Jeevan Prabhat

{{Infobox film

| name = Jeevan Prabhat

| image = Jeevan_Prabhat_(1937).jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Franz Osten

| producer = Himanshu Rai

| writer = Niranjan Pal (screenplay)

| narrator =

| starring = {{ubl|Devika Rani|Mumtaz Ali|Kishore Sahu|Renuka Devi}}

| music = Saraswati Devi

| cinematography = Joseph Wirsching

| editing =

| distributor = Ramniklal Mohanlal and Co., Bombay

| studio = Bombay Talkies

| released = {{Film date|1937}}

| runtime = 144 minutes

| country = British India

| language = Hindi

| budget =

| gross =

}}

Jeevan Prabhat (Dawn Of Life) is a 1937 Hindi film social drama, produced by Bombay Talkies and directed by Franz Osten.{{cite web|title=Jeevan Prabhat|url=http://www.gomolo.com/milap-movie/617|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402211543/http://www.gomolo.com/milap-movie/617|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2015|website=gomolo.com|publisher=Gomolo|accessdate=9 April 2015}} The music director was Saraswati Devi with lyrics and dialogues by J. S. Casshyap. The screenplay was by Niranjan Pal.{{cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Baburao|title=Review|journal=Filmindia|volume=3|issue=8|pages=36|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmindia19373803unse#page/n51/mode/2up/search/osten|accessdate=9 April 2015}} The film's "star value" was Devika Rani, with Kishore Sahu making his debut as an actor in the film.{{cite book|author=Sanjit Narwekar|title=Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbSbAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT69|accessdate=9 April 2015|date=12 December 2012|publisher=Rupa Publications|isbn=978-81-291-2625-2|pages=69–}} The cast included another debutant, Renuka Devi,{{cite book|author=Ram Awatar Agnihotri|title=Artistes and their films of modern Hindi cinema: cultural and socio-political impact on society, 1931-91|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jv5kAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=9 April 2015|year=1992|publisher=Commonwealth Publishers|isbn=978-81-7169-183-8}} with Mumtaz Ali, Maya Devi and M. Nazir.{{cite web|title=Jeevan Prabhat|url= http://www.citwf.com/film172927.htm|website=citwf.com|publisher=Alan Goble|accessdate=9 April 2015}}

The film deals with the social evils of the caste system,{{cite book|author=Kris Manjapra|title=Age of Entanglement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8YXAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA270|accessdate=9 April 2015|date=6 January 2014|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-72631-4|pages=270–}} and remarriage. Uma is sent back to her father's home after her husband remarries, as she is unable to bear children. Her renewed friendship with a childhood friend, Ramu, a Harijan, brings censure and misunderstanding from her husband and society.

Plot

Set in a village, a young Brahmin couple Nandlal (Mumtaz Ali) and Uma (Devika Rani) are unable to have any children. The husband plans to take another wife, Padma. Ramu (Kishore Sahu) belongs to the potters family, where Uma normally spent most of her time before marriage. The friendship has been frowned upon as Ramu is from the Harijan caste. Nandlal sends Uma to her father's house, where she renews her friendship with Ramu. Nandlal sees Uma talking to Ramu (Kishore Sahu). While at her father's house, Uma discovers that she is pregnant. Misunderstandings arise when Nandlal gets suspicious about Uma and Ramu, but all is set right by Padma, Nandlal's second wife. She clears Uma's name, and gets Nandlal and Uma together before walking out of their lives.

Cast

Devika Rani as Uma
Mumtaz Ali as Nandlal
Kishore Sahu as Ramu
Renuka Devi
Chandraprabha
Maya Devi
Vimala Devi
Aloka Aloka
Tarabai Solanki
Saroj Borkar
Kamta Prasad
P.F. Pithawala
M. Nazir
N. M. Joshi
G.S. Vaishampayan

Review

File:Jeevan Prabhat 1937.jpg, December 1937]]

Jeevan Prabhat was released on 2 November 1937, at Minerva Talkies, Bombay. Baburao Patel, the Filmindia editor, in his review of December 1937, called it Osten's "better work than ever before". Saraswati Devi's music composition and Wirsching's cinematography were praised, as was Niranjan Pal's screenplay, "a good story with plenty of entertainment". Devika Rani was hailed for scoring "another triumphant". Renuka Devi was praised for her looks but criticised for her acting. Kishore Sahu was stated to be a "big disappointment".

The audience reception was good with the film running for over 17 weeks in Bombay, while doing good business in the rest of the country too, becoming a commercial success.{{cite journal|last1=Patel|first1=Baburao|title=Filmindia|journal=Filmindia|date=April 1938|volume=3|issue=12|pages=13|url=https://archive.org/stream/filmindia19373803unse#page/n277/mode/2up/search/Jeevan+|accessdate=9 April 2015}}

Production

The film starred Kishore Sahu with Devika Rani, who was cited as a "bankable star".{{cite book|author=Bhaichand Patel|title=Bollywood's Top 20: Superstars of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RQL4dkVAnPIC&pg=PA21|accessdate=9 April 2015|year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08572-9|pages=21–}} Bombay Talkies was producing a large quantity of films in a short period of time. Jeevan Prabhat was completed in two months, while Achhut Kanya was made in six weeks. In a little over four years, Osten had directed about sixteen films for Bombay Talkies.{{cite web|title=Prem Sanyas|url=http://www.silentfilm.org/archive/prem-sanyas-1925|website=San Francisco Silent Film Festival|publisher=Silent Film.org|accessdate=9 April 2015|ref=San Francisco Silent Film Festival|archive-date=16 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416011919/http://www.silentfilm.org/archive/prem-sanyas-1925|url-status=dead}}

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Saraswati Devi, with lyrics by J. S. Casshyap. The singers were Devika Rani, Balwant Singh, Mumtaz Ali, Saroj Borkar and Saraswati Devi.{{cite web|title=Jeevan Prabhat|url=http://muvyz.com/moviepage/td543928/songs/#tabs|website=muvyz.com|publisher=Muvyz, Ltd.|accessdate=9 April 2015}}