Devika Rani Chaudhuri, usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1930s and 1940s. She was the first recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and was also awarded the Padma Shri. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian Cinema, Devika Rani had a successful film career that spanned 10 years.
Dalit is a term first coined by the Indian social reformer Jyotirao Phule for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold varna of the caste hierarchy and were seen as forming a fifth varna, also known by the name of Panchama. Several scholars have drawn parallels between Dalits and the Burakumin of Japan, the Baekjeong of Korea and the peasant class of the medieval European feudal system.
Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay.
Himanshu Rai was an Indian actor and film director. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, he is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of movies, including Goddess (1922), The Light of Asia (1925), Shiraz (1928), A Throw of Dice (1929) and Karma (1933). He was married to actress Devika Rani Chaudhuri (1929–1940).
Leela Chitnis was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later roles playing a virtuous and upright mother to leading stars.
![<i>Jeevan Naiya</i> 1936 [[British Raj]] film](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Jeevan_Naiya.jpeg/320px-Jeevan_Naiya.jpeg)
Jeevan Naiya is a 1936 Hindi film directed by Franz Osten, and produced by Himanshu Rai for his studio Bombay Talkies. It is famous for being the screen debut of early superstar Ashok Kumar. The film is about the ostracism of dancing girls. The film was one of several successful Bombay Talkies collaborations between Franz Osten, Himashu Rai, screenwriters J. S. Kashyap and Niranjan Pal, and their leading lady of the time, Devika Rani.
Keemat – They Are Back is a 1998 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Sameer Malkan based on a story by Sayed Sultan and produced by brothers Ganesh and Ramesh Jain. It stars Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Raveena Tandon and Sonali Bendre, with Ravi Kishen and Anupam Kher in supporting roles. This was the fourth collaboration between Kumar and Khan after hits like Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Yeh Dillagi and Tu Chor Main Sipahi.
Saraswati Devi, born Khorshed Minocher-Homji, was an Indian director of music and score composer who worked in Hindi cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. She is most noted for her score, Mein Ban ki Chiriyra Banke Bun Bun Bolun Re in Bombay Talkies's Achut Kanya (1936). She along with Nargis' mother & Sanjay Dutt's grandmother Jaddanbai is considered to be one of the first female music composers in Indian cinema.
Jaag Utha Insan is a 1984 Indian Hindi-language film directed by K. Viswanath, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Sridevi, Rakesh Roshan, Deven Verma, J V Somayajulu Sujit Kumar and music composed by Rajesh Roshan. It is the Hindi version of Viswanath's 1981 Telugu film Saptapadi. It is a love story between a Dalit boy and a Brahmin Girl, played by Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi respectively in the lead roles, supported by Rakesh Roshan, J V Somayajulu Deven Verma, Sujit Kumar. The cinematographer P.L. Raj won the Filmfare Award for best cinematography. Film expert Rajesh Subramanian reveals that Jaya Prada was the first choice but since her dates were committed and clashed with Prakash Mehra's Sharaabi, Sridevi was signed to play the female lead.
Punar Milan is a 1940 Bollywood film directed by Najam Naqvi and written by Saradindu Bandopadhyay. Kishore Sahu and Snehaprabha Pradhan played the lead roles in the movie.
Anjaan is a 1941 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Amiya Chakrabarty and produced by Bombay Talkies. It was Chakrabarty's first film direction. The film's story and screenplay were by Amiya Chakrabarty, with dialogues by J. S. Casshyap. The cinematography was by the debutant R. D. Mathur. Its music direction was by Pannalal Ghosh, with lyrics by Kavi Pradeep and P. L. Santoshi. The film starred Devika Rani, who had recently returned to films after a two-year absence, following the death of her husband Himanshu Rai in 1940. The cast included Ashok Kumar, David, V. H. Desai, Gulab, Suresh and Om Prakash.
Karamchedu massacre refers to an incident that occurred in Karamchedu, Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh on 17 July 1985, where brutality by Kamma landlords against Madigas (Dalits) resulted in the killing of six Madigas and grievous injuries to many others. Three Madiga women were raped. Hundreds of Madigas in the village were displaced from their home & killed after their houses were burnt and looted.
