Amritmanthan Amritmanthan, which was produced and directed by V. Shantaram. Shantaram used this film to comment subtly on life and times in contemporary society too. He was the first director to use a telephoto lens for his film Amrit Manthan (1934). It uses several film techniques from German Expressionist cinema. Apart from all its notable achievements, this film is best remembered for its shot of the close-up of a priest’s right eye. This film is also important for introducing several talented artistes such as Durga Khote and Shanta Apte to a film-hungry audience. It tells the story of a very old society where Buddhism goes against orthodox ritualistic practices. This film was set in the Buddhist age and makes a strong statement against the practice of making human sacrifices. Avanti Nagar residents worship Devi Maa Chandika and sacrifice humans and animals to appease her. When Raja Krantivarma bans this sacrifice, his very own Rajguru rebels and incites a group of religious zealots to assassinate him