''Dr. Kotnis ki Amar Kahani'' ( en, The eternal tale of Dr. Kotnis) is a 1946 Indian film in Hindustani as well as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, written by

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden ...

and directed by

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

. The English version was titled ''The Journey of Dr. Kotnis''. Both versions starred Shantaram in the title role. The film is based on the life of

Dwarkanath Kotnis Dwarakanath Shantaram Kotnis ( Marathi: द्वारकानाथ शांताराम कोटणीस ; 10 October 1910 in India – 9 December 1942 in China), also known by his Chinese name Ke Dihua (), was one of the five Indian p ...

, an

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n doctor who worked in China during the Japanese invasion in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The film was screened in competition at the 1947 Venice Film Festival.

Overview

The film was based on the story "And One Did Not Come Back" by

, which is itself based on the heroic life of Dr. Dwarkanath Kotnis, played by

in the film. Dr. Kotnis was sent to China during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

to provide medical assistance to the troops fighting against the Japanese invasion in Yenan province. While in China he met and courted a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

girl, Gou Qinglan. He died of Epilepsy in China.

Cast

Lead cast: * V.Shantaram as

* Jayashree Kamulkar as Gou Qinglan Rest of the cast, listed alphabetically: *

Baburao Pendharkar Baburao Pendharkar (22 June 18968 November 1967), was an Indian actor, director, film producer and writer. Personal life Baburao Pendharkar was born on 22 June 1896 in Kolhapur in a Brahmin family. Born to Radhabai and her patron Dr Gopal Pendha ...

as General Fong *

Jankidas Jankidas Mehra (1910 – 18 June 2003) was an Indian actor of Hindi cinema, cyclist, production designer, and writer. He made over 1000 film appearances between the 1930s and 1997. Biography Sports Jankidas served as the only Indian member of ...

as Dr. Mukerjee (as Janki Dass) *

Keshavrao Date Keshavrao Date (1889–1971) was an Indian film actor, who worked in both silent and sound movies. He tried to run his own drama company but found it difficult to perform the dual roles of manager and actor. Career His role in the drama ''An ...

as Dr. Kotnis' father *

Master Vinayak Vinayak Damodar Karnataki (19 January 1906 – 19 August 1947) commonly referred to as Master Vinayak was an Indian actor and film director of the 1930s and 1940s. Personal life Master Vinayak was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. He mar ...

as Bundoo * Pratima Devi as Dr. Kotnis' mother (as Pratimadevi) * Prof. Hudlikar as Dr. Atal *

Rajshree Rajashree Shantaram (born 8 October 1944), known as Rajshree, is an Indian actress of Bollywood. She is best known for her work in the movies '' Janwar'' and ''Brahmachari''. Personal life Rajshree is the daughter of acclaimed Indian filmmake ...

as Dr. Kotnis' son * Salvi as Dr. Cholkar * Ulhas as Dr. Basu

Poster and artwork

The poster and artwork were designed and executed by the noted calendar artist

S. M. Pandit Sambanand Monappa Pandit (25 March 1916 – 30 March 1993) was an Indian painter from Karnataka, popular in the school of Realism in contrast to the contemporaneous net-traditionalist Bengal Renaissance and other Indian modern art movements ...

through his studio

.Cinema India: The Art of Bollywood – V & A exhibition https://collections.vam.ac.uk/exhibition/cinema-india-the-art-of-bollywood/337/

References

External links

*
Poster for ''Dr Kotnis ki Amar Kahani'' at the V&A exhibition ''Cinema India''
1946 films 1946 drama films 1940s biographical drama films Films scored by Vasant Desai 1940s Hindi-language films 1940s war drama films English-language Indian films Films directed by V. Shantaram Films with screenplays by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas Indian biographical drama films Indian black-and-white films Indian war drama films Medical-themed films Second Sino-Japanese War films 1940s Urdu-language films World War II films based on actual events Urdu-language Indian films {{1940s-Hindi-film-stub