Magic of Movies - 1927

1927
1.108 films were produced in 1927.The "Report of the Indian Cinematograph Committee 1927-28", formed in 1927 to study cinema in India, categorised the films in different genres, mainly as "religious, mythological, historical and social dramas". Radio broadcast, which had started as private radio clubs in 1923, became organised, and the private Indian Broadcasting Company was formed in 1927.
2.Balidan
Balidan also called Sacrifice, is a 1927 Indian cinema's silent film directed by Naval Gandhi and based on a play by Rabindranath Tagore. It was produced by Orient Pictures Corporation. Balidan is cited as one of the top ten lost films of Indian Cinema by P. K. Nair. Hailed as "an excellent and truly Indian film" by The Indian Cinematograph Committee, 1927–28, it was used by them as one of the films to "show how 'serious' Indian cinema could match Western standards".
The film starred the then popular cast of Master Vithal, Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Zubeida, Sultana, Jal Khambata and Jani Babu.
A social-reformist costume drama film, written by Tagore in 1887, it was set in the fictional kingdom of Tippera, and involved clashes between a progressive-minded King and a "tradition-bound priest". The film was stated to be commercially successful.
Cast
Master Vithal, Sulochana (Ruby Myers), Zubeida, Sultana, Jal Khambata, Jani Babu, J. Makhijani

Jal Khambata
3.Chandidas directed by Jyotish Bannerjee was based on the poet-saint Chandidas, and was one of the early "key" films produced by New Theatres. It was adapted to screen from a play written by Agha Hashar Kashmiri.
In 1932 Chandidas was again made in Bengali by Debaki Bose.
Chandidas was remade in 1934 as Hindi social drama film directed by Nitin Bose. The film was produced by New Theatres Calcutta and was their first big success.This 1934 Hindi version starred K. L. Saigal, Uma Sashi, Pahari Sanyal, Nawab and H. Siddiqui. The music direction was by R. C. Boral with the lyrics written by Agha Hashar Kashmiri. The credit roll of the film states that the film is "Based on the life problems of the poet Chandidas –A problem India has not been able to solve", which involved the caste schism in India. The story revolves around the 15th century poet-saint Chandidas who acts out against the deep-rooted bigotry against caste, untouchoubility and the hypocrisy of society, and a washer woman with whom he falls in love.
Chandidas (Bengali: চণ্ডীদাস; born 1408 CE) refers to a medieval poet of Bengal or possibly more than one. Over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in Bengali with the bhanita of Chandidas are found with three different sobriquets along with his name, Baḍu, Dvija and Dina as well as without any sobriquet also. It is not clear whether these bhanitas actually refer to the same person or not. It is assumed by some modern scholars that the poems which are current in the name of Chandidas are actually the works of at least four different Chandidas, who are distinguished from each other by their sobriquets found in the bhanitas. It is also assumed that the earliest of them was Ananta Baḍu Chandidas, who has been more or less identified as a historical figure born in the 14th century in Birbhum district of the present-day West Bengal state and wrote the lyrical Srikrishna Kirtan (Songs in praise of Krishna).
According to Banglapedia, Chandidas was the first Bengali-language poet to be a humanist. He asserted "Shobar upor manush shotto tahar upore nai" ("Above all is humanity, none else"). Later literature has also often eulogized Chandidas' love for a Rajakini (a female cloth washer), whether this has any historical basis is not known.
4.Dil Farosh
Dil Farosh also called Merchant Of Hearts, is a 1927 Indian cinema's silent film directed by M. Udvadia. Produced by Excelsior Film Company it has been cited as one of the earliest adaptations of a Shakespeare play into an Indian film. Based on Merchant of Venice, it was written for the Parsi theatre by Mehdi Hasan 'Ahsan' in 1900, and called Merchant of Hearts. The stage adaptation by the New Alfred Company had Sorabji Ogra as Shylock and "achieved great popularity" at the beginning of the twentieth century. The film's cast included the director Udwadia with Nargis, K. B. Athavale and Saiyed Umer.
5.Durgesh Nandini directed by Priyanath Ganguly and produced by Madan Theatres Ltd, was based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. This was one of the three films based on Chattopadhyay's stories that Seeta Devi acted in, the others were Krishnakanta's Will (1927), and Kapal Kundala (1929).
