Svetlbwz at 01:59, 1 February 2026

2026-02-01T01:59:18Z

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{{short description|1929 film}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Prapancha Pash (A Throw of Dice)
| image =Charu Roy, and Seeta Devi in the 1929 film, Prapancha Pasha (A Throw of Dice), directed by Franz Osten.jpg
| caption = Charu Roy and Seeta Devi in the 1929 film ''Prapancha Pasha'' (''A Throw of Dice'')
| director = [[Franz Osten]]
| producer = Nadine Luque Tim Pearce [[Himansu Rai]] Bruce Wolfe
| writer = W.A Burton Max Jungk Niranjan Pal (story)
| narrator =
| starring = [[Seeta Devi (actress)|Seeta Devi]] [[Himanshu Rai|Himansu Rai]] [[Charu Roy]] [[Modhu Bose]]
| music = [[Willy Schmidt-Gentner]] [[Nitin Sawhney]] (2006)
| cinematography = [[Emil Schünemann]]
| editing =
| distributor = (International) Fandango (U.K) BFI ([[British Film Institute]]) [[Universum Film AG|UFA]]
| released = {{Film date|1929|08|16|df=y}}
| runtime = 74 min
| country = [[Weimar Republic|Germany]] [[British Raj|British India]] United Kingdom
| language =
| budget =
| gross =

}}
[[File:A Throw of Dice, 1929.webm|thumb|''A Throw of Dice'', 1929]]
'''''A Throw of Dice''''' ('''''Prapancha Pash''''') is a 1929 silent film by German-born director [[Franz Osten]], based on an episode from the Indian epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref name=chn/>

==Plot summary==
The movie is about two kings vying for the love of a hermit's daughter, the beautiful Sunita. The two kings, Ranjit and Sohan, share a passion for gambling and decide to play a game of craps to determine who will marry her. Sunita wishes to marry Ranjit, but Ranjit loses the game to the nefarious Sohan. As a forfeit, Ranjit becomes his slave. Sunita soon uncovers the truth about Sohan's evil deeds, and to escape punishment, he hurls himself from a cliff into the rapids. Ranjit and Sunita are reunited and married.

==Cast==
* [[Seeta Devi (actress)|Seeta Devi]] as Sunita
* [[Himanshu Rai|Himansu Rai]] as Sohan
* [[Charu Roy]] as Ranjit
* [[Modhu Bose]]
* Sarada Gupta as The Hermit
* Lala Bijoykishen
* Tincory Chakrabarty

== Production ==
[[File:Seeta-devi-first-bollywood kiss.JPG|200px|thumbnail|right|Seeta Devi and Charu Roy kissing each other]]
''A Throw of Dice'', the third Indian film by [[Franz Osten]], is considered by some{{Who|date=June 2011}} to be his greatest achievement. The silent film was shot in black and white on 35mm film. It contains thousands of cast members and animals, including 10,000 extras, 1,000 horses and scores of elephants and tigers. The film was shot on location in [[Rajasthan]].<ref name=ny>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/movies/homevideo/15dvds.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ‘A Throw of Dice’ and Summer Serials] ''[[The New York Times]]'', 15 July 2008.</ref>
Osten made 19 films in India from 1926 to 1939, and ''A Throw of Dice'' formed the final part of a trilogy of Indo-German productions by Osten and Indian actor-producer [[Himanshu Rai]]. The other two filsm in the trilogy are ''[[Prem Sanyas]]'' (1925) and ''[[Shiraz (film)|Shiraz]]'' (1928). After a gap, Osten returned to India and worked on [[Bombay Talkies]] with Rai. During the production of ''Kangan'' (''The Bangle'') in 1939, Osten, a member of the [[Nazi]] Party, was arrested by British colonial officials, and was he incarcerated until the end of the Second World War.<ref name=ny/>

==Restoration and re-release==

''A Throw of Dice'' has been in the [[British Film Institute]] (BFI)'s archives since 1945, but it rarely has been seen. In 2006, in honour of the 60th anniversary of Indian independence,<ref name=gur>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/24/drama.worldcinema1 A Throw of Dice] ''The Guardian''.</ref> the film was digitally restored,<ref name=chn>[http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=162722 Review] ''Channel 4''.</ref> then re-released at the [[Luminato Festival]] in Toronto, Canada on 13 June 2008 with a new orchestral score by British Indian composer [[Nitin Sawhney]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.luminato.com/festival/eng/media_gallery_details.php?id=76|title=Luminato:Festival of Arts + Creativity 2008|access-date=30 July 2008|date=13 July 2008|work=Luminato.com|archive-date=2 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602035903/http://www.luminato.com/festival/eng/media_gallery_details.php?id=76|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{YouTube|_91u-Z_h62Q|Excerpts ''Nitin Sawhney'' montage}}</ref> The release in the United States occurred on 30 July 2008 during the [[Grant Park Music Festival]] at the [[Jay Pritzker Pavilion]] in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/travel/27DATEBOOK.html?|title=Datebook: Chicago, San Francisco and Singapore|access-date=30 July 2008|date=27 July 2008|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
[[Nitin Sawhney]], composer of the new 2006 score, describes the film as "A cross between [[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplin]], [[Cecil B. DeMille]] and an early [[Bollywood]] movie." On multiple occasions, it has been compared to a Cecil B. DeMille film for its levels of extravagance.

[[Nishat Khan]] composed an orchestral score, which premiered on 25 April 2013, as part of the 100 Years of Indian Film festival at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, and the composer played sitar and sang, accompanied by the Bollywood Orchestra. This Sitar composition by Ustad Khan was updated and performed with the [[Philharmonie Luxembourg]] on 15 October 2025 under the direction of Ellie Slorach and arranged/accompanied by David Clymer.<ref>[https://www.philharmonie.lu/en/programme/2025-26/a-throw-of-dice-000000e9001b20b9 A Throw of Dice Film with live music, with Nishat Khan, 17 October 2025.</ref>

==Reception==
Upon its re-release in 2007, a review in ''[[The New York Times]]'' stated "There’s hardly a frame in the 1929 film ''A Throw of Dice'' that doesn’t provide a surge of visual pleasure",<ref name=ny/> and [[Peter Bradshaw]], a reviewer for ''[[The Guardian]]'', wrote that it is "a rare and fascinating gem".<ref name="gur" /> ''[[The Observer]]'' reviewer [[Philip French]] called it "a remarkable silent movie".<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/aug/26/worldcinema.drama Review - A Throw of Dice] ''The Guardian'', 26 August 2007.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|33em}}

== External links ==

{{commons category|A Throw of Dice}}
*{{Internet Archive film|prapancha-pash-aka-a-throw-of-dice_1929|A Throw of Dice}}
* {{Official website|http://www.throwofdice.com|''Prapancha Pash'' (A Throw of Dice)}}
*{{IMDb title|0020286|Prapancha Pash}}

{{Franz Osten|state=expanded}}
{{Works based on the Mahabharata}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Throw of Dice, A}}
[[Category:1929 films]]
[[Category:Indian silent films]]
[[Category:Films based on the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Franz Osten]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nitin Sawhney]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:UFA GmbH films]]
[[Category:German silent feature films]]
[[Category:British silent feature films]]
[[Category:German black-and-white films]]
[[Category:British black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Silent adventure films]]
[[Category:1920s rediscovered films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered British films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered German films]]
[[Category:Rediscovered Indian films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Willy Schmidt-Gentner]]
[[Category:1929 Indian films]]

A Throw of Dice - Revision history

Svetlbwz at 01:59, 1 February 2026