Meeth Bhakar

1949 125’ b&w Marathi d/s/lyr Bhalji Pendharkar pc Prabhakar Pics c Ganpat Shinde m Kashalkar lp P. Ratnamala, Jayaram Shiledar, Baburao Pendharkar, Chintamanrao Kolhatkar, Jayaram Desai, R.V. Rane, Chittaranjan Kolhatkar, Omkar Devaskar, Usha Kiron

Pendharkar’s ruralist melodrama and murder mystery. Amrit, the son of proud patriarch Tatyaba, who lives with three sons and a daughter-in-law, is accused of a murder in a gambling den. In return for hushing up the matter, the evil owner of the den enslaves the entire family, forcing them to do menial labour. The happiness of the past is contrasted with the family’s downfall, for which fate is blamed, until salvation arrives when the murder victim turns out to be still alive. Pendharkar’s lyrics intensified the film’s sentimentality, e.g. Bhar divasa amhi ek swapna pahila.

Film