Directing
Living an indolent life in a luxurious palace, Prince Gautama (Rai) is insulated by his family from the harshness of the world outside. But he is destined to learn greater truths: shocked to discover the pain and suffering of so many in his kingdom, he abandons his privileged existence, and his wife Gopa (Seeta Devi), to become a wandering teacher, eventually finding enlightenment and founding Buddhism. Featuring superimposed images and deep-focus shots that were highly impressive for the time, Light of Asia astutely combines a deeply felt spirituality with the surefire attraction of Indian exotica, which helped make it a considerable success in Europe.
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Karl is an avid stamp collector and journeyman in the employ of the tailor Kuhn. Having taken a fancy to the journeyman, the tailor’s wife Paula means to woo him by adding a priceless stamp to his collection. When a client is robbed, the value of the stamp makes Karl a suspect, and he is wrongly imprisoned until the embarrassing particulars come to light.
Two neighboring kings addicted to gambling, Ranjit and his cousin Sohat, vie for the same beautiful young woman, Sunita, daughter of the hermit Kanwa.
The love story from the 'Mahabharata'. Savitri, a heroine born through divine benediction to Ashwapati, marries Satyavan, the son of an exiled and blinded hermit, although he is scheduled to die soon.
In the year 1810, the Tyrol is suffering under French occupation. A servant, who believes himself oppressed and disenfranchised by the peasants, dreams of being allowed to play Christ in the yearly Passion Play. Instead, he is forced to play Judas and soon the lines of reality blur: he betrays the location of Andreas Hofer, hidden by the farmers, breaks under the weight of his guilt and suffers Judas' fate.
German silent film
An early drama starring Devika Rani, was a social drama exploring motherly love, family bonds, and sacrifice.
Rural melodrama about Durga, an adolescent child of nature, living with her aged mother Heera. Unable to get the medicine required to prevent her mother's death, one misfortune after another befalls the heroine in spite of the sympathies of the newly arrived village doctor, Jawahar.
Thanatos is none other than death, and he's tired of bringing home lost souls. Finally, he too wants to taste earthly life, just live for three days like a human on earth, feel, love and suffer like the humanoids. His wish is granted, and Thanatos is allowed to walk as a normal mortal for three days. But soon he become disgusted with the behavior of the humans, till he in the third day is confronted with the love of a beautiful girl, Phaleria.
In this tale of rural caste divisions, polygamy is added to the theme in this story of Uma, born in an orthodox Brahmin family. To the despair of her parents she values her friendship with low-caste potters. Especially with Ranu. When she marries Nandlal, a man from her own caste, her potter friends are happy for her - until they learn that Nandlal is taking a second wife, Padma, with Uma's consent. The problem is that Uma is thought to be infertile. Uma returns to her parents' home mainly because Nandlal is paying no attention to his new wife, and when she returns she meets Ramu again. Nandlal overhears a conversation between Ramu and Uma and, when Uma suddenly discovers that she is pregnant after all, he doubts her fidelity.
A historical romance set in the Mughal Empire. A potter's son falls for the foundling girl he was raised alongside, unaware she carries royal blood. When slavers abduct her and sell her into the household of a Mughal prince, he follows her to the imperial court at Agra — risking his life to reach her, in a story that imagines the origins of the Taj Mahal.
The love story between the beautiful village belle Radha and Kamal, the son of the village zamindar who wants to be a great poet. The zamindar sends his son to the city, where Kamal becomes a noted novelist and playwright, while Radha is persecuted by the zamindar and his henchman Banwari. She feigns suicide but in fact goes to join her beloved in the city (on the same train as the now repentant father). When she eventually reaches Kamal's house, she hears him declaring his love to a woman. Unaware that he is merely reading lines from his latest play.
Costume Hindi drama.
Lata, daughter of a dancing girl, is brought up by social worker Mathuradas and is engaged to marry the rich Ranjit when the villain Chand arrives to blackmail her with her undisclosed ancestry. Lata is forced to disclose the truth to Ranjit and the assembled wedding guests. Ranjit disowns her but they are reunited when Ranjit, blinded by an explosion, is nursed back to health by a devoted woman who turns out to be his wife.
