A king curses his own son to death—then begs the ascetic he tried to kill to save his throne.
The legend of Prince Puran, born under King Silwan of Sialkot's curse which binds his parents never to set eyes on him until he is 16. Accused of leading a debauched life by an evil general and by the king's second wife, Puran is sentenced to death. Rescued by the mystic Gorakhnath, he becomes an ascetic. When the king is overthrown, Purna rises from his meditations to depose the general who has seized power, before returning to his life of renunciation.
Acting
K.L. Saigal's voice—India's first superstar before playback singing existed.
Direction
Debaki Bose blending Sant Tukaram's devotionalism with populist resistance cinema.
Director
Debaki Bose
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
New Theatres' 'Devotional' genre weaponized Hindu mythology to build nationalist sentiment under British censorship.
This was Saigal's first major hit—his singing made him India's first matinee idol before he ever appeared in talkies.
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