''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 Prabhat Film Company (popularly known as Prabhat Films) was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends. It was formed in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India in 1929, towar ...

, 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 Govind Sadashiv Tembe, popularly known as Govindrao Tembe (5 June 1881 – 9 October 1955), was a harmonium player, stage actor, and music composer. Early life and background He grew up in Kolhapur and became attached to music early in life. He ...

. The cast included

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 ...

, 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

Kaurava ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his wif ...

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.

in her identity as Sairandhari (female servant) is acting as the maid-in-waiting to Queen Sudeshna. They are in King

Virata Virata ( sa, विराट, IAST ''virāṭa''), was the king of the Matsya Kingdom, in whose court the Pandavas spent a year in concealment during their exile. Virata was married to Queen Sudeshna and was the father of Prince Uttara and P ...

'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

as King Virat * Leela as Sairandhari * Mane * Nimbalkar as Keechak *

* 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 Lang may refer to: *Lang (surname), a surname of independent Germanic or Chinese origin Places * Lang Island (Antarctica), East Antarctica * Lang Nunatak, Antarctica * Lang Sound, Antarctica * Lang Park, a stadium in Brisbane, Australia * 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 Shobhana Samarth (17 November 1916 – 9 February 2000) was an Indian actress, director and producer who began her career in the early days of talkie movies in the Hindi film industry and continued in lead roles into the 1950s. She started i ...

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 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 ...

Draupadi in films

The film was a remake of the earlier silent film ''Sairandhari'' (1920) made by

Baburao Painter Baburao Krishnarao Mestry, popularly known as Baburao Painter (3 June 1890 – 16 January 1954) was an Indian filmmaker and artist. He was a man of many talents with proficiency in painting, sculpture, film production, photography, and mechanic ...

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) *

(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