A classic

I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was included in the ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’ list, I was quite eager to check it out. Well, the production value was actually quite impressive as it all looked authentic and quite beautiful to look at. Furthermore, Charu Roy and Seeta Devi had a pretty good chemistry together. However, concerning the story itself, well, it turned to be a cute Indian fairy tale but, to be honest, it wasn’t really much more than that. Indeed, the biggest issue, in my opinion, was that the famous throw of dice came up just way too late and, as a result, everything happening before felt too random. I mean, you might wonder why King Sohat didn’t plot this right from the start since it seemed to be a much easier and above all efficient way to overthrow King Ranjit. Then, when the fateful event finally took place, its aftermath didn’t last long since, within 5 mins, it was already discovered what actually really happened and the whole movie was even wrapped up within the next 10 mins. Still, it was easily the oldest Indian movie I have ever seen and, even though there was no wild dance scenes, it has been a huge precursor for the Bollywood production. Eventually, I was surprised that it was actually directed by a German guy called Franz Osten. Indeed, most US or European productions taking place in some ‘exotic’ country, even nowadays, will almost always include a white main character but Osten didn’t make this mistake here which I really did appreciate. Anyway, to conclude, even if I didn’t complete blow me away, it was still a decent watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

7/10