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Visionary - V. Shantaram

 
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> Visionary - V. Shantaram
swarapriya
post Jan 27 2019, 10:04 PM
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QUOTE(soumik @ Jan 26 2019, 10:20 AM) *

Thanks Swarapriya for starting this thread....

1. Any idea about the duration of these silent films????

2. Maybe National Film Archive of India or The National Museum of Indian Cinema have the prints of these movies which are extremely rare and precious....Obviously we will not get these films in the open market.

Soumik



QUOTE(swarapriya @ Jan 24 2019, 07:45 PM) *

Shahala Shah (1925) - A Silent Film

This was the fourth silent Marathi film that was produced and directed by Baburao Painter in 1925. Its alternate title was “Check to the King”. It was a historical drama. Shantaram appeared in this film in a brief role.

I do not have any other information about this film that I can share with you. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.



Soumik,

Thanks for the encouragement.

I am sharing information I have on silent films three times a week. The talking motion pictures start only after that. I have 13 more silent films to cover. So talkies will start in early March. My current plan is to upload songs and information about Shantaram's talking motion pictures once a week, every Sunday.

If one can find the right contact may be it is possible to find prints of some of these silent films. But many of these have been destroyed. For example, in an article Painter's family described how most of his work is no longer available.

S


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swarapriya
post Jan 27 2019, 10:07 PM
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Bhakt Prahlad (1926) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Baburao Painter. Shantaram appeared in this film in a brief role.

This was a mythological film. Interestingly the very same year another movie by the same name was released. That silent movie was directed by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke and affectionately remembered as the “Father of Indian Cinema” because he was the first one to make a full length feature film in India, “Raja Harishchandra”, a silent film, that was released in May 1913).

I do not have any further information about Painter’s “Prahlad” film. Unfortunately no prints are available of this movie.


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soumik
post Jan 28 2019, 09:24 PM
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Dear Swarapriya....

You got me wrong. I was asking about the duration of these silent movies, i.e., total movie-time, whether these were 30/45 mins, 1-hour or more than 1-hour movies...

Example:

Bilwamangal (also known as Bhagat Soordas) is a 1919 silent black-and-white Bengali film directed by Rustomji Dhotiwala. The acquired footage is 594 metres long or run 28 minutes.

Soumik


QUOTE(swarapriya @ Jan 27 2019, 10:04 PM) *

QUOTE(soumik @ Jan 26 2019, 10:20 AM) *

Thanks Swarapriya for starting this thread....

1. Any idea about the duration of these silent films????

2. Maybe National Film Archive of India or The National Museum of Indian Cinema have the prints of these movies which are extremely rare and precious....Obviously we will not get these films in the open market.

Soumik



QUOTE(swarapriya @ Jan 24 2019, 07:45 PM) *

Shahala Shah (1925) - A Silent Film

This was the fourth silent Marathi film that was produced and directed by Baburao Painter in 1925. Its alternate title was “Check to the King”. It was a historical drama. Shantaram appeared in this film in a brief role.

I do not have any other information about this film that I can share with you. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.



Soumik,

Thanks for the encouragement.

I am sharing information I have on silent films three times a week. The talking motion pictures start only after that. I have 13 more silent films to cover. So talkies will start in early March. My current plan is to upload songs and information about Shantaram's talking motion pictures once a week, every Sunday.

If one can find the right contact may be it is possible to find prints of some of these silent films. But many of these have been destroyed. For example, in an article Painter's family described how most of his work is no longer available.

S



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swarapriya
post Jan 29 2019, 08:16 PM
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QUOTE(soumik @ Jan 28 2019, 07:54 AM) *

Dear Swarapriya....

You got me wrong. I was asking about the duration of these silent movies, i.e., total movie-time, whether these were 30/45 mins, 1-hour or more than 1-hour movies...

Example:

Bilwamangal (also known as Bhagat Soordas) is a 1919 silent black-and-white Bengali film directed by Rustomji Dhotiwala. The acquired footage is 594 metres long or run 28 minutes.

Soumik


QUOTE(swarapriya @ Jan 27 2019, 10:04 PM) *

QUOTE(soumik @ Jan 26 2019, 10:20 AM) *

Thanks Swarapriya for starting this thread....

1. Any idea about the duration of these silent films????

2. Maybe National Film Archive of India or The National Museum of Indian Cinema have the prints of these movies which are extremely rare and precious....Obviously we will not get these films in the open market.

Soumik



QUOTE(swarapriya @ Jan 24 2019, 07:45 PM) *

Shahala Shah (1925) - A Silent Film

This was the fourth silent Marathi film that was produced and directed by Baburao Painter in 1925. Its alternate title was “Check to the King”. It was a historical drama. Shantaram appeared in this film in a brief role.

I do not have any other information about this film that I can share with you. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.



Soumik,

Thanks for the encouragement.

I am sharing information I have on silent films three times a week. The talking motion pictures start only after that. I have 13 more silent films to cover. So talkies will start in early March. My current plan is to upload songs and information about Shantaram's talking motion pictures once a week, every Sunday.

