''Chandidas'' is a 1934

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

social drama film directed by

Nitin Bose Nitin Bose (26 April 1897 – 14 April 1986) was an Indian film director, cinematographer and screenwriter of the nation's film industry. He was born in Calcutta and died in the same city. In the 1930s and early 1940s, he worked with New Theatre ...

. The film was produced by

New Theatres New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotire ...

Calcutta and was their first big success. It was remake of the 1932

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film of the same name directed by

Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...

. This 1934 Hindi version starred

K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

, Uma Sashi,

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. B ...

, Nawab and H. Siddiqui. The music direction was by R. C. Boral with the lyrics written by

Agha Hashar Kashmiri Agha Hashar Kashmiri (born Muhammad Shah, 3 April 1879 – 1 April 1935) was an Urdu poet, playwright and dramatist. A number of his plays were Indian Shakespearean adaptations. Early life He started to show interest in stage dramas and mo ...

. The credit roll of the film states that the film is "Based on the life problems of the poet Chandidas –A problem India has not been able to solve", which involved the caste schism in India. The story revolves around the 15th century poet-saint Chandidas who acts out against the deep-rooted bigotry against caste, untouchoubility and the hypocrisy of society, and a washer woman with whom he falls in love.

Plot

Chandidas (

), a lover of truth and humanity is the disciple of Acharya (M. Ansari), a priest in the temple. Baiju (

), a washer-man lives with his wife and sister Rami (Uma Sashi) in the village where the Zamindar (landowner) Gopinath (Nawab) though outwardly religious and respecting the Brahmins is an evil man. Gopinath has a henchman Sarju (H. Siddiqui) who carries out his dirty work. Rami sweeps the compound of the temple where Chandidas sees her while he carries on his duties in the temple. They fall in love which causes resentment in Gopichand who has been eyeing Rami, but when she spurns his advances he has her kidnapped. His wife comes to the rescue of Rami and helps her escape. The Zamindar goons go after her and assault her. Gopichand convinces the priest that Chandidas should be punished and made to repent for associating with a lower caste woman. Chandidas agrees to this but then sees Rami’s injuries and realises the duplicity of the so-called pious men. He renounces his life in the village and leaves it accompanied by Baiju, his wife and Rami.

Cast

K.L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

as Chandidas *

Umasashi Umasashi (1915 – 6 December 2000) was an Indian Bengali film actress who appeared in many roles from 1929 to 1951. Her on-screen pairings with actors such as Durgadas Bannerjee, K. L. Saigal, Pahari Sanyal and Prithviraj Kapoor were popular in ...

as Rami *

as Baiju *Nawab as Gopinath *M. Ansari as Acharya *H. Siddiqi as Sarju *Anwaribai *Parvati as Kusum

Music

The music was by R. C. Boral and lyrics by Agha Hashar Kahmiri with the songs sung by K. L. Saigal, Pahari Sanyal and Uma Shashi. The use of a "full-fledged orchestra" was attempted successfully for the first time for this film. The memorable song sung by K. L. Saigal and Uma Shashi, "Prem Nagar Mein Banaoongi Ghar Main" became extremely popular and "won K. L. Saigal nationwide fame".

Songs

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id =0024964 , title =Chandidas
Full movie on YouTube
1934 films 1930s Hindi-language films Articles containing video clips Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films 1934 drama films Hindi-language drama films