''A Throw of Dice'' (''Prapancha Pash'') is a 1929 silent film by German-born director

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavaria, Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster film ...

, based on an episode from the Indian epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''.

Plot summary

The movie is about two kings vying for the love of a hermit's daughter, the beautiful Sunita. The two kings, Ranjit and Sohan, share a passion for gambling and decide to play a game of

craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...

to determine who will marry her. Sunita wishes to marry Ranjit. Ranjit loses the game to the nefarious Sohan and as a forfeit becomes his slave. Sunita soon uncovers the truth about Sohan's evil deeds and to escape punishment he hurls himself off a cliff into the rapids below. Ranjit and Sunita are reunited and married.

Cast

* Seeta Devi as Sunita * Himansu Rai as Sohan * Charu Roy as Ranjit * Modhu Bose * Sarada Gupta as The Hermit * Lala Bijoykishen * Tincory Chakrabarty

Production

''A Throw of Dice'', the third Indian film by

is considered by many his greatest achievement. The silent film was shot in black and white on 35mm film. It contains thousands of cast members and animals, including 10,000 extras, 1,000 horses and scores of elephants and tigers. The film was shot on location in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

.‘A Throw of Dice’ and Summer Serials
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 15 July 2008. Osten made 19 films in India between 1926 and 1939, and ''A Throw of Dice'' formed the final part of a trilogy of Indo-German productions by Osten and Indian actor-producer Himanshu Rai, the other two being ''

Prem Sanyas ''Prem Sanyas'' (''The Light of Asia'') (''Die Leuchte Asiens'' in German) is a 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai. It was adapted from the book, ''The Light of Asia'' (1879) in Verse (poetry), verse, by Edwin Arnold, bas ...

'' (1925) and ''

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

'' (1928). After a gap, Osten returned to India, and worked on

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

with Rai. During the production of ''Kangan'' (''The Bangle'') in 1939, Osten, a member of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Party, was arrested by British colonial officials, and was incarcerated until the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Restoration and re-release

''A Throw of Dice'' has been in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI)'s archives since 1945, though rarely seen. In 2006, in honour of the 60th anniversary of Indian independence,A Throw of Dice
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. the film was digitally restored,Review
''

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

''. then re-released at the Luminato Festival in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, on 13 June 2008, with a new orchestral score by British Indian composer

Nitin Sawhney Nitin Sawhney (; born 1964) is a British musician, producer and composer. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement award in 2017, among multiple international awards throughout his career. Sawhney's work combines Asian and other ...

. The United States release occurred on 30 July 2008 during the

Grant Park Music Festival The Grant Park Music Festival (formerly the Grant Park Concerts) is a ten-week classical music concert series held annually in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It features the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra and Grant Park Chorus along with gues ...

at the

Jay Pritzker Pavilion Jay Pritzker Pavilion, also known as Pritzker Pavilion or Pritzker Music Pavilion, is a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the south side of Randolph S ...

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, composer of the new 2006 score, describes the film as "A cross between

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

and an early

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movie." On many occasions, it has been compared to a Cecil B. DeMille film for its levels of extravagance. Nishat Khan composed a new orchestral score, which premiered on 25 April 2013, as part of the 100 Years of Indian Film festival, at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, with the composer playing sitar and singing, accompanied by the Bollywood Orchestra.

Reception

Upon its re-release in 2007, a review in ''

'' stated, ''"''There’s hardly a frame in the 1929 film "A Throw of Dice" that doesn’t provide a surge of visual pleasure''"'', while

Peter Bradshaw Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine. Early life and education Bradshaw was educat ...

, a reviewer for ''

'' called it, ''"''a rare and fascinating gem". ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' reviewer,

Philip French Philip Neville French (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film critic. H ...

, termed it, ''"''a remarkable silent movie''"''.Review - A Throw of Dice
''

'', 26 August 2007.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Throw of Dice, A 1929 films Indian silent films Films based on the Mahabharata Indian black-and-white films Films directed by Franz Osten Films scored by Nitin Sawhney Articles containing video clips UFA GmbH films German silent feature films British silent feature films German black-and-white films British black-and-white films Silent adventure films 1920s rediscovered films Rediscovered British films Rediscovered German films Rediscovered Indian films Films scored by Willy Schmidt-Gentner