Jeevan Prabhat

Jeevan Prabhat (Dawn Of Life) is a 1937 Hindi film social drama, produced by Bombay Talkies and directed by Franz Osten.[1] The music director was Saraswati Devi with lyrics and dialogues by J. S. Casshyap. The screenplay was by Niranjan Pal.[2] The film's "star value" was Devika Rani,[2] with Kishore Sahu making his debut as an actor in the film.[3] The cast included another debutant, Renuka Devi,[4] with Mumtaz Ali, Maya Devi and M. Nazir.[5]

Jeevan Prabhat
Film poster
Directed byFranz Osten
Produced byHimanshu Rai
Written byNiranjan Pal (screenplay)
StarringDevika Rani
Mumtaz Ali
Kishore Sahu
Renuka Devi
Music bySaraswati Devi
CinematographyJoseph Wirsching
Production
company
Distributed byRamniklal Mohanlal and Co., Bombay
Release date
1937
Running time
144 minutes
CountryBritish India
LanguageHindi

The film deals with the social evils of the caste system,[6] and remarriage. Uma is sent back to her father's home after her husband remarries, as she is unable to bear children. Her renewed friendship with a childhood friend, Ramu, a Harijan, bings censure and misunderstanding from her husband and society.

Plot

Set in a village, a young Brahmin couple Nandlal (Mumtaz Ali) and Uma (Devika Rani) are unable to have any children. The husband plans to take another wife, Padma. Ramu (Kishore Sahu) belongs to the potters family, where Uma normally spent most of her time before marriage. The friendship has been frowned upon as Ramu is from the Harijan caste. Nandlal sends Uma to her father's house, where she renews her friendship with Ramu. Nandlal sees Uma talking to Ramu (Kishore Sahu). While at her father's house, Uma discovers that she is pregnant. Misunderstandings arise when Nandlal gets suspicious about Uma and Ramu, but all is set right by Padma, Nandlal's second wife. She clears Uma's name, and gets Nandlal and Uma together before walking out of their lives.

Cast

Review
Ad from the cine-magazine Filmindia, December 1937

Jeevan Prabhat was released on 2 November 1937, at Minerva Talkies, Bombay. Baburao Patel, the Filmindia editor, in his review of December 1937, called it Osten's "better work than ever before". Saraswati Devi's music composition and Wirsching's cinematography were praised, as was Niranjan Pal's screenplay, "a good story with plenty of entertainment". Devika Rani was hailed for scoring "another triumphant". Renuka Devi was praised for her looks but criticised for her acting. Kishore Sahu was stated to be a "big disappointment".[2]

The audience reception was good with the film running for over 17 weeks in Bombay, while doing good business in the rest of the country too, becoming a commercial success.[7]

Production

The film starred Kishore Sahu with Devika Rani, who was cited as a "bankable star".[8] Bombay Talkies was producing a large quantity of films in a short period of time. Jeevan Prabhat was completed in two months, while Achhut Kanya was made in six weeks.[7] In a little over four years, Osten had directed about sixteen films for Bombay Talkies.[9]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Saraswati Devi, with lyrics by J. S. Casshyap. The singers were Devika Rani, Balwant Singh, Mumtaz Ali, Saroj Borkar and Saraswati Devi.[10]

Song List
#TitleSinger
1 "Tum Meri Tum Mere Sajan" Balwant Singh, Devika Rani
2 "Bane Chandni Ka Palna Jhoole Chanda Sa Lalna" Devika Rani
3 "Ek Chandi Ka Hai Mandir Sone Ki Murat Sundar" Mumtaz Ali, Devika Rani
4 "Hori Aayi Re Kanha Bruj Ke Basiya" Saraswati Devi
5 "Kyun Janam Diya Bhagwan Gar Ro Ro Ke Marna Tha" Renuka Devi
6 "Mera Lalna Jhoole Palna" Devika Rani, Saroj Borkar
7 "Mujhe Pehchante Ho Hanh Mujhe Tum Jaant Ho" Devika Rani, Mumtaz Ali
8 "Un Motorwalon Ke Yahan" Devika Rani, Balwant Singh
9 "Chale Thay Bade Dushman-e-Jaan Bankar" Balwant Singh
10 "Chal Chal Re Chakwa Ghar Ghar Ghar"

References
  1. "Jeevan Prabhat". gomolo.com. Gomolo. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  2. Patel, Baburao. "Review". Filmindia. 3 (8): 36. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  3. Sanjit Narwekar (12 December 2012). Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy. Rupa Publications. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-81-291-2625-2. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. Ram Awatar Agnihotri (1992). Artistes and their films of modern Hindi cinema: cultural and socio-political impact on society, 1931-91. Commonwealth Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7169-183-8. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  5. "Jeevan Prabhat". citwf.com. Alan Goble. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. Kris Manjapra (6 January 2014). Age of Entanglement. Harvard University Press. pp. 270–. ISBN 978-0-674-72631-4. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  7. Patel, Baburao (April 1938). "Filmindia". Filmindia. 3 (12): 13. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  8. Bhaichand Patel (2012). Bollywood's Top 20: Superstars of Indian Cinema. Penguin Books India. pp. 21–. ISBN 978-0-670-08572-9. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  9. "Prem Sanyas". San Francisco Silent Film Festival. Silent Film.org. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  10. "Jeevan Prabhat". muvyz.com. Muvyz, Ltd. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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