Leatherface (1939 film)
| Leather Face | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Directed by | Vijay Bhatt |
| Produced by | "Vijay-Shankar" Bhatt |
| Starring |
P. Jairaj Mehtab Jal Writer Shirin |
| Music by | Lallubhai Nayak Shankar Rao Vyas |
|
Production
company |
Prakash Pictures
|
|
Release date
|
1939 |
|
Running time
|
166 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Leather Face, also called Farzande Watan in Hindi/Urdu, is a 1939 action film produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt for his production company Prakash Pictures. Bhatt cast the young Mehjabeen Naaz, then seven years, and christened her Baby Meena; she went on to become the famous actress, Meena Kumari. The story writers were Batuk Bhatt and Sampatlal Srivastava. The music direction was by Lallubhai Nayak and Shankar Rao Vyas with the lyrics written by Pandit Anuj. It starred P. Jairaj, Mehtab, Jal Writer, Shirin, M. Zahur, Lallubhai Nayak, Bholaram and Baby Meena (Meena Kumari).
Leather Face, cited as one of Bhatt's successful "stunt" films along with State Express made a year earlier, had features similar to it. The use of a masked protagonist (Jairaj), the dog Tiger, and the stunts made the film popular with the public.
A state chieftain (M. Zahur) rules over his people in a despotic manner. Samar (P. Jairaj) becomes the hero-bandit to fight the chief. He dons a leather mask, and along with the help of his dog Tiger and horse Bahadur he ventures out to set things right. He also has the help of a group of wayfarers, and Dulari (Shirin), the inn-keeper. Samar falls in love with the Chieftain's sister Ila (Mehtab). Following several action scenes, Samar is able to rid the state of its tyrannical ruler and marry Ila.
Leather Face is also famous for being Meena Kumari's debut role. Meena Kumari was just a seven-year-old when her father Ali Bux brought her to Vijay Bhatt who changed her name from Mehajabeen Naaz to Baby Meena, a name she changed to Meena Kumari for adult roles. In the film she plays the daughter of actor Jairaj. She was later to play a lead role opposite him as his lover in the film Maghroor (1950)
According to Rajadhyaksha and Willemen Leather Face, along with State Express made a year earlier was one of the "best Known" of Bhatt's "stunt" films, doing well at the box-office.
Music was composed by Lallubhai Nayak and Shankar Rao Vyas with the lyricist being Pandit Anuj.
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