The Script of Gul-e-Bakavali (Kohinoor,1924)

Abstract

The article presents a condensed version of the original film script for Kohinoor Film Company’s Gul-e-Bakavali (1924), alongside translations of selected scenes in full and facsimile scans of key pages of the manuscript. Written in Gujarati by scenarist Mohanlal Dave, the film was directed by Kanjibhai Rathod and featured stars of the Bombay silent film such as Khalil, Sultana and Zubeida, amongst others. The manuscript presented here, which now belongs to Indian silent cinema expert, Mr Virchand Dharamsey, is, to date, the only film script available from India’s entire silent cinema era. An accompanying interview with Mr Dharamsey about film culture and practice at Kohinoor—and during the silent era in general—places the script within a broader historical film production context.