''Jeevan Naiya'' is a

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

Indian Hindi film directed by

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 ...

, and produced by Himanshu Rai for his studio

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 ...

. It is famous for being the screen debut of early superstar Ashok Kumar. The film is about the

ostracism Ostracism (, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often us ...

of dancing girls. The film was one of several successful

collaborations between Franz Osten, Himashu Rai, screenwriters J. S. Kashyap and Niranjan Pal, and their leading lady of the time, Devika Rani. It also featured the famous song "Koi Humdum Na Raha", sung by Ashok Kumar, with music by Saraswati Devi and lyrics by Jamuna Swarup Kashyap (J. S. Kashyap), later sung by

Kishore Kumar Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer, musician and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of modern India ...

in the film '' Jhumroo'' (1961).

Cast

* Devika Rani as Lata * Ashok Kumar as Karan * Kamta Prasad as Mathuradas * Anwari Begum * Kusum Kumari * K. J. Joshi *

S. N. Tripathi Shri Nath Tripathi (14 March 1913 – 28 March 1988) was an Indian composer, whose active years were from the 1930s to the 1980s. Tripathi's multi-faceted work range included being a composer, writer, actor, and director of films. His debut fil ...

as Chand

Production

Devika Rani's original co-star in the film was Najm-ul-Hassan. They developed a romantic relationship and eloped during the shooting of the film. Himanshu, who was married to Devika Rani at the time, was both enraged and distraught. Since the leading pair were absent, production was stalled. A significant portion of the movie had been shot and a large sum of money, which had been taken as credit from financers, had been spent. The studio therefore suffered severe financial losses and a loss of credit among bankers in the city while the runaway couple made merry. Sashadhar Mukherjee, an assistant sound-engineer at the studio, who had a brotherly bond with Devika Rani, established contact with the runaway couple and managed to convince Devika Rani to return to her husband. She negotiated a financial deal with her husband with the help of Sashadhar Mukherjee, as a condition for her return. Despite the additional expense involved in re-shooting many portions of the film, Himanshu Rai replaced Najm-ul-Hassan with Ashok Kumar, who was the brother of Sashadhar Mukherjee's wife, as the hero of the film. This marked the debut, improbable as it may seem, of Ashok Kumar's six-decade-long career in Hindi films. Najm-ul-Hassan was dismissed from his job at Bombay Talkies (this was the period in which actors and actresses were paid regular monthly salaries by one specific film studio and could not work in any other studio). His reputation as a dangerous cad established, he could not find work in any other studio. His career was ruined and he sank into obscurity.

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1934 films Indian black-and-white films 1930s Hindi-language films Films directed by Franz Osten Films about women in India Indian drama films 1934 drama films {{1930s-Hindi-film-stub Films about entertainers Films about prostitution in India Films about courtesans in India Indian dance films Hindi-language drama films