Landmark Films from the NFAI Collection - Achut Kanya (1936)

 The film overwhelmed Jawaharlal Nehru which addresses the issue of untouchability and inter-caste marriage.The film opens at a railway crossing where a man is about to kill his wife, when the narrative spins into the past.  The central theme is of the unhappy love between Kasturi, the Harijan daughter of the railway level crossing guard Dukhia, and Pratap, the Brahmin son of the grocer, Mohan. The film is enhanced by Josef Wirsching’s contrasted imagery.  Devika Rani established the image of the Indian village belle which became a stereotype in Indian Cinema. The songs were rendered by the singing stars Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani.