''Khoon Ka Khoon'' () also called ''Hamlet'' is the first
Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
/
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' 1935 sound film adaptation of the
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
n play
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
. Directed by
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
under his Stage Film Company banner, it is cited as one of the earliest talkie versions of this play. Credited as "the man who brought Shakespeare to the Indian screen", it was Modi's debut feature film as a director. The story and script were by Mehdi Hassan Ahsan from his Urdu adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Starring Sohrab Modi, ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' was also the debut in films of
Naseem Banu
Naseem Banu (4 July 1916 – 18 June 2002) was an Indian actress. She was referred to as Naseem and known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema. Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s she continued to act t ...
who played Ophelia. The other star cast included Shamshadbai, Ghulam Hussain, Obali Mai, Fazal Karim and Eruch Tarapore.
''Khoon Ka Khoon'' was a "filmed version of a stage performance of the play" with Sohrab Modi as Hamlet and Naseem Banu as Ophelia. The film has been cited by National Film Archive of India founder P K. Nair, as one of "21 most wanted missing Indian cinema treasures".
Plot
The film stays close to the play, with Hamlet's dead father wanting Hamlet to punish the people responsible for his death. Hamlet, unwilling to believe his mother's involvement is in a quandary and pretends to be insane. He has a play staged denouncing his mother and uncle. Gertrude drinks the poison intended for Hamlet, Hamlet kills his step-father and succumbs to the wounds received.
Cast
*
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
as Hamlet
*
Naseem Banu
Naseem Banu (4 July 1916 – 18 June 2002) was an Indian actress. She was referred to as Naseem and known as "Beauty Queen" and the "first female superstar" of Indian Cinema. Starting her acting career in the mid-1930s she continued to act t ...
as Ophelia
* Shamshadbai as Gertrude
* Ghulam Hussain
* Obali Mai
* Fazal Karim
* Eruch Tarapore
* Ghulam Mohiyuddin
* Shamshad
* Rampiary
* Gauhar
* B. Pawar
Production
As reported by Peter Morris, ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' was a "recording of a stage production", Modi filmed it using two cameras as the play was being staged. The play was a mix of Elizabethan costumes for the main leads, with a mixture of Western stage and Indian costumes for other characters in the play. Modi decided to film the play shot by shot as in the staging of the play. Mehdi Ahsan, a known writer of the
Parsi
Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
theatre had earlier adapted the play for the silent film ''Khoon-e-Nahak'' (1928), before staging it for Modi. He apparently stated that he had to alter the Shakesperean plays to suit the Indian audience's "way of thinking".
Director Modi asked Shamshadbai, Naseem Banu's mother, to play to play the role of Gertrude (Hamlet's mother), in order to take the pressure off the young Naseem during shooting.
Box office and reception
''Khoon Ka Khoon'', which was the first sound version of a Shakespeare play was not a success at the box office. However, Modi's film was appreciated mainly for the Urdu dialogues, the "quality of the play" and his acting. Modi's acting was noted as a performance dominating the film.
Soundtrack
The music was provided by Kanhaiya Parwar with lyrics by Mehndi Hassan Ahmed.