''Watan'' () is a 1938 Hindustani costume drama film directed by

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

. Produced by Sagar Films (

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 ...

), the film had story by Mehboob Khan and

Wajahat Mirza Wajahat Hussain Mirza Changezi ( hi, वजाहत मिर्ज़ा; 20 April 1908 – 4 August 1990) was an Indian screenwriter and film director who penned the dialogues of some of the most successful films in India during the 1950s ...

. The cinematographer, as for most Sagar films was

Faredoon Irani Faredoon A. Irani was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Hindi films. He shot Mehboob Khan's films '' Andaz'' (1949), '' Aan'' (1952) and ''Mother India '' (1958). During his career, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer recor ...

. Following the successful music of

Manmohan Manmohan means 'Winner of the heart'. It is another name of Krishna, the Hindu deity, one of the "avatars" (or "incarnation") of Lord Vishnu. Manmohan may also refer to: *Man Mohan Adhikari (1920–1999), former Prime Minister of Nepal *Manmohan (a ...

(1936), Sagar Movietone retained Anil Biswas as the in-house music director, scoring music for ''Watan'' along with other releases of the time from the studio. The cast of the film included

Kumar A coin, around 200 BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya">Yaudheyas.html" ;"title="BCE, of the Yaudheyas">BCE, of the Yaudheyas with depiction of Kumāra Karttikeya Kumar (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: wikt:कुमा ...

(Syed Ali Hasan Zaidi), Bibbo (Ishrat Sultana), Maya Banerjee, Yakub Lala,

Sitara Devi Sitara Devi (named Dhanlakshm; 8 November 1920 – 25 November 2014) was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several pres ...

and Kayam Ali. Sitara Devi, who started her career as a child actress with Sagar Movietone working with Mehboob, got her first role as a leading lady with ''Watan''. She was adjudged, and received the best actress award, from the Gohar Gold Medal Committee, an award committee instituted by actress Gohar. The story set in Central Asia, based on the Decossackization policy, involving the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

and Cossacks with the Cossacks fight for independence which was a symbolic reference to the independence from

British rule in India 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 ...

at that time. It also incorporated a romantic triangle involving Kumar, Bibbo and Sitara Devi.

Plot

In a fictionalised setting somewhere in Central Asia the tyrannical Russian King (Siddiqui) is committing atrocities against the Cossacks. General Murad (Kumar) is sympathetic towards the Cossacks and is arrested for his treachery. He manages to escape and meets Gulnar (

). Together with the help of princess Nigar (Bibbo) who falls in love with Murad, they plan a coup and are successful in routing the Tsar and his men.

Cast

*Kumar as General Murad *Bibbo as Princess Nigar *Sitara Devi as Gulnar *Maya Banerjee *Yakub Lala *Kayam Ali as Jabir *Sankatha Prasad *H. Siddiqui as the Russian King *Pande *Mirza *Ramchandra *Agashe

Songs

References

External links

* {{Mehboob Khan 1938 films 1930s Hindi-language films Films directed by Mehboob Khan Indian black-and-white films Indian drama films 1938 drama films Fictional Cossacks Films set in the Russian Empire