Untouchable Girl
About Untouchable Girl
Mohan, a Brahmin who sells daily goods, is saved from a snakebite by Dukhiya, an untouchable crossing-guard. Their children, Pratap and Kasturi, grow up together and fall in love. Caste rules block a marriage. The village doctor Babulal, who holds a grudge against Mohan, works to ruin his name. Pratap marries Meera. Kasturi marries Mannu, already estranged from his first wife Kajri. Kajri and Meera take Kasturi to a fair, leave her there, and say she ran off with Pratap. She meets Pratap at his food stall and starts home with him. Mannu attacks Pratap at a railroad crossing. As a train comes, Kasturi signals the driver to stop and is killed. The village treats her death as a martyrdom.
Cast & crew
More about Untouchable Girl
Franz Osten directed. Niranjan Pal wrote it. Himanshu Rai was the Bombay Talkies producer on this run of films with Osten, Pal, and Devika Rani. Josef Wirsching photographed it. Saraswati Devi wrote the music. J. S. Kashyap wrote the lyrics. The Hindi title is Achhut Kannya. Ashok Kumar, as Pratap, makes his film debut. Devika Rani plays Kasturi. English Wikipedia times it at 136 minutes.
Themes
Background
A 1936 Hindi reform film about caste, made at Bombay Talkies in the British Raj.
Making
This is one of the Bombay Talkies pictures built by Osten, Pal, Rai, and Rani. Kumar's first film role is Pratap.
Look
Josef Wirsching was the cinematographer.
Music
Saraswati Devi wrote the music. J. S. Kashyap wrote the lyrics.
Notes
- Dukhiya is a kacchu, a railway crossing guard.
- Babulal is the village doctor with a grudge against Mohan.
- The death is at a level crossing, the same kind of post Dukhiya keeps.
- The English rendering of the title used here is Untouchable Girl. Wikipedia's gloss is Untouchable Maiden.
Scenes
- Dukhiya saves Mohan from a snakebite, and the two fathers become friends.
- Meera and Kajri abandon Kasturi at the fair and claim she eloped.
- Kasturi signals the train at the crossing and is killed between Pratap and Mannu.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Achhut Kannya, 1936.webm)
