Divadandi (1950)

The film’s lead Kano (Pandya) is raised by his foster-father, the sailor Lakhu Malam (Kamalakant), who also teaches him sailing, to the envy of Lakhu’s biological son Kavli (Baburaje). When Kano falls for the girl Motan (Nandini), Kavli forces Kano into becoming an opium addict. Kavli kidnaps Motan, but he is challenged and eventually killed by his father. The father, in the film’s contemplative end, is condemned, as part of his penal service, to looking after an old lighthouse. The film was noted mainly for its music, and for introducing the well known lyricist Purohit, who wrote the song hit Taro aankhno Aafini. It was shot entirely at the Bet Dwarka harbour in Saurashtra, an important pilgrimage place for Vaishnavas, and uses the locally assembled traditional wooden sailing ships in its action sequences.