This Indian silent film featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I obviously wouldn't have known about it before reading the book, I watched it hoping it would deserve its place. Basically this is the story of two kings, the good King Sohan (Himansu Rai) and the evil King Ranjit (Charu Roy), who both share a passion for gambling, and are both vying for the affections of the same woman. Sohan and Ranjit are competing for the love of the beautiful Sunita (Seeta Devi), the daughter of Kanwa the Hermit (Sarada Gupta), the two decide to settle the fight and play a game of craps to determine who is the true love for Sunita, and who will marry her. The game is determined by a throw of dice, Sunita herself wishes to marry Ranjit, but he loses the game to the wicked Sohan, and as a forfeit Ranjit is forced to become his slave. However Sunita soon uncovers the truth of the crooked game that lost Ranjit his crown, and about Sohan's evil deeds, and it seems he has no chance of escaping punishment. In the end Sohan commits suicide, throwing himself off a cliff into the rapids below, and Ranjit and Sunita are reunited, sharing a passionate kiss and getting married. Also starring Modhu Bose as Kirkbar - King Sohat's Henchman, Tincory Chakrabarty as Kanzler Raghunath and Lala Bijoykishen as Raghunaths Sohn Beerbal. The rivalry between the two kings is interesting, the dice game is really a small factor, and the love story is fine, I found myself looking at the cool sights of India, with elephants and stuff, I admit it trailed in places, but it is a good example of early Bollywood, an alright silent epic. Worth watching!
Review of A Throw of Dice