Durgeshnandini (Bengali: দুর্গেশনন্দিনী, Doorgeshnondini, Daughter of the Feudal Lord) is a Bengali historical romance novel written by Indian writer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1865. Durgeshnandini is a story of the love triangle between Jagat Singh, a Mughal General, Tilottama, the daughter of a Bengali feudal lord and Ayesha, the daughter of a rebel Pathan leader against whom Jagat Singh was fighting. The story is set in the backdrop of Pathan-Mughal conflicts that took place in south-western region of modern-day Indian state of Paschimbanga (West Bengal) during the reign of Akbar.
Durgeshnandini is the first Bengali novel written by Bankim Chandra as well as the first major Bengali novel in the history of Bengali literature. The story of the novel was borrowed from some local legends of Arambag region, Hooghly district, Paschimbanga, collected by Bankim Chandra’s great-uncle. Although the conservative critics mocked the lucidity of Bankim Chandra’s language, Durgeshnandini was highly praised by most of the contemporary scholars and newspapers.
The story is set in the backdrop of Pathan-Mughal conflicts that took place in south-western region of modern-day Indian state of Paschimbanga (West Bengal) during the reign of Akbar. Jagat Singh, a General of Mughal army and son of Raja Man Singh met Tilottama, daughter of Birendra Singha, a feudal lord of south-western Bengal in Mandaran (in modern-day Hooghly district, Paschimbanga) and they fell in love with each other. While they were preparing for a marriage ceremony, Katlu Khan, a rebel Pathan leader attacked Mandaran. Birendra Singha died in the battle and Jagat Singh was imprisoned along with Birendra’s widow Bimala and their daughter Tilottama. Katlu Khan’s daughter Ayesha saved Tilottama from her father’s lust, but Ayesha herself fell in love with Jagat Singh. Later, Bimala avenged her husband’s death by stabbing Katlu Khan. In the meantime, Man Singh signed a pact with the Pathans and they set Jagat Singh free. But Ayesha’s lover Osman challenged Jagat Singh in a duel which Jagat Singh won. Realising that Jagat Singh who was a Hindu prince would never marry a Muslim woman, Ayesha gave up hope for him, but she eventually helped Tilottama to get married to Jagat Singh.
Bankim Chandra’s younger brother Purna Chandra Chattopadhyay stated that their great-uncle told Bankim Chandra of a popular legend of Mandaran which he collected from Bishnupur-Arambag region. According to the legend, the Pathans attacked the fort of the local feudal lord and took him and his wife and daughter to Orissa as prisoners and when Jagat Singh was sent to rescue them, he was also imprisoned. Bankim Chandra heard the story when he was 19 years old and after a few years he wrote Durgeshnandini.
13 editions of the novel were published during the lifetime of Bankim Chandra, the last being in 1893. It was translated into English (1882), Hindustani (1876), Hindi (1882) and Kannada (1885).It was first adopted for stage in 1873.
Bengali
1927: Durgesh Nandini, starring Durgadas Bannerjee, Kanu Bannerjee, Ahindra Choudhury, Indira Devi, Sita Devi, directed by Priyanath N. Ganguly.
1951: Durgesh Nandini, starring Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Chhabi Biswas, Bharati Devi, Chandrabati Devi, Kamal Mitra, directed by Amar Mullick.
Hindi
1956: Durgesh Nandini, starring Pradeep Kumar, Bina Rai, Ajit, Nalini Jaywant directed by B. Mitra.
6.Netaji Palkar is a 1927 Indian biopic historical silent film directed by V. Shantaram. Kaishavrao Dhaiber who was an apprentice with Damle, co-directed the film. He was to become the chief cinematographer for Shantaram in his later films. Made under the Maharashtra Film Company, Kolhapur, it was the first film directed by Shantaram. The director of photography was S. Fattelal and the cast included Ansuya, Balasaheb Yadav, Ganpat Bakre and Zunzarrao Pawar.
The film, based on the Maratha King Shivaji's Senapati (Commander-in-Chief) Netaji Palkar, and his struggle to save his kingdom, is cited to have made a great "impact" on Marathi Cinema. According to Garga, the commercial success of the film helped save the Maharashtra Film Company from facing bankruptcy.
Cast
Balasaheb Yadav,Sushila Devi,Zunzharrao Pawar,Anasuya,Ganpat Bakre,Mane,Gulabbai,Vasantrao Deshpande