Revision as of 21:14, 6 September 2016

Pardesi: The colours are missing in the T Series DVD but the SovScope formatting is intact. This frame is from the Hindi-Urdu version. In the Russian version, Oleg’s name appears first, followed by Nargis and Balraj Sahni.

Pardesi (1957)is set almost entirely in India, though it begins and ends in the USSR.

India’s first 'Scope (widescreen) film

By Parvez Dewan

Pardesi (1957) was an Indo-Soviet co-production

Can Pardesi be called India's first CinemaScope film?
i) Naya Sansar [HaNR caHcap] was mentioned before Mosfilm even in the Russian version.

The point is, can Pardesi be counted as an Indian film at all?
ii) Ahmad Abbas [Axmada Abbaca] was given higher billing than co-writer Mariya Smirnova. However, as co-director Vasili M. Pronim's name was placed above in the next title.

Nargis (left) in Pardesi (1957). The Hindi-Urdu version was directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and the Russian version by Vasili Pronim

Oleg (extreme left) in Pardesi (1957). Its subtitled English version is known as ‘Journey Beyond Three Seas.’

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 and 70mm films

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.

The Hindi-Urdu version is 152 min long.

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.

(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.)

The full film is available in B&W on [YouTube] in B&W. Its Censor Certificate states ‘Colour, Scope’ and gives the name of its filmmakers as ‘Meera Movies’ and ‘Son[?]a Sansar International.’ The film's co-producer was Manmohan Sabir (the other producer's name was not mentioned in the credits of Pardesi). Abbas' name appears before Pronim's in the Hindi-Urdu version. Incidentally, V.M. Pronim is the spelling used in this version, though in the Soviet maestro's international biographies it is Pronin.

More excitingly, more than 25 minutes of the film are available in sharp, high quality colour and widescreen in the form of Hindi-Urdu songs [YouTube]. 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.

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 auteurs

Directors:

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Vasili Pronin

Writers:

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Mariya Smirnova

Producers:

Naya Sansar

Mosfilm

Cast

(In the order shown in the credits of Pardesi)

Nargis

Oleg [Strizhenov, who played Afanasi)

Balraj Sahni

Prithviraj Kapoor

Padmini

(In the alphabetical order)

Achala Sachdev

David Abraham

Iya Arepina

Manmohan Krishna

P. Jairaj

Stepan Kayukov

Varvara Obukhova

Vitali Belyakov

Technical auteurs

Music composers

Anil Biswas

Boris Tchaikovsky

Playback singers

Lata Mangeshkar

Manna Dey ...

Meena Kapoor ...

Cinematography:

Yevgeni Andrikanis, Vladimir Nikolayev, S. Ramachandra

Technical specifications

Color Sovcolor

Aspect Ratio

2.35 : 1

Some prints had the ratio: 1.37 : 1

Printed Film Format 35 mm

Awards

Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Vasili Pronin were nominated for what was then and remains the world’s most prestigious award for a feature film, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival 1958.

At the Filmfare Awards 1958, M.R. Achrekar won the Best Art Director award for the film.