By
Sharada Iyer
March 2nd, 2024, was a memorable day for yesteryear followers and lovers of previous Hindi movies after we witnessed the screening of the 1939 Ashok Kumar-Leela Chitnis starrer Kangan on huge display on the iconic Regal cinema of Mumbai. Organized by Movie Heritage Basis, NFDC-Nationwide Movie Archive of India, The German Consulate Normal of Mumbai, and The Alkazi Basis for the Arts, it was a historic night as we have been transported again in time to 1939 to observe this super-hit movie being screened after 85 years!
Produced by the legendary studio Bombay Talkies Ltd., the movie was directed by Franz Ozten, and had cinematography by Josef Wirsching. Anybody conscious of our cinematic historical past is aware of in regards to the vital function performed by Bombay Talkies in shaping the future of our movie business. Bombay Talkies was a film studio based by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani in 1934 and produced about 40 motion pictures ranging from Jawani Ki Hawa in 1935 to Baadbaan, in 1954. On the time of its inception, the studio was thought of the most effective movie studio within the nation outfitted with essentially the most technically superior amenities associated to movie manufacturing which included units, digital camera, lighting, sound high quality, pictures, costumes, and music.
Having familiarized themselves with the newest film-making approach in Germany, when the couple got here again to India to start out their very own studio, there have been a number of German technicians who got here with them as they have been an integral a part of the studio workforce, and therefore performed a serious function in laying down the inspiration of Hindi cinema. An important amongst them have been director Franz Osten, and cinematographer Joseph Wirsching.
It was an emotional and historic second on March 2nd, to have the presence of Himanshu Rai’s grandson Peter Dietze, attend the screening. Although Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani had no kids of their very own, he had a daughter Nilima, from his first spouse Mary Heinlin, who was a German. Quickly they parted methods and mom and daughter moved to Australia. Peter is Nilima’s son.
It was an opportunity discovery of an previous {photograph} of Himanshu Rai sooner or later in his house that led Peter to turn into conscious of his Indian ancestry. From then on, Peter has been on a mission to get to know in regards to the pioneering function performed by his grandfather Himanshu Rai in laying the inspiration of our movie business. At the moment, because the proprietor of all of the archival materials of Bombay Talkies, he desires to convey to life the priceless images and artefacts of this once-flourishing studio within the type of exhibitions and screening of restored movies.
After her retirement from movies and marriage to Russian painter Svetoslav Roerich, Devika Rani handed on all of the paperwork ,images, and many others., of Bombay Talkies in her possession to the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York. Within the 1980’s, when Peter Dietze visited this museum and knowledgeable the curator about his connections with Himanshu Rai and Bombay Talkies, he acquired all of the archival materials from the museum, because the rightful authorized inheritor.
The screening was additionally attended by the grandsons of the cinematographer Josef Wirsching- Georg and Joseph. When a younger 16-year-old Josef acquired a digital camera as a present on his birthday, little did he understand how this was not solely going to vary his life but additionally how he would sooner or later form the aesthetics of Indian cinema together with his priceless contribution within the fields of pictures and cinematography. He’s credited for bringing facets of German Expressionism together with dreamy lighting, atmospheric compositions, unconventional digital camera angles and improbable photos to the Indian talkies.
He began as an assistant cameraman in 1925 when he labored within the movie Mild of Asia, co-directed by Himanshu Rai together with Franz Osten. His first movie as a cinematographer in India was Jawani Ki Hawa (1935) which was additionally the primary movie produced by Bombay Talkies. It’s stated that ‘His camerawork introduced luminosity to the display and turned the heroes and heroines of the time like Devika Rani, Leela Chitnis, Ashok Kumar and Dilip Kumar amongst others into ethereal creations on celluloid’. {Supply: https://www.bbc.com/information/world-asia-india-42422599}. He was a part of the crew of Bombay Talkies for 20 years and his final movie earlier than he handed away was Kamal Amrohi’s Pakeezah, launched in 1972.
