DESH – DEEPAK (1935)

 

DESH – DEEPAK or JOSH-E-WATAN

Wadia Brothers/Wadia Movietone (1935)

Director: J.B.H. Wadia

Music: Master Mohammed

Cast: Sharifa, Iqbal, Husn Banu, Sardar Mansoor, Sayani Atish, (Fearless) Nadia, Parsi Charlie, S.L. Puri, Boman Shroff, John Cawas, Master Jaidev, Master Mohammad, Bashir Qawaal, Miya Allawali, Munchi Thoothi, Debara, Bismillah, Tarapore, Jijibhai, Abdul Rahman, Abu.

Plot: A kingdom loses its king and there is a mad scramble to take power which would otherwise go to the child prince (Master Jaidev), who is now in hiding. Meanwhile a young woman (Sharifa) is selected to run the country.

 

 

To keep the woman in power, her elder sister (Iqbal) joins forces with the General (Sayani Atish) who, unbeknownst to anyone, desires the kingdom for himself. But the woman’s husband (Sardar Mansoor), a patriot, will not divulge the whereabouts of the prince, who is safely hidden away with a high priest (Master Mohammad) and his family, so the general puts him in jail.

 

(Clockwise) Master Mohammad, Sayani Atish, and Sardar Mansoor in DESH DEEPAK

 

The General’s daughter, a pacifist, wins over one of her father’s officers (S.L. Puri) in hopes that he will help avert an all out war, but the General, feeling betrayed, demands his execution. The daughter then meets two entertainers (Nadia and Parsi Charlie) and they try to release the patriot and two other rebels (Boman Shroff and John Cawas), who are imprisoned with him, and together they hope to stop the execution of the young officer.

 

Nadia (aka Fearless Nadia) in DESH DEEPAK

 

When she comes to realize the General’s true plans, the elder sister turns against him and goes back to help her husband…but then, the younger sister and her army set out to crush the rebellion once and for all.

 

S.L. Puri and Husn Banu in DESH DEEPAK