Prem Kahani

Name: Prem Kahani
Director: Franz Osten
Released: 1937
Duration: 1 h 27 min
Cast: Ashok Kumar, N.M. Joshi, Bilqis, Aloka, M. Nazir

1937 87 minutes Directed by Franz Osten

About Prem Kahani

A priest, hired to arrange a marriage the daughter does not want, tells her parents what happened when he was a rich man named Chandrakant. In his town the widows Heera and Shanti planned to wed Shanti's daughter Maya to him and Heera's son Jagat to his sister Usha. Maya and Jagat, who want each other, are separated: he is sent to Bombay to read law, and she is pushed into marrying Chandrakant. In Bombay, Bhagwandas's daughter Ramla falls for Jagat and leaves her fiancé Motilal. Jagat comes home too late. On a storm night Motilal finds Jagat with Ramla, kills them, and kills himself. A falling tree kills Maya. Chandrakant, left alone, admits he judged her too fast. The parents in the frame story then let their daughter choose.

Cast & crew

More about Prem Kahani

Franz Osten directed and Himanshu Rai produced. Niranjan Pal wrote it. J. S. Casshyap wrote the dialogue and lyrics. Josef Wirsching photographed, D. N. Pai edited, and S. Mukherji recorded the sound. Mumtaz Ali staged the dances. N. R. Acharya was production controller. It was Bombay Talkies' eighth film, and the studio's other 1937 release was Jeevan Prabhat. Censor certificate B-17557. HMV issued the music.

Themes

A priest's cautionary tale inside a forced match
Two widows arranging the wrong couples
A law student called back too late
A storm that kills three of the lovers
Jagat
Maya
Chandrakant
Ramla
arranged marriage
Bombay
frame story

Music

Saraswati Devi, born Khorshed Minocher-Homji, composed. J. S. Casshyap wrote the lyrics. One number was keyed to Ryder's English Kumarasambhava.

Preservation

A Wikimedia copy runs 1 hour, 27 minutes, and 21 seconds.

Notes

Ashok Kumar plays Jagat. Maya Devi plays Maya. Vimala Devi plays Ramla. Madhurika Devi plays Usha.
Pal's English drafts were titled Touchstone and Marriage Market.
For one song's mood he pointed to Arthur Ryder's 1912 translation of Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava.
M. Nazir plays Chandrakant. Manohar Ghatwai plays Motilal. P. F. Pithawala plays Bhagwandas.
The censor length is listed as 3,728.92 metres of 35mm. Wikipedia and the Commons copy run 87 minutes.
Kamta Prasad plays the priest who tells the story. N. M. Joshi and Bilqis play the parents in the frame. Aloka plays their daughter Ratanbai.

Scenes

Maya tells Jagat she is the bride the mothers have in mind, and both are pleased until the widows overhear.
Ramla rehearses a charity number with Jagat and drops Motilal.
Maya has to welcome Usha as Jagat's bride.
Motilal kills Jagat and Ramla in the storm. A tree falls on Maya.