"Banaras" A Movie on Red-Light Area of Banaras, Based on Novel by Munshi Premchand Based On Prostitution In India.

Synopsis: banaras is a tale of an unhappy housewife who is beguiled away from the path of domestic virtue into becoming a courtesan. She then reforms herself and atones by serving as the manager of an orphanage for the young daughters of courtesans, the seva-sadan of the Hindi title.

The setting is in the orthodox Hindu religious city of Varanasi, around the turn of the 20th century. The British Raj had introduced Local self-government in India to municipalities, in some cities. The main protagonist is a Brahmin lady named Suman who is married into a loveless union, because of her family's social and financial obligations. She leaves this marriage to become a courtesan, in the "kothas" of the city. In a twist to the tale, the local municipal corporation, a feature of the then-modernising India, orders these to be relocated outside the city, for social morality. Suman finds her social position is causing problems to her sister's marriage. She then joins to serve a home for widows, and teach them religion. When this becomes untenable — as also a stay with her sister who is married to a former admirer — Suman finally joins as a teacher, in a home that houses the children of former courtesans. The home is named Seva Sadan (the house of service), from which the title of the novel seems to be derived.

Categories: 1919 novels,1924 novels, Novels adapted into films, Urdu literature, Indian novels, Hindi-language novels, Urdu-language novels, Novels set in Varanasi, Works by Premchand, Film about women, British India in fiction, Prostitution in India, Red Light Area, Flesh Trade

Star Cast:Om Puri,Jeet R.Goswami,Reshmi Ghosh,Yashpal Sharma, Rajeshwari Sachdev,Virendra Saxena,Savita Prabhune,Rekha Sahaye, Upasana Singh,Swapna Dhoble,Rajive Verma,
Director:Ajay Mehra Producer: A.K.Mishra
Music:Khayyam Lyricist:Maya Govind,Ahmed Wasi