Career
He was associated with a number of movies, including Goddess (1922), The Light of Asia (1925), Siraj (1926), A Throw of Dice (1928) and Born in an aristocratic family, he spent several years in Santiniketan for his schooling. After obtaining a law-degree from Kolkata, he went to London to become a barrister.
There he met a playwright and screenwriter Niranjan Pal.
That association led to making of a film The Light of Asia, which he co-directed with Franz Osten. Rai was also one of the main actors in this film.
At studio, Rai partnered with Sashadhar Mukherjee, and Mukherjee"s brother in law worked as a technician in the studio. Kumar went on to have a successful career in films.
After Rai"s death, there was a struggle for studio control.
His widow Devika Rani was in conflict with Sashadhar Mukherjee. Eventually there was dual control and alternate production of films by the two camps. During this era Mukherjee produced the studio"s biggest hit Kismet in 1943.
In 1945 Devika Rani married Svetoslav Roerich and moved away from Bombay and films.
Ashok Kumar and Mukherjee made a bid to revive Bombay talkies and produced one big hit in Mahal. Eventually the studio shut down and is now a decrepit property in Malad.