Puran Bhagat (film)

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Puran Bhagat
Kumar puran bhakt.jpg
Kumar as Puran Bhakt
Directed by Debaki Bose
Produced by New Theatres
Starring
Cinematography Nitin Bose
Music by R. C. Boral
Production
company
New Theatres
Release date
  • 1933 (1933)
Running time
159 min
Country British India
Language Hindi

Puran Bhagat (Puran Bhakt) is a 1933 Hindi devotional biopic film from New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. [1] The film was Debaki Bose's debut direction in Hindi. [2] The film starred K. L. Saigal, Uma Shashi, Kumar, Molina Devi, K. C. Dey and Tarabai. [3] The film was based on a popular Punjabi devotional story of Puran Bhagat, which was a change for New Theatres from their regular films based on traditional Bengali stories, saints and novels. It was a "great success all over India". [4]

Contents

Synopsis

After several years of penance and prayers a male child is born to King Silwan of Sialkot and his wife Queen Ichhara. However the Raj Guru predicts that they must not see their son till he's 16 years old or the child will die. The child, Puran, is given to Raj Guru to be fostered. Mahipat the Senapati (king's general), has looked forward to becoming the king for a long time as the king had no son. But the birth of Puran thwarts his desires and over the years he spreads rumours about Puran's wild antics, which also reach the king. Time comes for Puran to return home. He finds his father has taken a much younger wife, Luna.

Luna becomes infatuated with Puran and lets him know. Puran is at once repelled and horrified. He rejects her advances and leaves. The spurned Luna tells the king that Puran tried to molest her. The irate King has Puran's arms cut off, and has him thrown in a well. A miracle occurs where the saint, Guru Gorakhnath, arrives and sews up Puran's hands and keeps him as his disciple. Gorakhnath tests Puran's ascetism by sending him to an Amazonian style kingdom. The Queen, Rani Sundara, falls in love with Puran. After Puran has left his father's kingdom, the Senapati attacks and has King Silwan deposed. King Silwan sends for help from Rani Sundara. Goraknath insists that Puran along with the Sundara go to the help of his father. They succeed in restoring King Silwan to his throne. Puran after marrying Sundara remembers his vow of ascetism and leaves the kingdom renouncing his throne.

Cast

Release

B. N. Sircar, through New Theatres had earlier made films based on Bengali literature and Chandidas (Bengali) (1932) had been a big success. Now he decided to focus on the legend of the Punjabi prince and saint Puran Bhagat. The film with its "enchanting music" "was a box-office hit". The Punjab Cinema Art Society acclaimed it as a "masterpiece". In Lahore the film ran to packed houses. [5]

Music

The film is regarded as R. C. Boral's first hit Hindi movie. [6] Boral used new techniques in his music and combined elements from classical Indian raagas with folk music starting a trend followed by other music directors. [7]

Songs

#TitleSingerMin
1"Din Neeke Beete Jaate Hain" K. L. Saigal 3.13
2"Avsar beeto jaat praani"K. L. Saigal3.01
3"Raadhe Raani De Daaro Naa Bansari Mori Re"K. L. Saigal3.31
4"Bhaju Main To Bhaav Se Shiri Giridhari"K. L. Saigal2.58
5"Jaavo Jaavo E Mere Saadhu" K. C. Dey 3.09
6"Kya Kaaran Hai Ab Rone Kaa"K. C. Dey

Related Research Articles

Bhagat is a term used in the Indian subcontinent to describe religious personalities who have obtain high acclaim in their community for their services and devoutness. It is also one of the clan in Mahar caste with clan totem as King Cobra and also a surname found among Marathas, Bania communities and Punjabi Brahmins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K. L. Saigal</span> Musical artist

Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal, was an Indian playback singer and actor who worked in Hindi cinema, which was centred in Calcutta (Kolkata) during Saigal's time, but is currently based in Bombay (Mumbai). Saigal's unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. In fact it remains the gold standard even today shining through very early and practically primitive recording technology.

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Rai Chand Boral was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India.

Raja Sálbán is a mythical monarch, believed to have founded the city and the fort of Sialkot. According to Punjabi folklore, he was father of Puran Bhagat and Raja Rasalu, the protagonist of the Adventures of Raja Rasalu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhagat Pipa</span> Vaishnava Bhakti poet-saint of Ramanandi Tradition

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Punjabi literature, specifically literary works written in the Punjabi language, is characteristic of the historical Punjab of present-day Pakistan and India and the Punjabi diaspora. The Punjabi language is written in several scripts, of which the Shahmukhi and Gurmukhī scripts are the most commonly used in Western Punjab and Eastern Punjab, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puran Bhagat</span>

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References

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  2. Gokulsing, Dissanayake, K. Moti,Wimal (2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. ISBN   9781136772917.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. "Puran Bhagat 1933". citwf.com. Alan Goble. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  4. Dwyer, Rachel (2006). Filming the Gods: Religion and Indian Cinema. Routledge. ISBN   9781134380701 . Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  5. Nevile, Pran (2011). K. L. Saigal A Definitive Biography. India: Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd. p. 12. ISBN   9780143414063.
  6. 'Hamraaz', Raghuwanshi, Har Mandir Singh, Harish. "Kundan Lal Saigal - A profile". members.tripod.com. Retrieved 26 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. K. L. Saigal A Definitive Biography. p. 13.