''Sairandhari'' is a 1933 Indian film based on an episode from the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
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 film was a bilingual made as ''Sairandhari'' in both
Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people
*Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece
See also
*
* ...
and
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 ...
.
Produced by
Prabhat Film Company, it has been cited as one of the 21 "most wanted missing Indian treasures" by P K. Nair, the
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 ...
founder.
The music composer was
Govindrao Tembe.
The cast included
Master Vinayak, Leela, Prabhavati,
Shakuntala
Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...
, G.R. Mane, Nimbalkar and Shankarrao Bhosle.
It is the first Indian colour film. The film was shot on Agfa B&W 35-mm negative. The release prints were made in Germany by Bipack colour printing process.
The film revolved around an incident from the Mahabharata and told the story of
Draupadi
Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...
as Malini/Sairandhari (female servant), the thirteenth identity she took in order to remain safe and hidden from the
Kauravas.
Plot
The story is about the twelfth of the thirteen years of the
Pandava
The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowledg ...
s exile.
Draupadi
Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...
in her identity as Sairandhari (female servant) is acting as the maid-in-waiting to Queen
Sudeshna
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Sudeshna was the wife of King Virata, at whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. She was the mother of Uttar, Uttara, Shveta, and Shankha. Sudeshna, had 106 Younger Brothers. ...
. They are in King
Virata's palace in Matsya.
Kichaka
In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Kichaka or Keechaka is the commander-in-chief of Matsya kingdom, the country ruled by King Virata. He was the 1st Younger Brother of Sudeshna, the queen of Virata. Kichaka was a very powerful man and had imme ...
, King Virata's brother-in-law and Sudeshna's brother is an arrogant man who believes that King Virat rules his kingdom because of him. He sees Sairandhari and orders his sister to send Sairandhari to his palace. When she reaches Keechak's palace
Bhima
In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...
who is disguised as the palace cook, arrives to save her and slays Kichaka.
Cast
*
Master Vinayak as
King Virat
* Leela as
Sairandhari
* Mane
* Nimbalkar as
Keechak
*
Shakuntala
Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...
* Prabhavati
* Kulkarni
* Bhonsle
* Salunke
Production
Shantaram had been impressed by the "technical virtuosity" in films of
Pabst Pabst is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adolf Pabst (1899–1990), American mineralogist and geologist
*Daniel Pabst (1826–1910), American furniture maker
*Frederick Pabst (1836–1904), American brewer
*Georg Wilhelm ...
,
Lang, and
Max Ophuls
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
. Sairandhari was made in colour but for processing Shantaram took it to the UFA studios in Germany.
However, the technique failed and the film was released as a
Black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
production as the colours turned out to be too garish.
The film was stated as the first Indian colour film, the processing was done in Germany. Even though a good reaction was expected for this colour film - the processing of the negatives was messed up by the lab in Germany causing the colours to be too garish. The audience rejected the film and it played for less than a week.
The film is also credited as having the first original soundtrack disc.
The Gramaphone Records were "pressed" from the original soundtrack in Germany.
Remake
It was remade as Keechak Vadh in 1959, starring
Shobhana Samarth,
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
,
Baburao Pendharkar.
Draupadi in films
The film was a remake of the earlier silent film ''Sairandhari'' (1920) made by
Baburao Painter and the remake of Prabhat's original ''Keechak Vadhan'' (1928).
Draupadi, a "mythological image" and an oppressed figure was used as a nationalistic representative for India under the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
.
The several films made from 1916 to 1944 using Draupadi were:
*
Keechak Vadham (1916)
* Draupadi Vastaharan (1920)
*
Sairandhari (1920)
* Draupadi Swayamvar (1922)
* Draupadi's Fate (1924)
* Draupadi Vastaharan (1927)
* Draupadi Vastaharan (1928)
* Keechakvadh (1928)
*
Draupadi
Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...
(1931) Talkie
* Sairandhari (1933)
* Draupadi (1944)
Soundtrack
;Hindi Soundtrack
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sairandhri(1933 Marathi film)
1933 films
1930s color films
1930s Marathi-language films
1930s Hindi-language films
Prabhat Film Company films
Films directed by V. Shantaram
1933 multilingual films
Indian multilingual films