| Kalpana | |
| Director: | Uday Shankar |
| Screenplay: | Amritlal Nagar |
| Story: | Uday Shankar |
| Starring: | Uday Shankar Amala Shankar Lakshmi Kanta |
| Music: | Vishnudas Shirali |
| Cinematography: | K. Ramnoth |
| Editing: | N. K. Gopal |
| Studio: | Gemini Studios, Madras |
| Distributor: | Uday Shankar Production |
| Runtime: | 160 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Hindi |
Kalpana is a 1948 Indian Hindi-language dance film written and directed by dancer Uday Shankar. It is his only film. The story revolves around a young dancer's dream of setting up a dance academy, a reflection of Shankar's own academy, which he founded at Almora.[1] It starred Uday Shankar and his wife Amala Shankar as leads.
Kalpana was the first film to present an Indian classical dancer in the leading role, and was entirely shot as a dance ballet and a fantasy.[2] [3]
It was shown at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI-Goa) (2008), as a part of the section "Treasures from NFAI" (National Film Archive of India), with other "rare gems" from the archives.[4]
The music was composed by Vishnudas Shirali, and the lyrics were penned by Sumitranandan Pant. The Bhil folk songs were written by Devilal Samar.[5]
| Song Title | Singer(s) | Lyricist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Bharat Jai Jan Bharat" | Everyone | Devilal Samar | 03:48 |
| "Behti Ja Behti Ja Sarite" | Devilal Samar | 03:21 | |
| "Kya Kahoon" | Devilal Samar | 02:15 | |
| "Bhil Folk Song" | |||
| "Deep Jalao" | Devilal Samar | 03:19 | |
| "Hindustan Ka Bal Hai Hal" | Devilal Samar | 02:55 | |
| "Sadiyo Ki Behoshi" | Devilal Samar | 02:57 | |
Well known Tamil actress and dancer, Lakshmikantham, credited in the film as "Lakshmi Kanta" plays Kamini. 16-year-old actress Padmini and along with her sister Lalitha.[6] [7] Tamil dancer and actress Yoga of the Yoga-Mangalam sisters makes an appearance as a dancer credited as "Yogam". Small role actress P. K. Saraswathi credited as "Saraswathi" also appears as a dancer. Gopal Rao, who played a small role in Thyaga Bhoomi (1939 film), also plays a small role. Finally, Usha Kiran made her debut into films in this movie, credited as "Usha".
Satyajit Ray was said to have watched this film 16 times.[8]
In 2009, the film process of digital restoration was taken up by NFAI in collaboration with France-based Thomson Foundation.[9] In 2010, it was being restored by the World Cinema Foundation (director Martin Scorsese is a founding member).[10] [11] The restored film was released in home video format by the Criterion Collection.[12]