My Sister

My Sister 1944

1

Set against the backdrop of WW II in Calcutta, "Meri Bahen" is the story of a schoolteacher and his young sister. The film followed his rise to fame as a singer and the changes in his relationships following a bomb-raid.

1944

Chandidas

Chandidas 1934

1

The story revolves around the 15th century poet-saint Chandidas who acts out against the deep-rooted bigotry against caste, untouchability and the hypocrisy of society, as he falls in love with a washer woman.

1934

Vidyapati

Vidyapati 1937

1

Classic celebration of Mithila's King Shiva Singha's (Bannerjee/Kapoor) love for his wife while chronicling the influence of the pacifist court poet Bidyapati (Sanyal). Invited to the royal court by the king, Bidyapati arrives with his faithful follower Anuradha (Kanan Devi). Queen Laxmi (Chhaya Devi) falls in love with the poet, much to the distress of the king. The king falls ill and starts neglecting his royal duties until Anuradha persuades him that true love does not need reciprocation. The queen, equally distressed by her divided loyalties, contemplates suicide, encouraged by the prime minister who is worried by the nefarious impact of Bidyapati's poetry on the king.

1937

Didi

Didi 1937

1

A famous Saigal musical narrating a strange love story set against 1930s industrialization and worker-management relations. The 16-year-old Prabhavati inherits a mill and turns it into an extremely profitable enterprise. Prakash is a worker who designs a more efficient machine for the factory for which he first gets sacked and then is re-employed. He falls in love with Prabhavati's sister Sheila, who later makes way for Prabhavati who is also in love with Prakash. Her withdrawal distresses Prakash, causing him to bully the workers who then go on strike.

1937

Devdas

Devdas 1936

4.80

Devdas, the son of a zamindar, and Parvati, his neighbour's daughter, are childhood sweethearts. However, class and caste differences prevent their marriage. Devdas is sent off to Calcutta, while Paro is married off to an aged rich widower. In Calcutta, as remorse drives him to alcohol, Devdas meets Chandramukhi, a tawaif.

1936

Nabin Jatra

Nabin Jatra 1953

1

A 1953 Bengali Drama Film directed by Subodh Mitra.

1953

Inquilab

Inquilab 1935

6.00

A drama set amid an earthquake in Bihar. Miss Renee (Khote) looks after the victims while her lover, the businessman Sardar (Mohanned), wants to make money from the disaster.

1935

Pehla Aadmi

Pehla Aadmi 1950

1

It was 1943. Burma was under Japanese control. In Pegu, a small place near Burma lived two Indian families. They were neighbors Kumar and Lata loved each other. Their parents were also willing to see them engaged. Suddenly one day, it came out in the news paper the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had called on the people to give him blood so that he could give them freedom. Kumar was reluctant but later on he decided to join the INA.

1950

Grihadaha

Grihadaha 1936

1

The poor but educated Mahim and his childhood friend, the rich but conservative Suresh, both fall in love with the same woman, the liberated Achala. Mahim marries her and they move to a village but she cannot forget Suresh. Her smoldering unhappiness takes the form of resentment towards the orphaned Mrinal, raised by Mahim's father, and receives a dramatic visual embodiment when their house burns down. Mahim falls ill, is rescued by Suresh, and nursed back to health by Achala. On a train (a metaphor for the irreversibly linear course of life) to a health resort where Mahim is supposed to convalesce, Suresh on a rainswept night gives in to temptation and elopes with Achala. At the end of the film, there is a dubious reconciliation as Achala is shown following Mahim's 'good' traditionalism with Sharatchandra's barely concealed hostility towards Achala's liberated Brahmo Samaj upbringing.

1936

Anjangarh

Anjangarh 1948

1

When a local mining company dares to provide its workers a fair wage for a fair day's work, and lets its workers unionize, the kingdom's villainous potentate is less than pleased. After considerable pressure, the company agrees to blame unrest in the region on a blameless worker collective.

1948

Galpo Holeo Satti

Galpo Holeo Satti 1966

7.50

In a family where relations have deteriorated to the worst level, even affecting professional lives, an outsider tries to rebuild the lost love and compassion.

1966

Adhikar

Adhikar 1939

1

Melodrama about lineage and property questions. Nikhilesh (Barua) loves heiress Indira (Jamuna). A poor orphan girl, Radha (Menaka Devi), arrives claiming to be Indira's stepsister and therefore part inheritor of the family estate. Indira agrees to share her inheritance but then Radha makes a play for Nikhilesh. Ultimately, Radha turns out to be the real and sole heir. Love proves to be stronger than material possession as Indira and Nikhilesh get married and Radha finds happiness with Ratan, a man she had known and loved during her days of poverty. As each character returns to the class of his/her birth, the message hammered home is a warning to people never to transcend their social status.

1939

The Devoted

The Devoted 1933

1

The legend of Prince Puran, born under King Silwan of Sialkot's curse which binds his parents never to set eyes on him until he is 16. Accused of leading a debauched life by an evil general and by the king's second wife, Puran is sentenced to death. Rescued by the mystic Gorakhnath, he becomes an ascetic. When the king is overthrown, Purna rises from his meditations to depose the general who has seized power, before returning to his life of renunciation.

1933

Sapera

Sapera 1939

1

Adapted from a story by Kazi Nazrul Islam this film concerns love and revenge among a tribe of snake charmers led by Jahar (Nawab) who is searching for his 100th poisonous snake so as to show how he can magically cure its deadly bite.

1939

Devdas

Devdas 1935

1

Devdas, the son of a zamindar, and Parvati, his neighbour's daughter, are childhood sweethearts. However, class and caste differences prevent their marriage. Devdas is sent off to Calcutta, while Paro is married off to an aged rich widower. In Calcutta, as remorse drives him to alcohol, Devdas meets Chandramukhi, a prostitute. All Indian prints of this Bengali version were destroyed in a fire that ravaged New Theatre’s studios. Today, only one copy of the film survives which belongs to the Bangladesh Film Archives. Of that copy almost forty percent is destroyed.

1935

Atithi

Atithi 1965

1

This is the story of the wanderlust in a teenage boy, Tarapada, who often ran away from his home for days to join groups of wandering players, musicians and acrobats. Based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore.

1965

Dhoop Chhaon

Dhoop Chhaon 1935

1

A remake of the Bengali film Bhagya Chakra, it was the first Hindi film to use playback singing. It was director Nitin Bose who came up with the idea of playback singing.

1935

Saugandh

Saugandh 1942

1

A father worries for his younger son and asks his elder son to promise that he will do everthing in his power to ensure Arun does not go astray, educates himself and becomes an independent man. However, fate has other plans. When Arun commits an unthinkable crime, his brother fulfills the promise made to their father and shields his younger sibling from all harm.

1942

Wapas

Wapas 1943

1

Two young friends bond when they visit the village fair. They fall in love. What seems like a simple story soon turns into a conflict zone between families and when pride is hurt love is sure to suffer. Wapas is a tale of wronged love. Will the young lovers be able to bury their differences and find love again?

1943

Tins for India

Tins for India 1941

5.00

The manufacture of kerosene tins in an Indian factory.

1941