BeauTesterman at 06:42, 1 February 2026

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{{Short description| Indian actor and director}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Homi Master
| image = Homi Master dans Bhakta Vidur (1921).jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Homi Master in ''Bhakta Vidur'' (1921)
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1949
| death_place = [[Bombay, Maharashtra]], India
| occupation = Actor, director
| years_active = 1921–1949
| spouse =
}}
'''Homi Master''' (?–1949) was an actor-director of early [[Indian cinema]]. His work extended from the silent era to the talkie era and up to his death.<ref name="Rajadhyaksha">{{cite book |author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha |author2=Paul Willemen |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rF8ABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1994-IA246 |accessdate=18 July 2015 |date=10 July 2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-135-94325-7 |pages=1994– |chapter=Master, Homi}}</ref> He produced his best films for [[Kohinoor Film Company]] and he has been referred to as "silent cinema's most successful film-maker".<ref name="Willemen">{{cite book |author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha |author2=Paul Willemen |author3=Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen |title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLkABAAAQBAJ&pg=PT208 |accessdate=17 July 2015 |date=10 July 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-94318-9 |pages=208– |chapter=Kohinoor Film Company}}</ref>

Master acted in the then-controversial film ''[[Bhakta Vidur]]'' (1921), ''Kala Naag'' and ''Kulin Kanta''. Some of his important films were ''Bismi Sadi'', ''Manorama'', ''Do Ghadi Ki Mauj'' (1935), ''Samaj Ki Bhool'' (1934) and ''Gul Sanobar'' (1934). He was active from 1921 to 1949 and made over seventy-eight films. His later films in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] and [[Hindi]] were termed as [[B movie]]s. He died in 1949.<ref name=Movients>{{cite web |title=Homi Master |url=https://movients.com/people/1013943-Homi%20Master.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002095508/https://movients.com/people/1013943-Homi%20Master.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2015 |website=movients.com |publisher=Movieents |accessdate=18 July 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==

At the age of thirteen, Master joined a famous [[Parsi theatre]] group called Bilwala. He soon became a popular stage actor, with his performance in ''Pakzaad Parveen'' being appreciated. Following a brief stint at the Phalke Film company, he joined Kohinoor Film Company working initially as an actor. He went on to direct films for them starting with ''Bismi Sadi''.<ref name=Indiancinema />

==Career==

===1920s===
Homi Master acted in three films before getting a chance to direct. The three films, ''[[Bhakta Vidur]]'' (1921) (in the role of Duryodhan), ''Ajamil'' (1922) and ''Vratasur Vadha'' (1923), were directed by [[Kanjibhai Rathod]]. He played the lead role in ''Kala Naag'', a film he helped co-direct with Rathod in 1924.<ref name=Rajadhyaksha /> A crime drama, it was the first "recorded example" using real-life characters and was based on the Champsi-Haridas Murder case in Bombay.<ref name="Hardy1997">{{cite book |first=Phil |last=Hardy |title=The BFI Companion to Crime |section-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=agfHUakbj5kC&pg=PA180 |accessdate=18 July 2015 |year=1997 |publisher=A&C Black |section=Indian Crime Films |isbn=978-0-304-33215-1 |pages=180–}}</ref>

In 1924, Master started his career as a director with Dwarka Sampat's [[Kohinoor Film Company]]. His first film for Kohinoor was ''[[Bismi Sadi]]'', starring [[Raja Sandow]], Miss Moti and [[Noor Mohammed Charlie]]. A social, the film was about a hawker who becomes a mill-owner and goes on to exploit the people working under him. ''[[Manorama (1924 film)|Manorama]]'' (1924) was based on the famous Gujarati romantic poet [[Kalapi]]'s autobiographical poem "Hridaya Triputi". The film was made in the fantasy genre and broke "all records" when it ran for fourteen weeks.<ref name="GokulsingDissanayake2013">{{cite book |author1=K. Moti Gokulsing |author2=Wimal Dissanayake |title=Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djUFmlFbzFkC&pg=PA90 |accessdate=18 July 2015 |date=17 April 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-77284-9 |pages=90– |chapter=Gujarati cinema-Amrit Gangar}}</ref>