Janmabhoomi is a 1936 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Franz Osten and starring Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar in the lead roles. Music of the film was by Saraswati Devi, who had worked extensively with Bombay Talkies.
Dharmatma is a 1935 Indian social devotional biopic directed by V. Shantaram. The film was a bilingual made in Marathi and Hindi. This was the only devotional film directed by Shantaram, though he had made several mythological films. The story and screenplay were by K. Narayan Kale and the music was composed by Master Krishnarao. The cast included Bal Gandharva in his debut role and Chandra Mohan as the villain, with Master Chhotu, K. Narayan Kale, Ratnaprabha, Vasanti and Hari Pandit.
Manoos, also called Life's for Living, is a 1939 Indian Marathi social melodrama film directed by V. Shantaram. The movie was simultaneously made in Hindi as Aadmi. The film was based on a short story called "The Police Constable". The story was by A. Bhaskarrao, with screenplay and dialogue by Anant Kanekar. The cinematographer was V. Avadhoot and the music was composed by Master Krishna Rao, with lyrics by Kanekar. The cast included Shahu Modak, Shanta Hublikar, Sundara Bai, Ram Marathe, Narmada, Ganpatrao and Raja Paranjpe.
Jeevan Prabhat is a 1937 Hindi film social drama, produced by Bombay Talkies and directed by Franz Osten. The music director was Saraswati Devi with lyrics and dialogues by J. S. Casshyap. The screenplay was by Niranjan Pal. The film's "star value" was Devika Rani, with Kishore Sahu making his debut as an actor in the film. The cast included another debutant, Renuka Devi, with Mumtaz Ali, Maya Devi and M. Nazir.
![<i>Vachan</i> (1938 film) 1938 [[British India]] film](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/62/Vachan_1938_films.jpg/320px-Vachan_1938_films.jpg)
Vachan is a 1938 costume drama Hindi film directed by Franz Osten. The regular Bombay Talkies writer, Niranjan Pal, walked out of the Bombay Talkies production team after an altercation with Himanshu Rai in 1936. Saradindu Bandyopadhyay, a famous writer known also for creating Byomkesh Bakshi, replaced Pal in the story department, writing for films like Nirmala and Vachan in 1938 and Durga in 1939. The screenplay was by Agha Jani Kashmiri, with dialogues and lyrics by J. S. Kashyap. The music was composed by Saraswati Devi aided by J. S. Kashyap. The film starred Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar, a popular pair from Bombay Talkies who worked in seven films together. Devika Rani remained the bigger star with Kumar's name being "over-shadowed" in the credit rolls, as well as the publicity of the film.
Simharasi is a 2001 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by V. Samudra and produced by R. B. Choudary. It stars Rajasekhar and Sakshi Shivanand. It is a remake of the Tamil film Maayi.
Kasthuri is an Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on Sun TV from 21 August 2006 and later a show named 'Madhavi' took the time slot of this serial on 19 April 2010. It shifted to the 11.30AM slot. This serial was replaced by Kanmaneeya and again shifted on 13 December 2011, telecast for 1,532 episodes. The show starred Easwari Rao, Niya, Latha, Delhi Ganesh, Shyam, Neelima Rani, Aparna and Nithish among others. It was produced by Balaji Telefilms Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor, and had various directors. It also aired in Sri Lanka on the Tamil channel on Shakthi TV. It is an official remake of blockbuster Telugu series Kalyanee which aired on Gemini TV.
The Afsar massacre was a mass shooting and mass stabbing that killed 12 people in the Indian village of Afsar, in 2000. The massacre was the result of caste wars of Bihar, which originate from clashes between upper-caste, who were supporters of the existing status quo, and the lower castes, who wanted to change the current system. According to the data by the "South Asia terrorism portal", the victims of these caste wars were most often Dalits, followed by Forward Castes, while Upper Backwards were victims less frequently than any other group.
