Ranakdevi (1946)

Nirupa Roy’s first film. The Solanki King Siddharaj Jaisinh (12th C.) wants to marry Ranak, a daughter of the Parmar king of Sind but raised by a potter. However, she marries King Ra’Khengar of Junagadh, triggering a war as Ranak, confined for 12 years, bears two children while refusing to succumb to Siddharaj. When he kills her husband, she commits sati (ritual suicide on her husband’s funeral pyre). Based on historical events, the story had become a folk legend. It was the only Gujarat film made that year, but launched a tradition of film adaptations of quasi-historical legends, many of them dealing with Rajput royalty (cf. Raskapur’s films Mulu Manek, 1955; Kadu Makrani, 1960).