A Throw of Dice
About A Throw of Dice
Kings Ranjit and Sohan both want Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa, and both live by dice. Sunita prefers Ranjit. He loses her to Sohan in a game and becomes Sohan's slave. Sunita finds out what Sohan has done. Sohan jumps from a cliff into the rapids. Ranjit and Sunita marry.
Cast & crew
More about A Throw of Dice
Franz Osten directed. Himansu Rai produced and plays Sohan. Charu Roy plays Ranjit and Seeta Devi plays Sunita. Sarada Gupta plays the hermit. The script is by W. A. Burton and Max Jungk, from a story by Niranjan Pal drawn from the Mahabharata. Emil Schünemann photographed it in Rajasthan. It opened on August 16, 1929. The Hindi title is Prapancha Pash.
Themes
Look
Emil Schünemann shot the palace and river scenes on location in Rajasthan.
Music
Willy Schmidt-Gentner wrote the original score. Nitin Sawhney composed a separate score for the 2006 restoration.
Preservation
A print has been in the BFI since 1945. It was digitally restored in 2006.
Notes
- The British Film Institute has held a print since 1945.
- A digital restoration was completed in 2006. Nitin Sawhney wrote a new score for the screenings that followed.
- The restored print played at the Luminato Festival in Toronto on June 13, 2008, and at the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago on July 30, 2008.
- Nishat Khan's orchestral score was first played in New Delhi on April 25, 2013.
- Willy Schmidt-Gentner wrote the original 1929 music.
- A copy is on the Internet Archive as throwofdice.
Scenes
- Ranjit loses Sunita on a throw and is made Sohan's slave.
- Sohan jumps from the cliff into the rapids.
Influenced by
- An episode of the Mahabharata
Also available
- Internet Archive (throwofdice)
- BFI National Archive
