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- Lord Shiva blesses Bhasmasur with the power to burn anyone by placing his hand on their head. When the demon decides to misuse it against the former, Lord Vishnu decides to teach him a lesson.
- The homage to the upright King Harishchandra who almost sacrifices his kingdom for his love of truth, opens with a tableau showing the king, his wife Taramati and his young son, to whom he is teaching archery. They go on a hunt and the King blunders into an area controlled by the sage Vishwamitra and his disciple Nakshatra. To atone for his mistake, the king is banished. Three furies appear caught in flames whom Harishchandra tries to rescue. They seduce him into renouncing his kingdom. The king endures much hardship before a god appears at the horizon to reassure everyone that it was just a test of the king's integrity.
- An adventure movie about a king (Bhosle) who is overthrown by the perfidy of his villainous Commander (Pendharkar). The young prince (Vinayak) defeats the villain, reclaims the throne and restores his father's honour.
- When Bhagwan Shri Narad Muni informs the inhabitants of Swarglok about Raja Harishchandra's compassion and generosity, Sage Vishwamitra decides to verify this for himself and travels to meet the Raja. Once there, he demands the Raja's kingdom, and after receiving it, asks one of his disciples to be the new Raja. Not satisfied, he asks Harishchandra, his wife, Taramati, and son, Rohidas, to take off all their ornaments and royal clothing, go into exile, as well as labor, earn a thousand gold coins in two months, and remit this to him as his Dakshina. Harishchandra agrees, and re-locates to Kashi where his entire family work to collect wood for a cemetery, and then are hired by Mahajan Ganganath. At the end of two months, all they accumulate is a mere 10 gold coins. It is then Harishchandra decides to sell himself in the slave market - a decision that will alter their lives forever.
- Children's mythological drawn from the Vishnu Purana telling of the child Krishna (Modak). The film intercuts Krishna's rural escapades with Pendya and other childhood friends with palace intrigues in Mathura, where Kans receives a divine warning that the boy Krishna shall be the cause of his death.
- The first cinematic portrayal of the Hindu epic Ramayana tale featuring villagers constructing a giant bridge.
- The film focuses on the 17th-C. Maratha emperor Shivaji's lieutenant (and folk hero) Tanaji Malusare (Bhosle). Here Kamalkumari, about to commit sati (self-immolation), is captured by Udaybhanu (Pendharkar) and taken to his fort at Kondana.
- This classic opens with a sensational low-angle circular track movement as Chandika cult followers meet in a dungeon of flickering lights and deep shadow. As the more rationalist King Krantivarma (Varde) banned human or animal sacrifices from the increasingly fanatical festivals dedicated to the goddess, the cult's high priest (Chandramohan/Date) orders the hapless Vishwagupta (Kelkar) to kill the king. He obeys but is then betrayed by the perfidious priest and caught. His son Madhavgupta (Mane) and daughter Sumitra (Apte) together with the princess (Tarkhad) and the people finally overthrow the priest. There are several famous scenes, including the twice-told legend of the churning of the seas, once by the priest to show how evil must be exorcised, and again by a good general to show how demons often appear disguised as gods. Although invoking divine intervention when Madhavgupta is about to be sacrificed, the film's strongly political thrust has the people rise in revolt.
- An anti-imperialist version of the Vishnu Purana legend tells of the villainous Kans plotting to marry Devaki to Dikpal, commander of Magadh's army. The people of Mathura fear that Magadh will destroy their city-state and foil Kans' scheme as Devaki marries the beggar Vasudev. The heavens forecast, accurately, that Devaki's eighth son Krishna shall cause Kans' death.
- A classic tragedy on alcoholism. The film version of the play 'Ekach Pyala' (1919) fields a variety of Maharashtrian rural comedy stereotypes: Nana, Balkya and Balakram use a number of ploys to arrange the marriage of Thaki, the virtually unmarriageable daughter of Timbunana.
