Thank you so much Rana ji for the last thread its really good to know these as this information is either forgotten or either isnt found anywhere?

Anyone else who would know it would be great to drop in!

First VHS ??
Hmmm!

Someone from UK or HongKong can answer that. I'm in Canada and Indian VHSs got here a lot after UK.I think, originally they were made in HongKong and straight for the UK market. My first experience with VHS movie watching was at my future in-laws home in Southall UK, in May 1980. VHSs had just become quite popular in UK at that time and VHS players' prices were sky-high in India. So, many were scheming, how to smuggle a VHS recorder to India ?? Like, use casing of a ghetto-blaster (transister radio of those days) and install/ hide a portable VHS recorder (remember those days, when there was something known as Portable VHS Recorder, that came in two pieces (AKAI).

Coming back to first VHS that I saw. It was QURBANI that I saw in May 1980 in Southall UK. And I recall very distinctly, Hum Tumhein Chaahte Hain Aise had the, now un-available, verse Koi Poocche Mera Iraada.

Then, it was sometime in the fall (Oct-Dec) 1980 that 'VHS player & 2 movies' were being rented in Canada, for $25 for 24 hours and the owner was at your doorstep to pickup the player & the tape, as 24 hours came to an end. My first 'player-movie' rental was SSS, perhaps Mughal-e-Azam. Plus he gave us SHOLAY for free rental as the print was bad. SHOLAY print was bad because good, meaning original, VHS had not released yet. (To recover my $25, a high price, I watched each film 3 times in those 24 hours LOL)

Conclusion: SHOLAY perhaps was not the very first VHS and QURBANI, if not the first, was among the first VHSs that appeared.

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I'm interested in a more definitive answer to: Which Indian VHS Released First.

This really is an interesting one...............but if Rana sahab doesn't know the answer, we're doomed!!!

I would guess Orson Video were one of the first companies to release VHS tapes? I'm not sure about that, just a feeling.

Thanks Rana for such an interesting post! Actually on speaking around to some UK people, one said that actually the VHS period started around 1979 and this person said the first film they saw in 1979 was Hera Pheri (which I am guessing was a new release at the time)

They also said that most of these VHS's then were all pirated, most didn't even have a proper labelled manufacturer. And in them days VHS's only had a time limit of 2 hours, in which they would split the film on 2 or maybe 3 cassettes.

So now the mystery is, what is that first film?

Well, I do have a definitive answer (had it for a few days) to the original question you posed. I'll name the first VHS for the question you asked, but not to the question you intended.



Yes, I know your intended question was for the first Bollywood/ Indian/ Hindi-Urdu VHS & I have no answer to that.
So, now we are doomed as you correct the thread title & the Question.

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BTW, in 1981 as I bought a VCR, I did buy some 30-50 original Esquire VHSs from a rental company, going out of business as he could not compete with pirated VHS rentals. I still have those orig Esquire VHSs and can ID/ recognoze them. Most likely, first official Esquire VHS will be among those VHSs.

I have just picked up a whole load of VHS - unfortunately it is more of the late 80s and early 90s stuff, but still some great rare finds in there! A few Esquire releases which I'm going to keep hold of!

I think if there was some way or some source of contact through to this person at Esquire, I think that would put out the official record for the first original VHS produced

Please tell me someone got the longer version of Shaan(1980)

Check
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4069&p=108641&hilit=shaan#p108641

Rana if you record it onto dvd, list it on ebay & I'll buy it from you

Hmmm! Good Idea. Let's see who can approach them and if they remember & if they will respond ?? Since beginning, Esquire Sole Agents for Canada & perhaps for US as well, were famous TV personality Shaan Chandrashekhar - Jaya Chndrashekhar (Gemini Films & Studios family) that have been running South Asian TV channel from Toronto, since before the advent of VHS.

Check your PM, Sageer.

Thanks rana i messaged you in pm