''Kalpana'' () is a 1948 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

dance film A dance film (also known as screen dance) is a film in which dance is used to reveal the central themes of the film, whether these themes be connected to narrative or story, states of being, or more experimental and formal concerns. In such films, ...

written and directed by dancer

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian cl ...

. It is his only film. The story revolves around a young dancer's dream of setting up a dance academy, a reflection of Shankar's own academy, which he founded at

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

. It starred Uday Shankar and his wife Amala Shankar as leads and 16-year-old actress Padmini, making her screen debut. It also marks

Usha Kiran Usha Kiran (22 April 1929 – 9 March 2000) was an Indian actress. In a career spanning over four decades, she acted in over 50 Hindi and Marathi films, notably '' Daag'' (1952), '' Patita'' (1953), ''Baadbaan'' (1954), '' Chupke Chupke'' (1975) ...

's debut film too. ''Kalpana'' was the first film to present an Indian classical dancer in the leading role, and was entirely shot as a dance ballet and a fantasy. It was shown at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

(

IFFI The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

-Goa) (2008), as a part of the section "Treasures from NFAI" (

National Film Archive of India The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in February 1964. It is was a member of the International Federation of Film Archives. In March 2022, it was merged with ...

), with other "rare gems" from the archives.

Cast

as Udayan & Writer * Amala Uday Shankar as Uma * Lakshmi Kanta as Kamini * Dr. G. V. Subbarao as Drawing Master * Birendra Banerji as Noor * Swaraj Mitter Gupta as Ramesh * Anil Kumar Chopra as Madan & School Teacher * Brijo Behari Banerji as Uma's Father * Chiranjilal Shah as Gope * Devilal Samar as Sundar * K. Mukerjee as Grandfather * Dulal Sen as Mama * G. V. Karandikar as Producer * Nagen Dey as Mill Owner * Ganesh Banerji as Theater Manager * Syd Jalaluddin as Mukhiya * Farman Ali as Young Udayan * Begam Zamarudh as Young Uma * Yousuf Ali as Young Noor

Songs

The music was composed by Vishnudas Shirali, and the lyrics were penned by Sumitranandan Pant. The Bhil folk songs were written by Devilal Samar.

Production

Kalpana, 1948 film showing Uday Shankar and Amala Shankar

Well known Tamil actress and dancer, Lakshmikantham, credited in the film as "Lakshmi Kanta" plays Kamini. 16-year-old actress Padmini and along with her sister Lalitha, makes their debut into Hindi films. Tamil dancer and actress Yoga of the Yoga-Mangalam sisters makes an appearance as a dancer credited as "Yogam". Small role actress P. K. Saraswathi credited as "Saraswathi" also appears as a dancer. Gopal Rao, who played a small role in

Thyaga Bhoomi ''Thyaga Bhoomi'' () is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subramanyam. Starring K. J. Mahadevan and S.D.Subbalakshmi, the film was produced at the height of India's freedom movement and glorified Mahatma Gandhi and h ...

(1939 film), also plays a small role. Finally,

made her debut into films in this movie, credited as "Usha".

Restoration

In 2009, the film process of

digital restoration Film preservation, or film restoration, describes a series of ongoing efforts among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images they contain. In the wi ...

was taken up by

NFAI The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in February 1964. It is was a member of the International Federation of Film Archives. In March 2022, it was merged with ...

in collaboration with France-based Thomson Foundation. In 2010, it was being restored by the

World Cinema Foundation The World Cinema Project (WCP), formerly World Cinema Foundation, is a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and restoration of neglected world cinema, founded by Martin Scorsese. History Founded in 2007 as the World Cinema Foundati ...

(director

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

is a founding member).

References

External links

* {{Gemini Studios 1948 films 1940s Hindi-language films Indian black-and-white films Indian dance films 1940s fantasy films Indian fantasy films Films shot in Tamil Nadu Gemini Studios films