Other significant films at this time were ''The Telephone Girl'' (1926), also called ''Telephone Ni Taruni'', produced by Kohinoor, and starring Ruby Myers, Gohar and Raja Sandow. ''Educated Wife'' or Bhaneli Bhamini (1927), was another Kohinoor film with Gohar, Vaidya and Raja Sandow. They were social films that were successful at the box office.<ref name="DowningMcQuail2004">{{cite book |author1=John D. H. Downing |author2=Denis McQuail |author3=Philip Schlesinger |author4=Ellen Wartella |title=The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dPh0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA521 |accessdate=24 July 2015 |date=8 September 2004 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4522-0664-6 |pages=521–}}</ref>

''Gul Sanobar'' (1928) was a fantasy production from [[Kohinoor Film Company]], based on Persian fairy tale romances,<ref name="WarnerKennedy2013">{{cite book |author1=Marina Warner |author2=Philip F. Kennedy |title=Scheherazade's Children: Global Encounters with the Arabian Nights |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfU_AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA367 |accessdate=24 July 2015 |date=8 November 2013 |publisher=NYU Press |isbn=978-1-4798-3075-6 |pages=367–}}</ref> and directed by Master. It starred the then-popular star Khalil with Miss Yakbal. The film was later remade in 1934,<ref name="Chowdhry">{{cite book |author=Prem Chowdhry |title=Colonial India and the Making of Empire Cinema: Image, Ideology and Identity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEnbnfVCHZYC&pg=PA120 |accessdate=24 July 2015 |year=2000 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-5725-0 |pages=120–}}</ref> with the same name, directed by Master and produced by Imperial Film Company. The cast included stars of the time like Sulochana ([[Ruby Myers]]), D. Billimoria and [[Zubeida]].

===1930–1940===
His 1934 film ''[[Samaj Ki Bhool]]'', was a social film promoting a widow's right to remarry. It starred Jamshedji, [[Lalita Pawar]], Jilloobai, Dulari and [[Rafiq Ghaznavi]], with music composed by Pransukh Nayak.<ref name="GulazāraNihalani2003">{{cite book |author1=Gulazāra |author2=Govind Nihalani |author3=Saibal Chatterjee |title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT671 |accessdate=18 July 2015 |year=2003 |publisher=Popular Prakashan |isbn=978-81-7991-066-5 |pages=671– |chapter=The Daring 1930s}}</ref><ref name=citwf>{{cite web |title=Samaj Ki Bhool |url=http://www.citwf.com/film303845.htm |website=citwf.com |publisher=Alan Goble |accessdate=18 July 2015}}</ref>

In 1935, he directed three films ''Do Ghadi Ki Mauj'' a social film produced by Imperial, starring Ruby Myers and D. Billimoria; ''Ghar Jamai'' a social comedy, a Hindi/Gujarati bilingual, produced by Premier Films with story by Mohanlal G. Dave. (A story about a "resident son-in-law" that became a "major success" at the box office)<ref name="P.P.Pillai2014">{{cite book |author=P.P.Pillai |title=Life in India: Culture |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjT4BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA161 |accessdate=24 July 2015 |date=1 December 2014 |publisher=Ponram P |pages=161– |chapter=10.7.6. Gujarati Cinema |id=GGKEY:43NZKK4BRBF}}</ref> The third film, ''Naya Zamana'' was again produced by Premier Films and starred Heera and Ghulam Mohammed with music by Khansaheb.

He continued to direct films making 'B' class films and some in the Gujarati language. According to Rajadhyaksha and Willemen, he worked as a production manager at Kardar Studios towards the end of his career.<ref name=Rajadhyaksha />

