Izzat

Name: Izzat
Director: Franz Osten
Released: 1937
Duration: 1 h 48 min
Cast: Devika Rani, Ashok Kumar, Kamta Prasad, Chandraprabha, P.F. Pithawala

1937 108 minutes Directed by Franz Osten

About Izzat

At Ashti the Bhils and the Marathas celebrate twenty-five years of a peace pact. Balaji hides the old Patel's letter withdrawing his nomination, becomes Patel, and pushes the Bhils off the land. His agents stab the Bhil sardar Maroti and leave Maroti's son Kanhaiya for dead. Nursed by Radha, Kanhaiya wins the contest for a younger Naik and swears to take back only Balaji's debt, not a war on every Maratha. After Radha is thrown from a cliff during a raid, he kills the officer who led it and gives himself up so the feud will stop.

Cast & crew

More about Izzat

Franz Osten directed for Himanshu Rai at Bombay Talkies. Dr. G. Nundy supplied the story, J. Nundy adapted it, and Niranjan Pal wrote the screenplay. J. S. Casshyap wrote the songs and dialogue, with S. I. Hassan assisting on dialogue direction. Josef Wirsching photographed, D. N. Pai edited, and Mumtaz Ali staged the dances.

Themes

A twenty-five-year peace broken by a new Patel
Honor weighed against revenge on a whole clan
A Naik chosen by contest
A surrender meant to stop a feud
Bhils
Marathas
Ashti
Kanhaiya
Radha
Balaji
izzat
feud

Music

Saraswati Devi composed and J. S. Casshyap wrote the lyrics. Other numbers sung on screen are "Prem Dor Mein Baandhe Hamein," by Rani and Kumar, and "Piya Aavan Kahe Gaye," by Mumtaz Ali and Sunita Devi.

Preservation

Indiancine.ma holds a copy running 1 hour 48 minutes. A full-length listing of 144 minutes also circulates on the Wikipedia infobox.

Notes

Devika Rani plays Radha and Ashok Kumar plays Kanhaiya. The Wikipedia cast list also records Kumar under the name Karangopal.
The press synopsis withholds whether Kanhaiya, on the way to be hanged, learns that Radha survived the cliff.
Appaiya, a Bhil youth who loses the Naik's contest to Kanhaiya, turns on him and guides the Maratha party.
Mumtaz Ali, who dances in the film, is also the choreographer.
The actors sing their own songs. Devika Rani sings "Kit Jaoge Kanhaiya" and, with Ashok Kumar, "Bharne De Mohe Nir.
Indiancine.ma times its copy at 1 hour 48 minutes. Wikidata lists 107 minutes.

Scenes

The two sides exchange gifts on the twenty-fifth year of the pact, and Balaji sneers at the Bhil presents.
Radha finds Maroti dead and Kanhaiya wounded on the road to the hills.
Kanhaiya beats Appaiya in the trials and is hailed as Naik.
He kills the officer who threw Radha from the cliff, then stops his men and surrenders.