- A fictional film deploying aspects of the mythological. The demonic King Banasur (Dudhale), a devout disciple of Shiva, wants to eliminate Vishnu and his followers in the guise of Krishna (Tembe), king of Dwarka and an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna overcomes Banasur's designs by getting his daughter Usha (Mantri) to fall in love in with Aniruddha (Vasudeo).
- This film chronicles the life of Tukaram (17th century), one of Maharashtra's most popular saint poets, activating the 20th century resonances of his turning away from courtly Sanskrit towards vernacular rhythms of religious poetry which constituted the first major emancipatory movement against Brahmanical caste domination. The episodic plot pits Tukaram (Pagnis) against the Brahmin Salomalo (Bhagwat), who pretends to be the true author of Tukaram's songs while calling for his ostracization.
- A celebrated melodrama. A bank employee who steals money to buy medicine for his dying wife is caught, jailed and dies of shame. His eldest son Prakash (Vinayak) publishes a poem in the very newspaper that publicized his father's crime. The judge (Hardikar) who convicted Prakash's father gives him a poetry prize and the judge's daughter Chhaya (Chitnis) happens to fall in love with him. But when she learnsof Prakash's family history, Chhaya allows her father and her suitor, Dr. Atul (Pendharkar), to accuse Prakash of molesting her and sends him to prison. Prakash's destitute sister Kala (Ratnaprabha) becomes a prostitute to pay for the younger brother Suman's (Marathe) medical bills levied by the ambitious Dr. Atul. Kala bears a child and has to kill it.
- Pendharkar's social film deals with a prostitute who decides to rebel against tradition and the individuals who oppress her. Society, represented by encounters with a variety of males, makes it virtually impossible for her to maintain her dignity. The film was admired for its colloquial language.
- The hypocritically pious philanthropist Dinanath (Pendharkar) drinks alcohol claiming it to be holy water, womanizes and swindles people in private. He is contrasted with common man Jagadish (Vinayak), abused by all for having failed his matriculation exam eight times and who is loved by the poor flower-girl Kasturi (Ratnaprabha). Jagadish eventually becomes the instrument for the public exposure of Dinnanath which makes him a popular hero. He remains unaffected by this turn of events and remains Kasturi's faithful admirer.
- This film addresses the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu organization emphasizing celibacy and discipline, which became the power base of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). An ordinary young man Audumbar (Vinayak), inspired by a militant lecture on bachelorhood and nationalism by the Deshbhakta Jatashankar (Javdekar), renounces sexual desire, throws away his collection of movie star posters, starts exercising his muscles in the tradition of Hanuman's disciples and joins the Self-Help Institute of the Acharya Chandiram (Malvankar). All his discipline comes to naught in the face of Kishori (Meenakshi).
- Radical journalist Diwakar (Modak) runs a printing press and edits a newspaper, much to the disapproval of his authoritarian middle-class father who believes that all respectable youths should get a job and settle down. Diwakar's scheming politician friend Vithalrao (Thegadi) incites a strike and acquires the press and the paper with the help of Diwakar's father, causing Diwakar to leave home in disgust. His rich girlfriend Nalini (Hublikar) also enters politics, first on the side of the corrupt Vithalrao, then campaigning for Diwakar who represents the slum-dwellers for the municipal elections. Although Diwakar's father campaigns on behalf of Nalini, she tells people not to vote for her but to elect Diwakar instead.
- This period fantasy is a tale about a good general Angar (Chandramohan) who is corrupted by ambition. Echoing 'Macbeth', the loyal Angar is told by the witch Kuntala (Ashalata) that his king (Bulbule) shall die and that he shall be king instead. Angar then kills that king and seizes power. Departing from 'Macbeth', Angar's wife Mangala (Ratnaprabha) and his friend Tarang (Chandrakant) do not approve and they eventually join forces with the people against Angar.
