''Prarthana'' () is a 1943

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 ...

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 ...

-language social film directed by

Sarvottam Badami Sarvottam Badami (1910–2005) was an Indian film director of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. He started his career as a sound recordist for the first talkie in India, '' Alam Ara'' (1931). In 1948 he helped set up the Films Division for news- ...

for

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 ...

's Minerva Movietone. The music director was Saraswati Devi and the lyricist was Safdar Aah Sitapuri. Having worked for

Madan Theatres Ltd Madan Theatre Company, also known as Madan Theatres Limited or Madan Theatres in short, was a film production company founded by Jamshedji Framji Madan, one of the pioneers of Indian Cinema. History Madan, a young Parsi businessman, who had expe ...

and

Sagar Movietone Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for Indian cinema. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 19 ...

in the 1930s, the famous singer and actress

Jehanara Kajjan Jahanara Kajjan (15 February 1915 – December 1945), or "Miss Kajjan", was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s and 1930s, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal".Orsini 2006: 272 The reigning queen of early talkie ...

returned to work after a hiatus of four years working for studios like Minerva Movietone. ''Prarthana'' is cited as "probably" her last film before her death in 1944. The film starred Motilal, Jahanara Kajjan,

Sabita Devi Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a Hindi film actress in Indian cinema. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with Mehtab, Bibbo, Durga Khote, Gohar, Devika Rani and Seeta Devi. ...

, Sajjan, Nimabalkar, K. N. Singh, Sadat Ali, Mehboob and Abu Bakar.

Cast

* Motilal *

Kajjanbai Jahanara Kajjan (15 February 1915 – December 1945), or "Miss Kajjan", was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s and 1930s, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal".Orsini 2006: 272 The reigning queen of early talkie ...

* K. N. Singh * Sajjan * Nimbalkar * Sajjan * Sadat Ali * Mehboob * Ghulam Hussain * Abu Bakar * Nimbalkar * Menaka. * Shorrey.

Music

The music was by Saraswati Devi with lyrics by Safdar Aah. The singers were Jahanara Kajjan, Vasant, Rehmat Bai and Moolchand. The song "Aaya Sawan Aaja" sung by Kajjan with relative ease, was in the raga

Brindabani Sarang Brindavani Sarang or Brindabani Sarang, also known as raga Sarang, is a Hindustani classical raga. It is also called Vridavani Sarang. This raga falls under the category of Sarang ragas. Theory Brindabani Sarang is a Kafi thaat raga. It ...

. Other popular songs of Kajjan from this film are, "Kahe Neha Lagaye Sajaniya" and "Ek Dhundhla Sa Mohabbat Ka Hai Nasha Baaki".

Song List

References

External links

* {{Sarvottam Badami 1943 films 1940s Hindi-language films Indian drama films Indian black-and-white films Films directed by Sarvottam Badami 1943 drama films Hindi-language drama films