''Jhansi Ki Rani'' () is a 1953 Indian

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 ...

-language

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film produced and directed by

Sohrab Modi Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...

for his Minerva Movietone production banner. It is credited as the first

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

film made in India and starred Modi's wife, Mehtab in the title role, with Modi in the important role of her mentor, Rajguru (royal adviser). The film was dubbed in English as ''The Tiger and the Flame'', which released in 1956 with the same star cast. The cast besides Mehtab and Sohrab Modi included

Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

Ulhas The Ulhas River is a river in Maharashtra, India. It is in the Thane, Raigad, and Pune districts of that state. It flows north and west from it source to where it splits into Vasai Creek and Thane Creek, near Thane. The Ulhas divides Salsette ...

Sapru Sapru is a clan of Kashmiri Pandits. The majority of them are now living in diaspora outside the Kashmir Valley. Most Saprus are Hindus while some are Muslims. Notable people *Tej Bahadur Sapru, lawyer, political and social leader *Muhammad Iqba ...

, Ram Singh, Baby Shikha, Marconi and Shakila. Set in the 19th century against the backdrop of the

Mutiny of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, the film is about the bravery of queen Lakshmibai,

Rani of Jhansi Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

, who took up arms and led her army against the British. She was one of the first Indians to do so. It was the most expensive Hindi film up until then, with a budget , but became a box office failure.

Plot

Rajguru (

) decides that

Jhansi Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative hea ...

should get its proper recognition in history. He comes across a young girl, Manu (the young Rani Lakshmibai), played by Baby Shikha. Her father has been hit by a carriage driven by an English driver. She gathers a few children to confront the driver. This, and her confrontation with an elephant impresses the Rajguru who takes her in hand, shaping her into becoming a determined leader. He arranges for her, at the age of nine, to marry the much older ruler of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao (Mubarak), who is about fifty years old, and become Queen. Manu grows up under the expert tutelage of the Rajguru, learning physical combat and political administration. The older Manu, now called Lakshmibai gives birth to a boy who dies. She adopts another boy, Damodar Rao, who the English refuse to accept as the rightful heir. This further sets her against the British. During the uprising of 1857 (1857 Mutiny), she fights against them, succumbing to her injuries in the end.

Cast

* Mehtab as Rani Lakshmibai *

as Rajguru *

as Gangadhar Rao *

as General Sir Hugh Rose *

as Ghulam Ghaus Khan * Ram Singh as Sadashiv Rao * Baby Shikha as Manu * Anil Kishore as Lieut. Henry Dowker * Kamlakant as Moropant * S.B. Nayampalli as Panditji * Michael Shea as Major Eliss * Gloria Gasper as Doris Dowker * Marconi as Colonel Sleeman * Shakila as Kashi * Dar Kashmiri

Production

The film was released in India in 1952 (1953) as ''Jhansi Ki Rani'' and released in the US as ''The Tiger and the Flame'' in 1956. Modi had Hollywood technicians brought in to help in the technical aspect of the film. He managed to create the right era using historical details correctly. The main cinematographer was the Hollywood Oscar winner for ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...

'' (1939),

Ernest Haller Ernest Jacob Haller (May 31, 1896 – October 21, 1970), sometimes known as Ernie J. Haller, was an American cinematographer. He was most notable for his involvement in ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939), and his close professional relationships with ...

, who was assisted by M. N. Malhotra and Y. D. Sarpotdar. The editor was Russell Lloyd from England. The film deviated from the fictionalised accounts and stuck to the extracts from the novel ''Jhansi Ki Rani'' (1946) by

Vrindavan Lal Verma Vrindavan Lal verma (9 January 1889 – 23 February 1969) was a Hindi novelist and playwright. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan for his literary works; Agra University presented him with honorary D. Lit. He received Soviet Land Nehru Award and ...

Sohrab Modi And Historicals

Modi concentrated on Historicals, prominent of which were ''Pukar'' (1939), ''Jhansi Ki Rani'' and ''Mirza Ghalib'' (1954), which are "considered milestones of the genre".

Box-office

The press praised the film lauding Modi's use of colour and direction. However, in spite of having spent lavishly on technicians, sets, war scenes and making it in colour, the film was a big box office disaster causing Modi great financial losses. Modi was blamed for casting his wife Mehtab in the title role of Lakshmibai, who looked too old at 35 years to portray the young queen half her age.

Crew

Crew * Dialogue: L. Bijlani and Dialogue director was William DeLane Lea * Screenplay: Geza Herceg, Adi F. Keeka and Sudarshan * Audiographer: M. Eduljee

Soundtrack

While the English version (1956, dubbed) had no songs, the Hindi version had music by

Vasant Desai Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like '' Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje'' (1955), '' Do Aankhen Barah Haath'' (1957), Vijay Bhatt's '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959), ''Samp ...

and lyrics by Pandit Radheshyam. The playback singers were

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

, Sulochana Kadam, Suman Purohit, Parshuram and P. Ramakant. Two songs in Mohammed Rafi's voice remain notable: "Amar Hai Jhansi Ki Rani" and "Rajguru Ne Jhansi Chhodi".

Songlist

Trivia

Impressed by

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

's performance in Razia Sultan (1983), Modi wanted to remake ''Jhansi Ki Rani'' with her in the lead.

References

External links

* {{Sohrab Modi 1953 films 1950s Hindi-language films Films directed by Sohrab Modi Films scored by Vasant Desai Films about the Indian Rebellion of 1857 1950s historical drama films Indian historical drama films Cultural depictions of Rani Laxmibai 1953 drama films