Minerva Movietone

Background
Minerva Movietone was the film studio created by director Sohrab Modi. He is most famous for his historical dramas with bombastic battle scenes such as Sikander, a film about Alexander The Great. He is also notable for creating India's first technicolor film; Jhansi ki Rani.

1st Logo (1930s-Early 1940s)


Logo: Against a partly cloudy background, there's a silhouette of a lion statue perched atop half a spheroid object. A light shines on the silhouette to reveal the lion. The sphere has two capital M's, one bigger than the other, overlapping each other. At the bottom of the sphere is the words "MINERVA MOVIETONE" in an art-deco font.

Technique: The light shining on a model.

Music/Sounds: A somber horn tune.

Availability: Seen on most of Modi's movies of the time. Such as Sikander.

2nd Logo (1930s-Mid 1940s)
Logo: On a black background, a bright circle fades in. The circle shows a statue of a lion perched on a different sphere with one hollow capital M. Underneath the circle, the words MINERVA MOVIETONE fade in. The words are white, and are arranged to wrap around the underside of the circle. The letters have an effect which make them seem 3D and trailing.

Technique: The fading in.

Music/Sounds: The same music in logo 1 but played on a woodwind instrument.

Availability: Seen on films such as Pukar and Prithvi Vallabh.

3rd Logo (Late 1940s-Early 1950s)
Logo: Against a dark background, a statue of a lion is perched on a blue sphere with two Ms on it. One is red, the other is white/gold. The Ms are arranged in a similar manner to the first logo. The statue and sphere become a silhouette and a bright light shines behind the model, looking like a sunburst. Text fades in over the silhouette in an old-Hollywood style font reading as follows:

Minerva Movietone

Presents

Variant: A black and white version exists.

Technique: The shining light.

Music/Sounds: A more bombastic version of the first logos music.

Availability: Seen before films such as Jhansi Ki Rani.

4th Logo (Late 1950s)
Logo: A circle with a white border is against a grey background. Inside the circle is a silhouette of a lion perched atop a globe. The lion appears to be growling at the moon (or sun) right behind it. Overlaying the circle are the words MINERVA MOVIETONE PRESENTS in a basic, bold, Bollywood type font.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: The same as in previous logos.

Availability: Seen before some of Modi's final films, such as Jailor.