Rare footage of 1930 Indian silent film discovered

In a major discovery that will excite film lovers, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has discovered and added surviving footage from Indian silent film Mahdabi Kankan to its collection.

The film Madhabi Kankan was made in 1930. This is the second Indian silent film to be discovered and added to the NFAI collection in recent times. The surviving footage was acquired from Cinematheque Francaise, Paris.

In 2017, the NFAI had acquired footage of silent-era film Bilwamangal (1919). About 1,300 silent films were made in India and very few films have survived.

With the addition of Bilwamangal and Madhabi Kankan, the NFAI now has footage from just 31 Indian silent films.

“This has been a rare and wonderful discovery from the early Indian cinema point of view, said NFAI Director Prakash Magdum.

Madhabi Kankan aka Slave Girl of Agra was produced by Kolkata-based Madan Theatres Ltd. in 1930. The historical film was directed by Jyotish Bannerjee and starred Mumtaz Begum, Lalita Devi, Nawab, Bhanu Bannerjee, Leelavati, Jainarayan Mukherjee and Farida Begum.

The film was initially banned, re-censored and released in 1932. The film was shot with two foreign technicians Charles Creed and Marconi. Jyotish Bannerjee was one of the important filmmakers for Kolkata's Madan Studios.

The studio was the biggest film company in the silent era in India, but nothing has survived in terms of their films, save for these two recently found ones.

Magdum said, "After the discovery of Bilwamangal in 2017, we were searching further for Indian silent films worldwide and that is how we came to know of its existence in Paris. We are thankful to Cinematheque Francaise for providing the film. The footage that has survived is 13 minutes and it has been digitised. It is important footage due to the fact that it has been produced by Madan Theatres Ltd., which was one of the biggest production houses in the silent film era in India.”

The film was an adaptation of the famous historical novel by RC Dutt and is believed to be based on the Bengali version of the novel.

The Filmland magazine of 1933 made note of the film and wrote, “If not for any other merits, this picture certainly claims a high place for its superb locations.”

The main plot of the film revolves around events in the 17th Century when Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's sons battle for the throne. The surviving footage shows the characters of Shuja and Jahan Ara along with Shah Jahan.