Synopsis : Counted among the most path breaking of the early talkie productions of New Theatres, the film presents the far-reaching legend, literature and poetry of the poet-saint Bidyapati/Vidyapati (Pahari Sanyal). In the film, he arrives at the court of the Mithila king Shiva Singha (Durgadas Bannerjee) with his loyal devotee (Kanan Devi) to take the position of court poet. Soon, his powerful poetry and mystical wisdom causes upheaval in the hearts and minds of people, especially the queen (Chhaya Devi) who finds herself in love with the poet. The film was made in both Bengali and Hindi with Pahari Sanyal playing the poet-saint in both versions.
Director :
Debaki Bose
Screenplay :
Kazi Nazrul Islam
DOP :
Yusuf Mulji
Editor :
Subodh Mitra
Cast :
Pahari Sanyal, Durgadas Bannerjee, Chhaya Devi, Kanan Devi, K. C. Dey, Leela Desai, Prithviraj Kapoor, Amar Mullick, K. N. Singh, Devbala, Nemo, Ahi Sanyal, Kidar Sharma, Sailen Pal, Rampiary, Mohammad Isaq
Debaki Bose (1898 -1971) made his entry in cinema as an actor, writer and director in the silent film era before establishing himself as one of the most important filmmakers of Indian cinema. His filmmaking career spanned four decades and films in multiple languages including Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and Tamil. He joined the New Theatres studio at the beginning of the talkie era where he wrote and directed films that were highly successful and influential. His Filmography includes Chandidas (1932), Puran Bhakt (1933), Seeta (1934), Nartaki (1940), Sagar Sangamey (1959) and Arghya (1961) among others.