Josef remained in India and when he handed away, his son Wolfgang Wirsching donated all of the pictures gear to the Pune Movie Institute however preserved all of the priceless images very fastidiously in waterproof bins. When his sons Joseph and Georg got here of age, they realized the significance of the supplies of their possession and determined to review their grandfather’s contribution to Indian cinema.
As issues stand at the moment, the trio of Peter, Joseph, and Georg, are the keepers of the fantastic legacy of every little thing linked with the Bombay Talkies studio. It’s to their credit score that not solely have they taken care to protect a priceless a part of our cinematic historical past, however realizing the historic worth of those uncommon visible and printed supplies in understanding the wonderful previous of this century-old business of ours, they’ve taken the difficulty to convey it again to India to showcase them through exhibitions and films.
After the screening, all three of them got here on stage and stated a number of phrases in regards to the significance of the pioneering works of their respective grandfathers to our cinematic legacy.
This was adopted by the guide launch of ‘Bombay Talkies: An unseen historical past of Indian cinema’, edited by Debashree Mukherjee. She is an Affiliate Professor of Movie and Media at Columbia College, New York, USA.
This guide has images taken by Josef Wirsching and a few essays relating to the historic worth of images from Wirsching’s archive to know our cinema of that point. The photographs present that as an business we have been technically excellent and our pioneers belonged to totally different lessons, religions, genders and nationalities and everybody labored in tandem out of their love for the craft. Bombay Talkies was the primary to rent a feminine music director Khorshed Homji who took the title of Saraswati Devi and is thought to be Indian cinema’s first feminine music director.
Priced at rupees 2700/-, the guide was a steal and many individuals ended up shopping for it. Sure! I did too…
KANGAN (1939)
Coming to the movie, Kangan was one of many first super-hit movies of Bombay Talkies and after a lot arduous work by many individuals a superb restored model of the unique print was now out there for folks to benefit from the movie. The present began on the dot at 5.00 pm and was free for all viewers. It was fantastic to see a big turnout of individuals to observe this gem from a bygone period together with many children additionally.
The selection of Regal cinema additionally had a narrative. Regal cinema is an Artwork Deco film theatre positioned in Colaba Causeway in Mumbai and holds the excellence of being the primary air-conditioned cinema corridor of the nation. Constructed in the course of the cinema growth of the 1930’s, it opened to the general public in 1933, and paradoxically Kangan was launched on this very cinema corridor in 1939. It was certainly a uncommon event to have the film screened in the identical cinema corridor after 85 years!
The movie noticed the pairing of Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis for the primary time and after this they went on to turn into a a lot beloved and extremely fashionable on-screen pair of that period. Others within the solid included artistes related to Bombay Talkies at that time- V H Desai, P F Pithawala, Pratima, Nana Palsikar, Saroj Borkar, and many others. Lyrics have been by Kavi Pradeep and music was by Ramchandra Pal and Saraswati Devi.
Kangan is principally an harmless love story between a wealthy zamindar’s son and a poor orphan lady introduced up by the village priest. Actor Mubarak performs the zamindar and Ashok Kumar the protagonist, is his son. He has little interest in his father’s zamindari enterprise and needs to turn into a poet and author. The zamindar has a ‘munshi’ or accountant performed by V H Desai and he supplies the comedian scenes within the movie. Leela Chitnis performs the orphan lady and P F Pithawala performs the priest who brings her up like a father. V H Desai’s spouse performed by Pratima is Leela Chitnis’s buddy and confidante.
It’s stated that cinema displays society and the occasions unfolding on display give us a transparent concept of the thought technique of the society in these instances. Within the movie, how the lead pair meet and fall in love captures the innocence and ease of that period. He presents her a pair of bangles or ‘Kangan’ as a token of his love for her and needs it to be saved a secret from his father. However one of many father’s employees Banwari, who additionally fancies Leela Chitnis sees this and instantly studies this.