==Filmography==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
List:<ref name=Indiancinema>{{cite web |title=Homi Master |url=https://wiki.indiancine.ma/wiki/Homi%20Master |website=wiki.indiancine.ma |publisher=Indiancine.ma |accessdate=18 July 2015}}</ref><ref name=list>{{cite web |title=Homi Master |url=http://www.citwf.com/detailPerson.asp?personID=290541&sortOn=YEAR&sortBy=UP |website=citwf.com |publisher=Alan Goble |accessdate=18 July 2015}}</ref>
* ''[[Bhakta Vidur]]'' (1921) actor
* ''Ajamil'' (1922) actor
* ''Vratasur Vadha'' (1923) actor
* ''[[Bismi Sadi]]'' (1924)
* ''Kanya Vikraya'' (1924)
* ''[[Manorama (1924 film)|Manorama]]'' (1924)
* ''Ra Mandlik'' (1924)
* ''Sati Sone'' (1924)
* ''Veer Ahir'' (1924)
* ''Ghar Jamai'' (1925)
* ''Kunj Vihari'' (1925)
* ''Lanka Ni Laadi'' (1925)
* ''Sansar Swapna'' (1925)
* ''Fankdo Fituri'' (1925)
* ''Hirji Kamdar'' (1925)
* ''[[Kulin Kanta]]'' (1925)
* ''Mari Dhaniyani'' (1925)
* ''Rajnagarni Rambha'' (1925)
* ''The Telephone Girl'' (1926)
* ''Briefless Barrister'' (1926)
* ''Lakho Vanjaro'' (1926)
* ''Mumtaz Mahal'' (1926)
* ''Sati Jasma'' (1926)
* ''Shirin Farhad'' (1926)
* ''Delhi No Thug'' (1926)
* ''Rangmahal Ni Ramani'' (1927)
* ''Return Of Kala Naag'' (1927)
* ''The Mission Girl'' (1927)
* ''Bhaneli Bhamini'' (1927)
* ''Surat No Sahukar'' (1927)
* ''Lekh Par Mekh'' (1928)
* ''Gul Sanobar'' (1928)
* ''Veerangana'' (1928)
* ''Rajani Bala'' (1928)
* ''Sarojini'' (1928)
* ''Bilwamangal'' (1929)
* ''Lanka Lakshmi'' (1929)
* ''Punjab Kesari'' (1929)
* ''Punya Prabhav'' (1929)
* ''Sinh Ka Bachha Sinh'' (1929)
* ''Lutaru Lalna'' (1929)
* ''Mast Fakir'' (1930)
* ''Shoorveer Sharada'' (1930)
* ''Ranchandi'' (1930)
* ''Patan Ni Paniari'' (1930)
* ''Rao Saheb'' (1931)
* ''Shahi Firman'' (1931)
* ''Dushman-e-Iman'' (1931)
* ''Bulbul-e-Shiraz'' (1931)
* ''Ranadevata'' (1932)
* ''Mahiari'' (1932)
* ''Hind Kesari'' (1932)
* ''Jai Bajrang'' (1932)
* ''Prabhu Na Chor'' (1932) (all St)
* ''Hoor-e-Misar'' (1932) Talkie
* ''Jagat Mohini'' (1933) (St)
* ''Misar Nu Moti'' (1933) (St)
* ''Saubhagya Sundari'' (1933)
* ''Samaj Ki Bhool'' (1934)
* ''Gul Sanobar'' (1934)
* ''Khwab-e- Hasti'' (1934)
* ''Do Ghadi Ki Mauj'' (1935)
* ''Ghar Jamai'' (1935)
* ''Naya Zamana'' (1935)
* ''Akkal Na Bardan'' (1936)
* ''Zaat-e-Sharif'' (1936)
* ''Jagat Kesari'' (1937)
* ''New Searchlight'' (1937)
* ''Punjab Lancers'' (1937)
* ''Chhote Sarkar'' (1938)
* ''Fankdo Fituri'' (1939)
* ''Neelamalai Kaidhi'' (1940)
* ''Chamakti Bijli'' (1946)
* ''Bhaneli Vahu'' (1948)
* ''Gharwali'' (1948)
* ''Jai Ranchhod'' (1948)
* ''Lagan Na Umedvar'' (1948)
* ''Shethno Salo'' (1949)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0557630}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homi Master}}
[[Category:Indian male film actors]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Film directors from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Indian male silent film actors]]
[[Category:Indian silent film directors]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema]]

Homi Master - Revision history

BeauTesterman at 06:42, 1 February 2026