Kisan Kanya (1937 film)

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Kisan Kanya
Directed by Moti B. Gidvani
Produced by Ardeshir Irani
Written by Saadat Hasan Manto
Starring Padmadevi
Jillo
Ghulam Mohammed
Nissar
Syed Ahmed
Ghani
Release date(s) 1937
Language Hindi/Urdu
IMDb profile

Kisan Kanya was a 1937 Hindi feature film which was directed by Moti B. Gidvani and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Pictures. It is largely remembered by the Indian public on account of it being India's first indigenously made colour film.[1][2][3][4]

Contents

[edit] Production

Film pioneer Ardeshir Irani, who had produced notable films as Nala Damayanti (1920) which was India's first international co-production[5] (with Italy) and India's first talkie Alam Ara (1931)[6] conceived the idea of producing a color film. The result of his efforts was the color film Kisan Kanya made with the Cinecolor process[7] whose process rights Irani had obtained from an American company.[7]

V. Shantaram had earlier produced a Marathi film Sairandhri (1933) which had scenes in color.[8][9] However, the film was processed and printed in Germany[9] Kisan Kanya was, therefore, India's first indigenously made color film.[9]

[edit] Cast

  • Padmadevi
  • Jillo
  • Ghulam Mohammed
  • Nissar
  • Syed Ahmed
  • Ghani

[edit] Plot

Kisan Kanya was based on a novel by Saadat Hasan Manto[7] and focussed on the plight of poor farmers.[7] The story revolved on the life of a poor peasant Ram (Nisar) who was being ill-treated by his landlord Ghani. [10] Eventually, Ghani is murdered and Ram becomes the prime suspect in the eyes of the public.[10] The film performed moderately at the box-office.[7]

[edit] Other early color films

Ardeshir Irani made another color film Mother India in 1938 which was another average grosser[11]. However, the commencement of the Second World War delayed the advent of color. The first Indian film in Kodachrome color was Ajit made in 1948[4].

[edit] References

  1. ^ First Color Film Made in India. colorsofindia.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  2. ^ Know more about Hindi cinema. rediff.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  3. ^ Ganti, Tejaswini (2004). Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. Routledge, 208. ISBN:0415288533. 
  4. ^ a b The Early Films (1930s-1960s). culturopedia.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  5. ^ Subir Ghosh. The firsts in Indian cinema. culturopedia.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  6. ^ Ardeshir Irani, Indian film maker. indianetzone.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  7. ^ a b c d e Encyclopedia Britannica; Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopedia of Hindi cinema. Encylopedia Britannica (India) Pvt Ltd, 52. ISBN:8179910660. 
  8. ^ A navrang of Shantaram's films. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  9. ^ a b c First in India. culturopedia.com. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  10. ^ a b Plot summary from the IMDB entry for Kisan Kanya. IMDB. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  11. ^ First in Films. downmemorylane.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-05.