If one can find the right contact may be it is possible to find prints of some of these silent films. But many of these have been destroyed. For example, in an article Painter's family described how most of his work is no longer available.

S



I see what you were saying. Unfortunately. I do not have details of the length of the movies.

Cheers,
S
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swarapriya
post Jan 29 2019, 08:18 PM
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Gaja Gauri (1926) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Baburao Painter. Shantaram appeared in this film.

The story of the film was taken from the epic Mahabharata. Gaja Gauri is a Vrath which is performed riding an elephant and distributing gifts to relatives of equal status.

Gandhari, mother of Kauravas, performs this Vrath and gives gifts to Kunthi, mother of Pandavas. She challenges Kunthi to do the same if she can because she is aware of the fact that Pandavas do not have an elephant. Rest of the story involves Pandavas bringing Indra’s elephant “Airavata” to earth so that their mother can perform the Vrath.

I was able to find a few stills from the film. They are shown at the bottom of the table below. Unfortunately no prints of this movie are available.

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jan 29 2019, 08:18 PM


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swarapriya
post Jan 31 2019, 09:44 PM
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Muraliwala (1927) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Baburao Painter. It dealt with the childhood of Krishna. But more than that it was the first movie to deal with the love triangle between Radha, her husband Anay, and little Krishna. Ethics of love between Radha and Krishna has never been explored before this or after it. It was a daring exposition by Painter Saab.

Most of the silent era movies have been destroyed because of negligence or fires. This film was discovered in a very fragile manner and painstakingly restored. The restored version is 44 minutes long. It is definitely missing some beginning footage. But the result of restoration proved to be splendid and historically valuable. It gives proper perspective of what the moviemakers have to work with limited by then existing technology.

Incidentally, Shantaram had a significant role in the film. He played Radha’s husband, Anay.

The movie for its period had several trick photographic scenes. These were used to show Krishna’s antics with village belles.

I am including various stills from the film as part of the table shown below.


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swarapriya
post Feb 3 2019, 08:00 PM
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Netaji Palkar (1927) - A Silent Movie

Netaji Palkar was a silent Marathi film with two directors; Keshavrao Dhaiber and V. Shantaram. This was the first directorial assignment for Shantaram albeit he shared duties with Dhaiber. It was made for Maharashtra Film Company, owned and operated by Baburao Painter. Both Dhaiber and Shantaram were Painter’s apprentices.

This historical film was based on the life of emperor Shivaji’s senapati, Netaji Palkar. The movie was a success and made a great impact on upcoming Marathi films. Maharashtra Film Company was almost bankrupt before this film was released. Its commercial success helped make the Company once again solvent.

Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.


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swarapriya
post Feb 5 2019, 09:37 PM
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Karna (1928) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was also known as “Maharathi Karna”. It was produced by Baburao Painter. The directors were Vishnupant Damle and Sheikh Fatehlal. Their picture is attached below. Damle is on the left side of the picture. He is also the one sitting in the chair on extreme right in the right side of the picture. Fatehlal is the bespectacled gentleman sitting in the middle. It was a first stint as a director for both of them.

Shantaram had a brief role as an actor.

The film became popular for its great picturization of battle scenes. They were inspired by the 1907 English silent film “Ben Hur” that encouraged them to devise spectacular battles. To accomplish this they used all the tongas pulled by horses in Kolhapur and surroundings. They also borrowed horses and elephants from the Maharaja.

Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.


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swarapriya
post Feb 7 2019, 06:27 PM
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Nisha Sundary (1928) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Baburao Painter. Its alternate title was “Midnight Girl”.

The movie was based on the famous fairy-tale of Cinderella. It followed pretty much the original story. The ill treatment of Cinderella by her stepmother and stepsisters and her marriage to the Prince with the help of fairy Godmother formed the story. I am referring to the girl’s name here as “Cinderella” but I am sure the movie had an Indian name for her.

Shantaram appeared in a brief role in this film.

Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.


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swarapriya
post Feb 10 2019, 10:20 PM
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Baji Prabhu Deshpande (1929) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Baburao Painter. Another title of the movie was “Valley of the Immortals”.

Shantaram had a major role in the film.

This is a historical drama about Shivaji’s commander. Painter made several silent films about Shivaji and his commanders. This was one of them.

The movie dealt with Baji Prabhu’s battle with army guarding Panhala Fort where Shivaji was imprisoned. This fierce battle led by Prabhu enabled Shivaji to escape from the fort safely. Prabhuji died of the wounds he suffered in the battle.

Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.


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swarapriya
post Feb 12 2019, 10:33 PM
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Gopal Krishna (1929) - A Silent Film

Shantaram along with Damle, Dhaiber, and Fatehlal left the Maharashtra Film Company and its owner Baburao Painter and formed their own company called Prabhat Film Company. They took a fifth partner, Sitaram Kulkarni, who was the financier. See their picture attached below along with Baburao Painter sitting in the chair in the middle with a kid next to him. This silent Marathi film was the first one they made under the Prabhat banner. Shantaram was its solo director. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.

