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Montreal and India Newsreel Compilation (c1922) - filmed in Agra and Jalandhar

4,327 views · Published 10 August 2017 · 5:26 · Indexed 30 October 2026

Channel: BFI · 2017 · Film & Animation

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Part of India on Film: 1899 – 1947
This collection of newly digitised films is part of the BFI's contribution to the UK-India Year of Culture 2017, in partnership with the British Council.  View more films on BFI Player http://player.bfi.org.uk/collections/india-on-film-1899-1947/  (UK only)


The Taj, Punjab and beyond - The Taj Mahal and shots of Jalandhar nestle between footage from Canada and Africa in this intriguing film compilation.

Received from an anonymous donor, this somewhat mysterious compilation of film features scenic views of north India including the Taj Mahal and footage of a bullock shoeing in Jalandhar, Punjab. The similar intertitles suggest the films may have been from the same series, perhaps intended to teach British audiences about history and daily life in India, or even the Empire in general.

The ‘Indian bazaar’ seen towards the end of the film seems to show an Indian merchant trading somewhere in eastern Africa, which was home to a large Indian, predominantly Gujarati, diaspora and mercantile community. The opening sections of the film shows Toronto and perhaps part of Montreal while the footage of logging workers was probably taken further up the St Lawrence river in Ontario or Quebec. Together these films remind us of the enormous global reach of imperial power after WWI, and of the centrality of India to the British imperial imagination.


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