Achhut Kannya (English: Untouchable Maiden) is a 1936 Indian Hindi film. Among the early super-hits in the Bombay film industry, the film deals with the social position of Dalit girls and is considered a reformist period-piece.
The movie is set in the 1900s. Mohan, a Brahman by caste, sells daily essentials to villagers. He is a kind soul and helps those really in need. Dukhiya, a kacchu by caste, is a railway crossing guard. Though an untouchable, he saved Mohan's life from a snake-bite and since then Mohan and Dukhiya develops deep friendship. As such, Pratap, son of Mohan (Ashok Kumar) and Kasturi, daughter of Dukhiya, (Devika Rani) also become friends since childhood. Growing up together, they fall in love with each other. Babulal, the village doctor, holds severe grudges against Mohan and always looking for any chance to slander his reputation in village.
Pratap being a Brahmin boy and Kasturi being an untouchable girl (achhut), social conventions of that time preclude any possibility of these two lovers uniting.
Thereafter, due to many evil twists and turns of fate and instances, Pratap ends up marrying Meera (Manorama), while Kasturi marries Mannu (Anwar). Both of them are unable to forget their first love, but tries hard to make their respective marriages work. Unfortunately, the situation gets compounded by the fact that Mannu also has a first wife, Kajri, with whom he is estranged due to excessive interference from his in-laws. The hitherto smug Kajri suddenly feels threatened by the arrival of a new woman in her husband's life and arrives at Mannu's house unannounced.
Meera tries hard to win Pratap's attention towards herself and confesses her troubles to her friend, Kajri. Kajri who is also unable to gain attention of Mannu towards her blames Kasturi for their similar misfortune. Thus, she poisons Meera's mind. The two of them hatch a diabolical conspiracy to discredit Kasturi in the eyes of Mannu and villagers. They take Kasturi along to a fair mela in the neighbouring village, and then abandons her there. While searching for them in fair, Kasturi meets Pratap, who has a food stall there and both of them decides to return to their village. Meanwhile, Meera and Kajri as per their plan upon reaching their village tell Mannu that Kasturi has eloped with her lover Pratap.
Seeing Pratap and Kasturi returning together, misguided and enraged Mannu attacks Pratap, exactly when his Bullock-cart just arrives at the railroad crossing. There ensues a fisticuffs between the two, even as a train rushes towards them and the bullock-cart. Desperate to save all lives at stake, Kasturi rushes towards the train, signaling and imploring the driver to stop and in the process gets herself killed. That act of selflessness makes her a martyr in the eyes of the villagers, despite her lowly origins.
Watch Achhut Kanya entirely annotated with archival material at Indiancine.ma
August 23, 2023
achhut, kannya, english, untouchable, maiden, 1936, indian, hindi, film, among, early, super, hits, bombay, film, industry, film, deals, with, social, position, dalit, girls, considered, reformist, period, piece, posterdirected, byfranz, ostenwritten, byniranj. Achhut Kannya English Untouchable Maiden is a 1936 Indian Hindi film Among the early super hits in the Bombay film industry the film deals with the social position of Dalit girls and is considered a reformist period piece Achhut KannyaPosterDirected byFranz OstenWritten byNiranjan PalProduced byHimanshu RaiStarringAshok KumarDevika RaniCinematographyJosef WirschingMusic bySaraswati DeviRelease date1936 1936 Running time136 Minutes 1 CountryBritish IndiaLanguageHindustaniDevika Rani and Ashok Kumar in Achhut Kanya source source source source source source source source source source Achhut KannyaThe film was one of several successful Bombay Talkies collaborations between Franz Osten Niranjan Pal Himanshu Rai and their leading lady Devika Rani Music is by Saraswati Devi and lyrics by J S Kashyap and this was Ashok Kumar s debut filmThe movie stars Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani in the lead roles Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditThe movie is set in the 1900s Mohan a Brahman by caste sells daily essentials to villagers He is a kind soul and helps those really in need Dukhiya a kacchu by caste is a railway crossing guard Though an untouchable he saved Mohan s life from a snake bite and since then Mohan and Dukhiya develops deep friendship As such Pratap son of Mohan Ashok Kumar and Kasturi daughter of Dukhiya Devika Rani also become friends since childhood Growing up together they fall in love with each other Babulal the village doctor holds severe grudges against Mohan and always looking for any chance to slander his reputation in village Pratap being a Brahmin boy and Kasturi being an untouchable girl achhut social conventions of that time preclude any possibility of these two lovers uniting Thereafter due to many evil twists and turns of fate and instances Pratap ends up marrying Meera Manorama while Kasturi marries Mannu Anwar Both of them are unable to forget their first love but tries hard to make their respective marriages work Unfortunately the situation gets compounded by the fact that Mannu also has a first wife Kajri with whom he is estranged due to excessive interference from his in laws The hitherto smug Kajri suddenly feels threatened by the arrival of a new woman in her husband s life and arrives at Mannu s house unannounced Meera tries hard to win Pratap s attention towards herself and confesses her troubles to her friend Kajri Kajri who is also unable to gain attention of Mannu towards her blames Kasturi for their similar misfortune Thus she poisons Meera s mind The two of them hatch a diabolical conspiracy to discredit Kasturi in the eyes of Mannu and villagers They take Kasturi along to a fair mela in the neighbouring village and then abandons her there While searching for them in fair Kasturi meets Pratap who has a food stall there and both of them decides to return to their village Meanwhile Meera and Kajri as per their plan upon reaching their village tell Mannu that Kasturi has eloped with her lover Pratap Seeing Pratap and Kasturi returning together misguided and enraged Mannu attacks Pratap exactly when his Bullock cart just arrives at the railroad crossing There ensues a fisticuffs between the two even as a train rushes towards them and the bullock cart Desperate to save all lives at stake Kasturi rushes towards the train signaling and imploring the driver to stop and in the process gets herself killed That act of selflessness makes her a martyr in the eyes of the villagers despite her lowly origins Cast EditDevika Rani as Kasturi Ashok Kumar as Pratap Manorama as Meera Anwar as Mannu Pramila as Kajari Kamta Prasad as Dukhia Kusum Kumari as Kalyani P F Pithawala as Mohan Kishori Lal as Babulal N M Joshi as Inspector of Police Ishrat as Sukhlal Khosla as PatientPrincipal DancersMumtaz Ali Sunita DeviReferences Edit Annotation of the film on indiancine maExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Achhut Kannya Achhut Kannya at IMDb Full movie on YouTube also 1 and 2 Achhut Kannya at National Film Archives Pune Watch Achhut Kanya entirely annotated with archival material at Indiancine ma Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Achhut Kannya amp oldid 1168825392, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
