Pardesi (1957) - Revision history

Pdewan: /* 25 minutes of songs survive in colour */

2022-12-20T18:47:22Z

‎25 minutes of songs survive in colour

Pdewan: /* The spectacular Russian version */

2022-12-20T18:36:40Z

‎The spectacular Russian version

Pdewan: /* The spectacular Russian version */

2022-12-20T18:27:04Z

‎The spectacular Russian version

Pdewan: /* The spectacular Russian version */

2017-07-28T23:44:37Z

‎The spectacular Russian version

Pdewan: /* The auteurs */

2017-07-28T23:18:03Z

‎The auteurs

Pdewan: /* The auteurs */

2017-07-28T23:15:20Z

‎The auteurs

Pdewan: /* The auteurs */

2017-07-28T23:14:29Z

‎The auteurs

Pdewan: /* 25 minutes of songs survive in colour */

2017-07-28T23:07:45Z

‎25 minutes of songs survive in colour

Pdewan: /* India’s first 'Scope (widescreen) film */

2017-07-28T23:04:46Z

‎India’s first 'Scope (widescreen) film

Pdewan: /* India’s first 'Scope (widescreen) film */

2017-07-28T23:01:40Z

‎India’s first 'Scope (widescreen) film

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 [[File: pardesi6a.jpg| Nargis (left) in Pardesi (1957). The Hindi-Urdu version was directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and the Russian version by Vasili Pronim |frame|500px]]
-They could perhaps have been taken from the Russian version in which the songs would have appeared in Hindi-Urdu. The music is by Anil Biswas. On the other hand, there are no subtitles. So, perhaps a good-quality Hindi-Urdu print in colour does survive.
+They must have been taken from the Russian version in which the songs appeared in Hindi-Urdu. The music is by Anil Biswas.
 [[File: pardesi8.jpg| Oleg (extreme left) in Pardesi (1957). Its subtitled English version is known as ‘Journey Beyond Three Seas.’|frame|500px]]
 These colour and widescreen (SovScope) sequences and the Censor Certificate should establish beyond doubt which the first Indian film in widescreen was, and whether Pardesi can be considered an Indian film at all.
 ==The spectacular Russian version==

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 We go through the beautiful Russian countryside before Afanasi (Oleg) enters a monastery. There he goes into a room and picks up a statuette that he obviously got from India.
-The Hindi-Urdu version begins roughly here, four and a half minutes after the Russian version. There are no dialogues so far, so they could easily have used the sequence in the Hindi-Urdu version, dubbing Afanasi’s sole conversation with the monk. However, perhaps the conception of this section was considered too European for the Indian tastes of 1957.
+The Hindi-Urdu versions begin roughly here, four and a half minutes after the Russian version. (There seem to be two Hindi versions with very minor differences in the credit titles.) There are no dialogues so far, so they could easily have used this sequence in the Hindi-Urdu version, dubbing Afanasi’s sole conversation with the monk. However, perhaps the conception of this section was considered too European for the Indian tastes of 1957.
 The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5IYtpdhL9o SovColor and SovScope version] deserves to be seen just for its delectable photography, background music and mediæval Russian nostalgia.
@@ Line 60: / Line 60: @@
 PARDESI (1957)]]
 [[Category:India|K
 PARDESI (1957)]]

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 We go through the beautiful Russian countryside before Afanasi (Oleg) enters a monastery. There he goes into a room and picks up a statuette that he obviously got from India.
-The Hindi-Urdu versions begin roughly here, four and a half minutes after the Russian version. There are no dialogues so far, so they could easily have used the sequence in the Hindi-Urdu version, dubbing Afanasi’s sole conversation with the monk. However, perhaps the conception of this section was considered too European for the Indian tastes of 1957.
+The Hindi-Urdu version begins roughly here, four and a half minutes after the Russian version. There are no dialogues so far, so they could easily have used the sequence in the Hindi-Urdu version, dubbing Afanasi’s sole conversation with the monk. However, perhaps the conception of this section was considered too European for the Indian tastes of 1957.
 The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5IYtpdhL9o SovColor and SovScope version] deserves to be seen just for its delectable photography, background music and mediæval Russian nostalgia.
@@ Line 56: / Line 56: @@
 Hindi-Urdu version''s'' did we say? Yes, because on [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDZre9d6myk YouTube] there is a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBFAmFC4D7s  second Hindi-Urdu version] as well, with differently shot credit titles, the second one spelling the Russian director’s name as Pronin.
 =The auteurs=

