Kunku
About Kunku
Nirmala, also called Neera, an orphan living with her uncle, is married for money to Kakasaheb, an elderly widower. He has a son and a daughter about her age and tells himself he is still young. She will not treat the marriage as a real union. The college-age son, Jugal, flirts with her. A widowed daughter takes her side. A teenage girl in the house is the cheerful one. When Kakasaheb understands what he has done, he kills himself. Nirmala leaves on her own.
Cast & crew
More about Kunku
V. Shantaram directed and edited. Narayan Hari Apte wrote the screenplay from his novel Na Patnari Goshta. Munshi Aziz wrote dialogue. Keshavrao Bhole composed. Vishnupant Govind Damle produced. Prabhat shot it in Marathi as Kunku and in Hindi as Duniya Na Mane. A published length is 154 minutes; Wikidata says 162. Shanta Apte is Nirmala. Keshavrao Date is Kakasaheb. Raja Nene is Jugal. It was shown at the Venice festival. Apte sings, among other numbers, Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life,” in English. Shantaram Athavale wrote the other lyrics.
Themes
Making
Shantaram made two language versions at Prabhat from the same Apte novel. The Marathi title Kunku is the marriage mark. The plot’s last act is the husband’s suicide, not a reconciliation.
Music
Keshavrao Bhole wrote the music. Shanta Apte sings the songs, including Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life” in English. Shantaram Athavale wrote the film’s other lyrics.
Preservation
Prints of the Marathi film survive.
Notes
- Vimala Vasishta plays the aunt. Shakuntala Paranjpye is Sushila. Vasanti is the girl Shanta.
- Apte had just come from Shantaram’s Amrit Manthan (1934) and Amar Jyoti (1936).
- The English song uses Longfellow’s lines about the world’s broad field of battle and not being like dumb, driven cattle.
- Venice showed the film. The write-up does not name a prize.
- The Hindi release title is Duniya Na Mane.
Scenes
- Nirmala is married to Kakasaheb against her will.
- She refuses to treat the marriage as consummated.
- Jugal flirts. The widowed daughter sides with her.
- Kakasaheb kills himself, and she goes her own way.
Influenced by
- Na Patnari Goshta (Narayan Hari Apte)
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Kunku - 1937 - Marathi.webm)
Quotes
Be not like dumb, driven cattle.
