A 1936 obsession spiral where paint becomes prayer and patriarchy gets the side-eye.
A social woman-centered film interrogating aspects of feudal patriarchy. The painter Ashok (Surendra) who loves the orphaned Vimala (Bibbo) is distressed to learn that she is due to marry Jagdish (Yakub). He paints Vimala's portraits with a frenzied obsession and becomes a famous artist. Paralleling this love story is the decline in Ashok's family fortunes.
Direction
Mehboob's early command of female-centered suffering.
Acting
Surendra's unhinged painter energy.
Production
SFS production values pushing 1936 boundaries.
Director
Mehboob Khan
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of 1930s Bombay's 'social' film movement explicitly critiquing feudal structures before Independence.
Motilal and Mehboob reunited for multiple classics; this early collaboration shows their emerging star-auteur dynamic.
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