Patthe Bapurao

1950 143’ b&w Marathi d Raja Nene pc Raja Nene Prod. p R.C. Jobanputra s/lyr D.K. Kane c Dolly Daruwala m Vasant Pawar lp Ranjana, Raja Nene, Shashikala, Jawdekar, Manjrekar, Chandu Gokhale, Govindaswamy Aphale, Vatsalabai, Indirabai

Former Prabhat Studio director/actor Nene’s best-known film is a biopic of Patthe Bapurao (Nene), Maharashtra’s famous composer and author of the folk-classical lavani musical form. He is shown as an upper-caste schoolteacher, absorbed in a musical genre practised by lower-caste people. He partners the dancer Pavala (Ranjana) and together, after many hardships, they popularise the dance-music form throughout the region. Beginning with the typical Tamasha invocation to Ganesh (Shubhamangali charana gana nachala), the musical has several hit numbers from the lavani tradition as well as Kane’s originals.

Film