''Rajrani Meera'' (Rajrani Mira) is a 1933

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

devotional film. It was directed by

Debaki Bose Debaki Bose (1898–1971), also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was an Indian director, writer, and actor who is recognized for his contribution in Hindi as well as Bengali cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalposh, (now East Burdwan), Bu ...

for

New Theatres New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotiret ...

Ltd. Calcutta. The cinematographer was Nitin Bose with music composed by

R. C. Boral Rai Chand Boral (19 October 1903 – 25 November 1981) was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India. He was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in India ...

. The film was a bilingual, made in Bengali as ''Meerabai'' and directed by Hiren Bose and Basanta Chatterjee. The film starred

Durga Khote Durga Khote (14 January 1905 − 22 September 1991) was an Indian actress, beginning as one of the foremost leading ladies of her times, she remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around ...

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establis ...

, K. L. Saigal,

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as '' Harano Sur'', '' Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. ...

, Molina Devi and

Indubala Indubala (1898 – November 30, 1984), sometimes credited as Miss Indubala, Indubālā Debī, or Indubala Devi, was a Bengali singer and actress. She received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975. Early life Indubala was born in Amritsar ...

. K. L. Saigal had a small part that of a devotee in the film with Prithviraj Kapoor playing the male protagonist role. The film made Prithviraj Kapoor who played the role of the King of Mewar, Mirabai’s husband, a big star and is cited as one of his career's best films. The story revolves around the sixteenth-century saint-poet Mirabai, who suffers through hardships from her husband's family in her love for

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, finally renouncing her family and palace to wander as a mendicant, writing bhakti poetry.

Plot

Meera (

), is immersed in her love and devotion to Lord Krishna since a young age. When she grows older, her family get her married to the Rana of Mewar

. Misunderstandings occur when her devotional poetry is thought to be love songs for someone. Several hardships are inflicted on her by her husband and her in-laws. She takes to sitting in the temple and singing bhajans (sacred songs) composed by her. Her brother-in-law tries to have her killed many times, but fails. She finally renounces her life in the palace and wanders from place to place singing devotional songs.

Cast

as Mira Rani *

as King of Mewar, Rana Kumbha * K. L. Saigal *

as Chand Batta * Molina Devi as Sunanda *

as Charani *Kamala Devi *Ansari *Khatoon *Sankatha Prasad *Siddiqui

Mirabai remakes

The devotional films had many male saints to focus on, but the only female saint-poet who caught the interest of the film-makers was Meera bai. Several films have been made in India on the subject of Meera bai since the time of silent era. In 1921 itself there were two, Kanjibhai Rathod's ''Meerabai'' (1921) and Ramnik Desai’s ''Meerabai'' (1921). In 1933 was the Hindi, Bengali ''Rajrani Meera''/''Meerabai''. The other popular film was '' Meera'' (1945), by Ellis Duncan who made it as a bilingual in Tamil and Hindi. Both films had the vocals of the famous Carnatic singer

M. S. Subbalakshmi Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is ...

. Many prominent film directors like Kidar Sharma, Nanabhai Bhatt and

Gulzar Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...

made films on the story of Meera bai.

Songs

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id =0263914 , title =Rajrani Meera
Rajrani Meera (1933)
on indiancine.ma 1933 films 1930s Hindi-language films Indian historical drama films 1930s historical drama films Indian black-and-white films 1933 drama films