Cinema
The Light of Asia
प्रेम संन्यास
Franz Osten · 1925
Synopsis
European tourists visit India, from Delhi to Bombay, and arrive at the temple of Bodh-Gaya. There, an old man with a white beard sitting under the tree of Enlightenment tells them the story of Prince Gautama, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. The story, told in flashback, shows the prince, his wife Gopa, the tournament that pits him against Devadatta before the court, then the day he leaves Gopa to become a wandering teacher.
Context
The film was conceived by the lawyer and actor Himansu Rai, who co-directed it and plays Gautama in it, and produced by the Great Eastern Film Corporation of Delhi with Emelka of Munich; Niranjan Pal adapted Edwin Arnold's poem, and Josef Wirsching was the cinematographer. Arriving in Bombay on 18 March 1925, the crew shot quickly before the monsoon; a maharaja lent his subjects and thirty elephants. Released in Germany on 22 October 1925, the film was screened at Windsor before George V on 27 April 1926.
Who it is for
An hour and a half of silent film, to be seen as a document; one must accept a period orientalism and idealised figures.
Prizes and reception
First Indian film distributed abroad; celebrated in Germany, it ran for ten months in London.
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