- This mythological tells of the playful child Krishna (Marathe) and his battle against the evil King Kamsa (Ganpatrao) who rules the city of Gokul. The stories, mainly from the popular 'Bhagvat' and 'Vishnu Purana', also show Krishna vanquishing Keshi (Haribhau), Kamsa's general who arrives in disguise to capture him. Finally, when Kamsa unleashes rain and flood over the city (in a departure from the original legend where Indra caused the natural disaster), Krishna raises the mountain Govardhan over the people to protect them.
- A love tragedy featuring a policeman, Ganpat (Modak) and a prostitute, Mainal (Hublikar). Ganpat saves Maina from a police raid on a brothel and they fall in love. Her reputation and sense of guilt resist his attempts to rehabilitate her. Ganpat's respectable middle-class mother (Sundarabai) symbolizes all that Maina would like to be, but she is arrested for murdering her evil uncle and refuses Ganpat's offer to release her from prison.
- A major Maratha historical focusing on Shivaji. The villainous Subedar of Kalyan, in his effort to defeat 17th C. Maratha emperor Shivaji, abducts a Maratha damsel (Pawar). However, Shivaji and his trusted lieutenant, the equally legendary Netaji Palkar, overcome this threat.
- The naively innocent bachelor Bagaram (Malvankar/Vinayak), a clerk in a municipal office, has to find some brandy to restore the ill son of his boss, who is also the brother of Malati (Meenakshi), whom he secretly loves. Not knowing what brandy is, Bagaram gets embroiled in adventures, including a famous scene in a crowded bar. He eventually procures a bottle but his beloved persists in regarding him merely as a 'brother'.
- Big-budget miracle-laden saint film on Tulsidas (16th C). who rewrote Valmiki's 'Ramayana' in Hindi. To the despair of his teacher Narahari Guru (Sohoni), who hopes that Tulsidas (Pagnis) will make the classic text accessible to the people, the poet spends time with his beloved wife Ratnavali (Chitnis). The dramatic pivot of the story comes when Tulsidas discovers his life's vocation amid howling wind and a river in spate. He becomes an ascetic and settles down in Benares where his translation threatens the brahmanical clergy, until then sole proprietors of the wisdom of the Sanskrit text.
- Sushila (Wadkar), marries an old widower, Dasapont (Salvi), in order to pay for her younger brother's education. Dasapont already has a son, the social worker and professor Ashok (Pendharkar), who is horrified at his father's decision and begs Sushila to reconsider, but she marries the old man anyway. Sushila later admits to Ashok (now her stepson) that it was a mistake, and when she has to take refuge in his room to escape from her husband she is accused of adultery with Ashok, who then becomes a social outcast to the distress of his girlfriend Pushpa (Meenakshi). Sushila leaves having written letters explaining all to Ashok and Pushpa. Years later she is heard singing on a radio station.
- Rohini, the princess of Suvarnadesh and her closest friend Mangala is on their way to Prayag, for Rohini is going to be betrothed to Trivikram, the king of Prayag. Nevertheless, tragedy strikes when on the way the chariot they are traveling on skids over a precipice. But the girls are saved by the timely intervention of Gorakhnath, the great saint who has the power of performing miracles. Meanwhile, at Prayag, Mayavati, the sister of Trivikram is seething with rage. She is waiting to avenge the death of her husband in the hands of Rohini's father by killing Rohini. However, all her plans to eliminate Rohini go awry and instead the snake brought in to take Rohini's life, bites the king killing him instantly. A distraught Mangala, unable to come to terms with Rohini's bereavement, remembers Gorakhnath's miraculous powers and rushes to him to help restore the king's life. The great saint refuses to comply to her request on the grounds that no human being has the right to interfere with the natural order of things. Not the one to give up so easily, Mangala threatens to end her life if her demand is not met. Pushed to a corner, Gorakhnath has no choice but to heed to her request. And soon enough the king is brought back to life. But for Gorakhnath, this hasty decision could mean a life of contempt from his superior.