Nartaki (1940 film)
Nartaki (Dancer) is a 1940 film directed by Debaki Bose for New Theatres Ltd, Calcutta. A bilingual made in Hindi and in Bengali, it had story and screenplay written by Bose, with cinematography by Yusuf Mulji. Music was composed by Pankaj Mullick. The cast had actress Leela Desai playing the title role of Nartaki. Najam also called Najam-Ul-Hasain or Najmul Hussain had left Bombay Talkies following his affair and elopement with Devika Rani, had now joined New Theatres Ltd, where he was cast in films like Anath Ashram (1937), Dushman (1939), Kapal Kundala (1939), and Nartaki. The rest of the main cast included Jagdish Sethi, Wasti and Pankaj Mullick in the Hindi version. The story was a sixteenth century period costume drama about a courtesan who with the help of the king tries to avenge her insult against the priest of a temple monastery. Plot
Roopkumari (Leela Desai) a famous court dancer is forbidden entry into a temple monastery run by a strict disciplinarian Priest, Gyananandji (Wasti), who demands celibacy from his monks. To avenge her insult she gets the help of the king but fails in her mission to enter the temple. She then tries to seduce the priest’s son, Satyasundar, who is set to take the main priest’s place as the chief priest. Roopkumari and Satyasundar fall in love and the priest turns his son out of the monastery. Roopkumari takes him to her house and nurses the now ill Satyasundar back to health. In the process she too undergoes a spiritual transformation, looking for a divine love. Satyasundar finally leaves Roopkumari and returns to the monastery. 