In some versions of the Ramayana such as the Krittivasi Ramayana, Mahiravana, is the son of the rakshasa king Ravana. He secretly carried away Rama and his brother Lakshmana to the nether-world, consulted his friends, and decided to sacrifice the life of the two divine brothers at the altar of his chosen deity, goddess Mahamaya. However, Hanuman saved their lives by decapitating Mahiravana, and destroying his army.
Prabhat Film Company was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends.
Keshavrao Date (1889–1971) was an Indian film actor, who worked in both silent and sound movies. He tried to run his own drama company but found it difficult to perform the dual roles of manager and actor.
Kunku is a 1937 Marathi classic social drama film directed by V. Shantaram, and based on the novel, Na Patnari Goshta by Narayan Hari Apte, who also wrote film's screenplay. The film was simultaneously shot and released in Hindi as Duniya Na Maane.
Sri Krishna Satya is a 1971 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Jayalalithaa, with music composed by Pendyala. The film was produced by N. Trivikrama Rao. It was the last film directed by the noted filmmaker K. V. Reddy.
Mahiravana is a 1940 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao and produced by Ghantasala Balaramayya under the banner of Kubera Films. Veteran actor Vemuri Gaggayya played Ahiravan.
Vishnupant Govind Damle was an Indian production designer, cinematographer, film director and sound engineer for Marathi films. His 1937 film Sant Tukaram was the first Indian film to be screened at an international film festival. It won a "Special Recommendation" at the 5th Venice International Film Festival.
Das Baje, also called 10 O'Clock, is an Indian film. It was released in 1942. This was a debut direction for Raja Nene, a protege of V. Shantaram, and produced under Shantaram's Prabhat Film Company banner. The film was a bilingual, made in Hindi, and in the Marathi language as Daha Wajta. The music direction was by Keshavrao Bhole. The story was written by Kashyap and Pawar, with dialogues in Hindi by Ashant. The photography was by E. Mohammed. It starred Paresh Bannerji, Urmila and Vasant Thengdi in the lead roles, with Baby Shakuntala and Manajirao forming the supporting cast.
Shantaram Govind Athavale was an Indian director of Marathi, Hindi and English language films, a lyricist, poet, and author. Part of the generation that emerged from the Prabhat Film Company in Pune in the 1930s, he made pioneering contributions to Marathi film.
Amrit Manthan is a 1934 Indian costume-drama film directed by V. Shantaram for his Prabhat Film Company. The film was produced simultaneously in Hindi and Marathi. The film starred Chandra Mohan, Nalini Tarkhad, Shanta Apte, G. R. Mane, Varde and Kelkar. The film was based on Narayan Hari Apte's novel Bhagyashree. The Hindi translation was done by Veer Mohammed Puri, who also wrote the lyrics for the film.
Hanuman Patal Vijay is a 1951 Hindi mythological film directed by Homi Wadia for his Basant Pictures banner. Meena Kumari starred in this devotional film with S. N. Tripathi playing Hanuman. Following her career as a child actress, Meena Kumari did heroine roles in mythologies made by Basant Pictures and directed by Homi Wadia. She had an extremely successful career for some years playing goddesses before her big commercial break in Baiju Bawra (1951). S. N. Tripathi, besides acting in the film, also composed the music. His costars were Meena Kumari, Mahipal, Niranjan Sharma, Dalpat and Amarnath.
Shejari is also known as Padosi in Hindi version as. Padosi is a 1941 Indian social drama film directed by V. Shantaram. It was produced by Prabhat Film Company and the bilingual film in Marathi and Hindi was the last film Shantaram made for Prabhat before venturing to form his Rajkamal Kalamandir. The film is cited as one of the three social classics Shantaram made at Prabhat. The other two were Duniya Na Mane (1937) and Aadmi (1939). The story and dialogue were by Vishram Bedekar in the Marathi version, while the dialogues in the Hindi version were by Pandit Sudarshan, who also wrote the lyrics. The music director was Master Krishnarao. The famous character artist Radhakrishan made his acting debut in the film as a villain. The film starred Mazhar Khan, Gajanan Jagirdar, Anees Khatoon, Radha Kishan, Lajwanti, Sumitra, Gopal and Balak Ram.
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.
Rani Saheba also called Bazarbattu is a 1930 Indian silent film. It is cited as the first children's film made in India. The film was co-directed by V. Shantaram and Keshavrao Dhaiber. The cinematographers were S. Fattelal and Vishnupant Govind Damle and the cast included Keshavrao Dhaiber, Baburao Pendharkar, V. Shantaram and Anant Apte.
Ladki Sahyadri Ki is a 1966 Hindi social drama film directed by V. Shantaram. Also called Iye Marathichiye Nagari in Marathi, it was a bilingual for V. Shantaram productions under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner. The music was composed by Vasant Desai, with lyrics by Bharat Vyas. The cast included Sandhya, Shalini Abhyankar, Vatsala Deshmukh, Kumar Dighe, Keshavrao Date, and Baburao Pendharkar.
Khooni Khanjar is a 1930 Indian silent film directed by V. Shantaram. The film was a costume action drama film co-directed by Keshavrao Dhaiber. It was produced by Prabhat Film Company. The cinematography was by Sheikh Fattelal and Vishnupant Govind Damle. The cast included Mane Pahelwan, Ganpat G. Shinde, P. Jairaj, Sakribai and Shankarrao Bhosle.
Chandrasena is a 1931 Indian silent film directed by V. Shantaram and Keshavrao Dhaiber. The director of photography was Keshavrao Dhaiber. Produced under the banner of Prabhat Film Company, the film brought the company into the "frontline" of film makers. The cast included Lila, "alias" Lilavati Pendharkar, who was making her debut with this film, with Kamla, Gulabbai and G. R. Mane.
Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like Duniya Na Mane/Kunku (1937) and Amar Jyoti (1936) under the Prabhat Films banner, she was active in Indian cinema from 1932 to 1958. Apte's impact on Marathi cinema "paralleled" that of Kanan Devi in Bengali cinema. Along with Kanan Devi, Apte is cited as one of the "great singing stars" from before the playback singing era. Apte began her career in films playing the role of a young Radha in the Marathi film Shyamsunder (1932). She joined Prabhat Films acting in her first Hindi language film Amrit Manthan in (1934).
Agnikankan: Branded Oath also called The Branded Oath, is a 1932 Marathi adventure film directed by V. Shantaram. The film was a Prabhat Film Company production and was a bilingual, called Jalti Nishani in Hindi. The cinematography was done by Keshavrao Dhaiber and Art direction by S. Fatehlal. The sound direction was by Vishnupant Govind Damle and the music and lyrics were by Govindrao Tembe. Dialogues for the movie are written by Govindrao Tembe. The character artist Gajanan Jagirdar began his career in films by acting the role of a seventy-five-year-old man at the age of twenty-five. The cast included Shankarrao Bhosle, Kamala Devi, Master Vinayak, Baburao Pendharkar, Nimbalkar and Jagirdar.
