''Vikramaditya'' is a

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), '' Baiju Bawra'' (1952), '' Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and '' Hi ...

for his banner Prakash Pictures. The title role of the King of

Avanti Avanti (in Italian, meaning 'ahead', 'forward', or 'before', and also an unrelated Sanskrit name) may refer to: Vehicles * Studebaker Avanti, a model of automobile built by Studebaker * Avanti II, a successor model made by Avanti Motor Corporati ...

Vikramaditya Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan ...

, was played by

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 establish ...

, who had made a name for himself as a good actor by then and was extremely popular. The film was made as a result of Bhatt's interest in history and on the request of the Vikram Bimillenium Committee, celebrating the 2000 years of the King Vikramaditya according to the

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (ISO: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar ...

, Hindu calendar. The film-maker concentrated on factual history rather than fiction for his story. The music direction was by Shankar Rao Vyas with the lyricists being Ramesh Gupta and Roopdas. The film starred Prithviraj Kapoor, Prem Adib, Baburao Pendharkar, Ratnamala, Bhagwandas and Ranjana. The story revolves around the king

, who promises to save the princess of

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

, appoints

Kalidas Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

as court-poet, and his fight against the

Shakas The Saka, old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin from the ...

(

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

Plot

The Shakas (Scythians) have invaded and defeated the Kashmir region. The Kashmiri princess Shreelakha, is on the run to avoid captivity and unwanted attention of Shakraj. The Shakas have already managed to capture several areas in India and the princess is finding it difficult to find refuge. She meets Kalidas the poet, who tells her to ask for shelter from King Vikramaditya, the ruler of Avanti. Kalidas, through his poetry impresses Madhvi, the daughter of Acharya Varamihir and she makes it possible for them to meet Vikramaditya. The King appoints Kalidas as the court poet. The princess asks for refuge and war against the Shakas. When Vikramaditya promises to do so he is met with opposition from his Minister, Vaital. Vaital on being rebuffed by the King then incites the people against the princess and tries to poison her. After several incidents involving the honesty of the King and his travails, the people think that Vaital has poisoned the King and the princess. The magnanimity and valour of the King is shown when he fights the Shakas, killing Shakaraj and releasing Shreelekha's father from captivity and restoring his kingdom.

Cast

* Ratnamala * Baburao Pendharkar *

Prem Adib Prem Adib (10 August 1917 – 25 December 1959) was an Indian actor. He was acclaimed as one of the top Bollywood actors of the 1940s, along with the likes of Pahari Sanyal, Ashok Kumar, P. C. Barua and Master Vinayak. Adib is best remembered ...

* Ranjana * Bhagwandas * Jilloobai

Soundtrack

Music Director was Shankar Rao Vyas and the lyricists were Ramesh Gupta and Roopdas. The singers were Rajkumari,

Amirbai Karnataki Amirbai Karnataki ( – 3 March 1965) was a famous actress/singer and playback singer of the early Hindi cinema and was famous as ''Kannada Kokila''. Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent fan of her song '' Vaishnav Jan To''. Early life Amirbai Karn ...

, G. M. Durrani,

Manna Dey Prabodh Chandra Dey (; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known by his stage name Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. He had a classical music background, being part of the Bhendibazaar gharana, Bhendibazaar Gh ...

Song list

References

External links

* {{Vijay Bhatt 1945 films 1940s Hindi-language films 1940s Indian films Indian biographical drama films Indian epic films Biographical films about royalty Films directed by Vijay Bhatt Memorials to Vikramaditya Indian historical drama films History of India on film 1940s biographical drama films 1940s historical drama films Indian black-and-white films