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5IYtpdhL9o  Russian version, Хождение за три моря] does not merely have a different soundtrack. It is not entirely a dubbed version of the Hindi ''Pardesi.'' It has a different treatment. The [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5IYtpdhL9o  Russian version] begins like a mega-budget Hollywood film with a mediæval ship tossing on the high seas, with Boris Tchaikovsky’s stirring orchestral music in the background. (Boris [1925-96] was inspired by the legendary Pyotr Ilyich but not related to him.)
-[[File: pardesi9.jpg| Padmini in  Pardesi (1957). The film starred Nargis, Oleg (USSR), Balraj Sahni, Prithviraj (Kapoor) and Padmini. (That is the order in which their names appear in the credits. See [[CinemaScope films in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka]]|frame|500px]]
+[[File: pardesi9.jpg| Padmini in  Pardesi (1957). The film starred Nargis, Oleg (USSR), Balraj Sahni, Prithviraj (Kapoor) and Padmini. (That is the order in which their names appear in the credits.) See also [[CinemaScope films in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka]]|frame|500px]]
 We go through the beautiful Russian countryside before Afanasi (Oleg) enters a monastery. There he goes into a room and picks up a statuette that he obviously got from India.

@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 Mosfilm
-[[File: pardesi7.jpg|''Pardesi''  |frame|500px]]
+[[File: pardesi7.jpg|Balraj Sahni in the song Dasvidania from the film ''Pardesi''  |frame|500px]]
 =Cast=

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Vasili Pronin
-[[File: pardesi7.jpg|A still from the song Na Dir Dim Tana Dere Na, which was featured in the film ''Pardesi''  |frame|500px]]
+[[File: pardesi7a.jpg|A still from the song Na Dir Dim Tana Dere Na, which was featured in the film ''Pardesi''  |frame|500px]]
 ''' Writers: '''
@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 Mosfilm
 =Cast=

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 Even though it starred Nargis, the most successful heroine of the time, this biopic of Afanasi, a 15th century Russian explorer in India, did not get a theatrical release beyond left-leaning arthouse cinemas. T-Series has issued the film on DVD. The wide-screen SovScope format is intact but only a black and white print survives.
-[[File: pardesiAa.png|Can '' Pardesi '' be called India's first CinemaScope film? <br/>i) Naya Sansar [HaNR caHcap] was mentioned before Mosfilm even in the Russian version.|frame|500px]]
+[[File: pardesiAb.png|Can '' Pardesi '' be called India's first CinemaScope film? <br/>i) Naya Sansar [HaNR caHcap] was mentioned before Mosfilm even in the Russian version.|frame|500px]]
 (Till the late 1960s many A grade, big budget [e.g. Saawan ki Ghata] as well as B+ films [e.g. Spy in Rome] were shot in 35mm and colour;  however, several prints of these films were released  in black and white and 16mm for rural markets and complimentary screenings at open-air defence services amphitheatres.)

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 '' Pardesi '' was released in India in 1957, while Хождение за три моря ('' Khozhdenie za tri morya '') was released in the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) on 8 January 1958. Its subtitled English version, ‘Journey Beyond Three Seas,’ was premiered in New York in 1960.
-[[File: pardesi4.jpg| Pardesi (1957) was an Indo-Soviet co-production|frame|500px]]
+[[File: pardesi4a.jpg| Pardesi (1957) was an Indo-Soviet co-production|frame|500px]]
 The Hindi-Urdu version is said to be 152 min long, though on YouTube it is around 97 minutes long.