Underplayed Gems

Bhabhi (1938)

Bhabhi poster
Original title
भाभी
Directed by
Franz Osten
Genre
drama film
Country
British Raj
Runtime
2h 24m
Rating
9.0 of 10 from 1 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This 1930s Indian film focuses on the struggles of a young widow and how society treats her. It examines prejudiced views on relationships between men and women.

socially consciousdramaticthoughtfulserioushistorical

What happens

Bhabhi (Sister-in-Law) is a 1938 social family drama Hindi film directed by Franz Osten. The film was based on a Bengali novel written by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay called "Bisher Dhoan" ("বিষের ধোঁয়া"). Bandyopadhyay was a famous Bengali novelist and short story writer also known as the creator of the fictional detective Byomkesh Bakshi. The cinematographers were Wirsching and Pareenja. Dialogues and lyrics by J. S. Casshyap. V. H. Desai, the comedian, got his "big break" in Bhabhi when he joined Bombay Talkies. He became popular as the nervous father of the heroine Renuka Devi. S. N. Tripathi started his acting with a small role in the film. The film had the new found Renuka Devi in the lead. The cast included P. Jairaj, Maya Devi as the young widow, with V. H. Desai, Rama Shukal, Meera, M. Nazir, P. F. Pithawala. The film is family social drama, which deals with the issue of young widows. It put a special focus on the Indian society's attitude towards them, and society's bigoted approach to "man- woman relationships". (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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