Parwana - 1947 - K.L. Saigal, Suraiya

Parwana - 1947
Director: J.K. Nanda
Music: Khurshid Anwar
Lyrics: D.N. Madhok
Playback: K.L. Saigal, Suraiya, Rajkumari
Cast: K.L. Saigal, Suraiya, K.N. Singh, Najma, Azurie, s. Nazir

No translation, sorry.

This was K.L. Saigal's final film. He passed away after filming was completed but before Parwana was released in early 1947.

On the other hand, 17 year old Suraya's star was rapidly rising, at least partly because of her performance in Parwana and the four songs she sang. Within a couple of years she was the most popular and highest paid actress in all of Indian film.

You begin with a film, the reels of film as shown in a movie theater. You project them way too many times so it's full of missing frames, splices, dirt, the projectionist's marks noting the end of the reels, and other ugliness. Probably sometime in the 1980s you create a VHS tape for sale from those old reels of film. And over the years one of those tapes is played too many times so it's full of lines, static, many seconds where there's no picture at all and other signs of an old VHS tape. Probably in the 1990's you take that worn out tape and use it to create a VCD for sale. VCDs are actually worse than VHS quality because they have less resolution and don't have the detail of VHS tapes. In addition, because they use a fixed bitrate, when there's movement the picture breaks up into blocks. Then probably in the 2000's, that VCD is used as a source for a DVD. No, the idiot Indian media company responsible for this atrocity didn't even go back to the reels of film, or even a (better quality) VHS tape, if the film no longer existed. It just used the lousy VCD for the DVD it intended to release. It created one of those horrible 3-in-1 DVDs on a single layer DVD (not even using dual layer) because 3 VCDs easily fit. The result is the mess I began with - a DVD with all the worst qualities of worn out film reels, worn out VHS tapes, and VCD. I could have worked until hell froze over and it would still look horrible. But it's a helluva lot better than what I began with.

Then there was the audio. About half of it was godawful noise, a static-sounding noise that sounds like this from another version here on YouTube:

   • Видео  

I believe all existing versions of the film today are like this. Here's how it looks and sounds now:

   • Parwana  - 1947 -  K.L. Saigal, Suraiya  

The story is complex. K.L. Saigal is a benevolent and wealthy son and heir. His father insists he marry a woman he has never met, but after the marriage learns to love the beautiful Najma. An ill young girl he was caring for dies and he becomes unstable. The doctor recommends rest at a hill station. After arrival he meets Suraiya and her brother K.N. Singh. He gets to know and like Suraiya but his wife is jealous. Gossip in the village and Suraiya falling in love with K.L. Saigal results in his returning home where he falls into a deep depression. Najma goes to get Suraiya who she thinks can nurse K.L. Saigal back to health. From there the story heads into a downward spiral of tragedy.

TOOLS USED FOR THE FILM:
AviSynth for the video editing
Audacity for the audio work.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
The Indian copyright law:
http://copyright.gov.in/Documents/Cop...

INDIAN COPYRIGHT ACT, 1957 CHAPTER I Preliminary (f)
"cinematograph film" means any work of visual recording on any medium produced through a process from which a moving image may be produced by any means and includes a sound recording accompanying such visual recording and cinematograph shall be construed as including any work produced by any process analogous to cinematography including video films.”

"CHAPTER V Term of Copyright 26.Term of copyright in cinematograph films.
In the case of a cinematograph film, copyright shall subsist until sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the film is published."

My words:
Indian film copyright (including video, dialog, music, lyrics, songs) lasts for sixty years and any film and its songs released more than sixty years ago is in the public domain. No extensions, no renewals, no exceptions. This film is no longer protected by copyright.