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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|1933 film}}<br />
{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}<br />
{{Infobox film<br />
| name = Karma<br />
| image = Karma, 1933.webm<br />
| image_size =<br />
| caption = ''Karma''<br />
| director = J.L. Freer Hunt<br />
| producer =<br />
| writer = Rupert Downing<br />
| story = Dewan Sharar<br />
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Devika Rani]]|[[Himanshu Rai]]}}<br />
| music = Ernst Broadhurst<br />
| cinematography =<br />
| editing =<br />
| distributor =<br />
| released = {{Film date|1933|05| |UK}}<br />
| runtime = 68 mins.{{Sfn|McFarlane|1999|p=157}}<br />
| country = {{unbulleted list|India|Germany|United Kingdom}}<br />
| language = English, Hindi<br />
| budget =<br />
}}<br />
'''''Karma''''' is a [[List of Bollywood films of 1933|1933]] [[Bilingual|bilingual film]] starring [[Devika Rani]] and [[Himanshu Rai]]. The film was directed by J.L. Freer Hunt and was a joint production among India, Germany and United Kingdom. ''Karma'' featured a four-minute kissing scene between the lead actors—Devika Rani and Rai—the longest in an Indian film.<br />
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==Plot==<br />
The story is about a princess (played by Devika Rani) who falls in love with a neighbouring prince much to the disapproval of the latter's father.<br />
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==Cast==<br />
* [[Devika Rani]] as The Princess<br />
* Sudha Rani as Her Companion<br />
* [[Himansu Rai]] as The Prince<br />
* Dewan Sharar as His Father, the Maharaja<br />
* [[Abraham Sofaer]] as The Holy Man<br />
* Kander as The Beggar<br />
* Anil Chakrabarti as The Beater<br />
* Ranabir Sen as His Father<br />
* Amal Banerji as The Snake Charmer<br />
<br />
==Production==<br />
The female lead Devika Rani, the grand niece of [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel laureate]] [[Rabindranath Tagore]] was professionally associated with Rai even before the two married in 1929. Impressed by her talent, Rai decided to cast her in the film alongside him. [[Abraham Sofaer]] was cast in a pivotal role as a "Holy Man".{{Sfn|Patel|2012|p=57}}{{Sfn|McFarlane|1999|p=157}} The screenplay was co-written by Rai and Freer Hunt.{{Sfn|McFarlane|1999|p=157}} The music was composed by German composer [[Ernst Broadhurst]]. Devika Rani had recorded a song in the film including the Hindi version.<ref name=hindu>{{cite news|title=Karma 1933|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/01/10/stories/2009011051430600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408225746/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/01/10/stories/2009011051430600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 April 2014|access-date=7 April 2014|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=10 January 2009}}</ref><br />
<br />
''Karma'', an "Indo-German-British" collaboration, was released two years after the ''[[Alam Ara]]'' (1931), the first Indian talkie. ''Karma'' was made targeting the international audience.<ref name=hindu /> The film was entirely shot in India while the post-production process was carried out in Stoll Studios, London.{{Sfn|Patel|2012|p=57}} The film was the first talkie produced by Rai.{{Sfn|Jaikumar|2006|p=229}}<br />
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==Release==<br />
[[File:Devika Rani Himanshu Rai Kiss.jpg|thumb|right|The kissing scene between Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai.|alt=Devika Rani and Himanshu Rai are seen sharing a full-mouth kiss, with Devika Rani lying on the top.]]<br />
<br />
The film initially premiered in London in May 1933. Devika Rani's performance was lauded by the critics in London. However, when the film was released later in Hindi as ''Naagan Ki Raagini'', it failed to impress the Indian audience.<ref name=independent>{{cite news|last=Varma|first=Madhulika|title=Obituary: Devika Rani|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-devika-rani-1431657.html|access-date=7 April 2014|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|date=26 March 1994}}</ref><ref name=toi>{{cite news|last=Dasgupta|first=Priyanka|title=India's longest kissing scene clips in Paoli film|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news-interviews/Indias-longest-kissing-scene-clips-in-Paoli-film/articleshow/12934783.cms|access-date=7 April 2014|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=30 April 2012}}</ref>{{Sfn|Purohit|1988|p=995}}<br />
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The film was among the first in [[Cinema of India|India]] to feature an on-screen kiss.<ref name=toi /><ref>{{cite web|title=100 Years of Cinema: History of the kiss – sexually liberated 1930s to prudish 21st century|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/100-years-of-cinema-history-of-the-kiss--sexually-liberated-1930s-to-prudish-21st-century/373984-8-66.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224003906/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/100-years-of-cinema-history-of-the-kiss--sexually-liberated-1930s-to-prudish-21st-century/373984-8-66.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 February 2013|publisher=[[IBNLive]]|access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref> The four-minute long scene between Devika Rani and Rai, her husband in real life, is also known to being the longest such scene in Indian cinema.<ref name=hindu />{{Sfn|Jaikumar|2006|p=229}} Upon release, the film became controversial in the then "orthodox India" for featuring a kissing scene.<br />
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==Legacy==<br />
Though largely ignored in India during its release, ''Karma'' is considered a landmark in Indian cinema due to its unprecedented kissing scene. In 2012, ''[[The Times of India]]'' described it as the "first Indian talkie with English dialogue which set all London talking".<ref name=toi /><br />
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==Notes==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{refbegin}}<br />
*{{cite book|last=Patel|first=Bhaichand|title=Bollywood's Top 20: Superstars of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yQYcxZ8wmsC|year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-598-5}}<br />
*{{cite book|last=McFarlane|first=Brian|title=Lance Comfort|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9jnAAAAIAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5484-6}}<br />
*{{cite book|last=Jaikumar|first=Priya|title=Cinema at the End of Empire: A Politics of Transition in Britain and India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pq_kryQIkQkC|year=2006|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=0-8223-3793-2}}<br />
*{{cite book|last=Purohit|first=Vinayak|title=Arts of Transitional India Twentieth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ae1Zrmz6ETwC|year=1988|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-0-86132-138-4}}<br />
{{refend}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* {{IMDb title|0155799}}<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjdNRQCjQBc Full movie on YouTube]<br />
* [https://indiancine.ma/BFC/info Nagan Ki Ragini] on indiancine.ma<br />
* [https://filmifiza.com ] on filmifiza.com<br />
* [https://www.filmifiza.com/2020/04/bollywood-hindi-movie-first-bold-lip.html Filmi Fiza.]<br />
<br />
[[Category:1933 films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian films]]<br />
[[Category:English-language films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian multilingual films]]<br />
[[Category:1930s Hindi-language films]]<br />
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]<br />
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian romantic drama films]]<br />
[[Category:1933 romantic drama films]]<br />
[[Category:1933 multilingual films]]</div>>GreenC bot