There were two major themes in this film. The first one was the confrontation between child Krishna and Indra. Krishna saved the people and animals of Gokul from the wrath of Indra by lifting the Govardhan Mountain on his pinky. The other major theme had to do with child Krishna going against King Kansa. Master Suresh who played the role of Krishna became very people and became a household name.

Shantaram went on record to state (in his 1986 autobiography) that he found several topical allusions of pre-independence movement in India and meshed them with this mythological story. Several critics cited it as an example of “Gandhian anti-colonial nationalism”.

In one of the scenes from the film where little Krishna playing on swing his loin cloth came loose. Neither the director Shantaram nor anyone on the set noticed this and they went ahead to finish the shooting. The shot innocently was included in the film with boy’s frontal nudity completely revealed. When the movie was released critics applauded it as bold realism and praised Shantaram for this unique directorial touch.

There was a bullock cart race in the film. When the movie was released it was much talked about. This was an incentive for Shantaram who strived to put some highlight in his Prabhat movies that gave an edge to his films over the others in the market.

The movie’s success helped produce five additional silent films for Prabhat in 1930 & 1931. These include “Khooni Khanajar”, “Rani Saheba” and “Udaykal” – all in 1930. The 1931 silent movies were “Chandrasena” and “Zulum”.

Shantaram remade “Gopal Krishna” as a talkie in 1938.


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swarapriya
post Feb 14 2019, 10:18 PM
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Khooni Khanjar (1930) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was co-directed by Shantaram and Keshavrao Dhaiber. A still of these two directors working together is attached below.

The film was a costume action drama. It was also known as “Fighting Blade”.

I do not have any further information about this film. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.

Fattehlal was one the partners in Prabhat with Shantaram and others. He was an expert art director and set maker. He fell in love with Kamlabai, one of the workers in the company, and married her. She appears in Parbhat’s logo, that girl blowing the “tutari” horn. Rest of the partners were very disturbed by this unexpected development. They feared that their company was still in infancy and will probably be subject to public ire. In the wake of this incident they made a rule for themselves that no one will be ever involved with either any of the company female employees or with the movie actresses who appear in their films. This rule became very testy among the partners that eventually was one of the many reasons Prabhat Films closed its operations after a dozen or so years in operation. More about this when it is appropriate.


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swarapriya
post Feb 17 2019, 10:55 PM
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Rani Saheba (1930) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Shantaram. The movie had alternate names; “My Queen” and “Bazarbattu”. This film has the distinction of being the first children’s movie made in India. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.

The story involved around an imaginary king and his queen. The king was a simpleton. His minister plans to overthrow him and take the kingdom himself. When the wise queen is made aware of this she takes control of the kingdom and straightens everything with the help of a group of children.

Following the success of the film Master Anant Apte who was just five years old was nicknamed “Bazarbattu”.


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swarapriya
post Feb 19 2019, 07:38 PM
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Udaykal (1930) - A Silent Film

This silent Marathi film was directed by Shantaram. Shantaram also played the title role of Shivaji in the film. Couple of stills from this film are attached below. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.

Alternative title of the movie was “Thunder of the Hills”. Even though most of his films thus far were marked by the way camera movements capturing inventive visuals, Shantaram was also trying at the same time to highlight their social importance. This in spite of the subjects he chose to film, mythological or historical.

This was the first film to explicitly politicize the figure of emperor Shivaji and his military expeditions.

Shantaram faced censor trouble with “Udaykal”. Originally it was titled “Swarajche Toran.” Independence movement in India was at fever pitch during this time. People led by Gandhiji’s call were rising against the British Rule at every opportunity. With “Swaraj” as part of the title, censors objected to the name of the movie on the grounds it was seditious. Also theme of the movie dealt with emperor Shivaji’s fight against the Mughals that was perceived as a challenge to the British Rule. Against his own wishes, Shantaram was forced to change the title of the movie and cut several scenes or reshoot some of them to tone down the patriotic fervor found objectionable by the censors.


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swarapriya
post Feb 21 2019, 09:31 PM
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Chandrasena (1931) - A Silent Film

This was a silent film co-directed by Shantaram & Keshavrao Dhaiber. With this film, the Prabhat Film Company which produced it, was recognized as one of the frontliners in the movie industry. Unfortunately there are no prints available of this movie.

The story of the film was taken from the epic Ramayana. Chandrasena, wife of Mahiravan, helps Hanuman to rescue Rama and Lakshmana imprisoned in Paataala by Mahiravan. She also helps Hanuman in the defeat of Mahiravan’s mighty army.

Mahiravan was a brother of Ravan. He was supposed to be more powerful than Ravan. To avoid any conflict with his own brother, Mahiravan made his kingdom in Paataal.

The film utilized a trolley for the first time in any Indian cinema to shoot certain scenes.

Shantaram remade this film in 1935 as a talkie.


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