Right here is the YouTube hyperlink of a duet from the film- ‘Radha Radha Pyari Radha…’. This print isn’t excellent however one can get an concept…
When the zamindar involves know of his son’s actions, he will get indignant and goes and threatens the priest that if he doesn’t get Leela Chitnis married off to somebody and cease her from seeing Ashok Kumar ever once more, he would burn the temple complicated and all of the hutments of the employees together with the priest. And realizing his son’s non-interest within the household zamindari, he packs him off to town the place he pursues his luck to turn into a author.
In the meantime, Banwari is distributed to investigate whether or not Leela Chitnis’s marriage ceremony ceremony is being deliberate or not. However the priest has no intentions of forcing her and within the ensuing scuffle between the zamindar’s employees and the priest’s helpers, the temple complicated will get burnt and Banwari manages to whisk away Leela Chitnis to an empty place with evil intentions. However she jumps out of the window and falls into the deep river from a top and the villagers assume her to be useless as her physique isn’t discovered.
When this information reaches Ashok Kumar within the metropolis, he’s very indignant together with his father and feels unhappy that she had died with out seeing the primary revealed copy of the novel he had written and now he was turning into well-known as a author. A feminine operating a theatrical firm falls for Ashok Kumar’s allure and needs to purchase the rights of the guide to direct a play based mostly on it.
We’re then proven that Leela Chitnis had not died, however had solely been washed ashore. She proceeds to town in the hunt for Ashok Kumar. After days of looking out, paradoxically when she finds the home and is ready to satisfy him, she hears romantic dialogues from inside in Ashok Kumar and a woman’s voice. The 2 had been rehearsing the dialogues from the play based mostly on Ashok Kumar’s novel, however Leela Chitnis misunderstands that he has discovered one other girl. After she watches them get right into a automobile and drive away, she removes the bangles, leaves them at his doorstep and proceeds in the direction of the riverfront to finish her life.
Within the village by now the zamindar has realized his folly and the concern of dropping his son perpetually makes him remorse his personal behaviour. He additionally proceeds to town with the munshi in the hunt for Leela Chitnis.
Ashok Kumar upon his return finds the bangles and realizes that the love of his life is alive and shortly the motion shifts to the trail of the riverfront the place all of the characters are proven chasing each other. Ashok Kumar reaches on time and manages to avoid wasting her. The ending is pleased with the ‘Kangan’ being duly positioned on her wrists once more and the zamindar blessing them each.
If one seems to be on the narrative, Bombay Talkies had clearly set in movement the sort of template which appeared to have been copied for many years to come back. The lovers going through the wealthy boy-poor lady dilemma, the villainous henchman, the comic sidekick, the daddy vs son drama, the social commentary, the mentality of the lady to finish her life if her lover doesn’t settle for her, and many others. The movie launched in pre-independent India at a time when class and caste variations mattered so much in society and the zamindar’s son rebelling in opposition to his father to face by his love resonated with the viewers.
The USP of the movie is the pure appearing by all particularly the lead pair. Their on-screen chemistry reeks of simplicity and that’s what is touching. Ashok Kumar seems to be so good-looking and younger Leela Chitnis seems to be stunning.
The digital camera work is excellent and the close-up pictures and outside pictures particularly that of the shifting prepare are all laudable. Watching the restored model of this basic was certainly a dream-come-true, as we travelled again in time to get a glimpse of an period passed by, when our founding fathers have been making an attempt their finest to make use of all strategies at their disposal to inform a narrative in an entertaining means.
Future performed a giant function in becoming a member of the seemingly unconnected incidents going down in numerous elements of the world from the 1930’s to the 1990’s involving three generations of people that had taken the difficulty to protect the unique materials with out realizing how valuable and priceless it could show sooner or later to familiarize us with the roots of our personal movie business.
As I had talked about at first, the night felt like strolling into part of our movie historical past…
