films, |
| 37 | directed 33 silent features and 10 sound films. |
| 38 | After WW2 became manager of a Bavarian |
| 39 | spa. His Indian films, following UFA tradition, |
| 40 | were huge Orientalist spectacles with |
| 41 | elephants, camels and expansive vistas often |
| 42 | shot in deep focus. Effective authorship |
| 43 | shared by producer Rai and scenarist |
| 44 | Niranjan Pal. Adopted European conventions |
| 45 | to introduce main actors, e.g. backlit mid-shots |
| 46 | in soft focus gradually becoming more |
| 47 | contrasted; also used mobile outdoor shots as |
| 48 | in the railway-crossing sequence of Achhut |
| 49 | Kanya. Strongly influenced younger Bombay |
| 50 | Talkies film-makers Amiya Chakravarty and |
| 51 | Gyan Mukherjee, though they used his |
| 52 | techniques for very different purposes. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | |
| 55 | '''FILMOGRAPHY''' (Indian films): 1925: Prem |
| 56 | Sanyas; 1928: Shiraz; 1929: Prapancha |
| 57 | Pash (all St); 1935: Jawani Ki Hawa; 1936: |
| 58 | Achhut Kanya; Janmabhoomi; Jeevan |
| 59 | Naiya; Mamata; Miya Bibi; 1937: Izzat; |
| 60 | Jeevan Prabhat; Prem Kahani; Savitri; |
| 61 | 1938: Bhabhi; Nirmala; Vachan; 1939: |
| 62 | Navjeevan; Durga; Kangan. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | [[Director]] |