TeresitaPennell at 09:04, 14 February 2026

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{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Kundan Kumar
| producer = [[Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi]] and [[Om Prakash Lal|Jai Narayan Lal]]
| writer =
| screenplay = [[Nazir Hussain]]
| story = Nazir Hussain
| based_on = 
| narrator =
| starring = [[Kumkum (actress)|Kumkum]]<br /> Ashim Kumar<br />[[Nazir Hussain]]<br /> Tiwari
| music = [[Chitragupta (composer)|Chitragupta]]<br />[[Shailendra (lyricist)|Shailendra]]
| cinematography = R. K. Pandit
| editing = Kamalakar
| studio =
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1962|02|05|Benares}}
| runtime = 120 min.
| country = India
| language = [[Bhojpuri language|Bhojpuri]]
| budget = {{INR|5 [[lakh]]}}<ref name="GHOSH2010"/> (equivalent to ₹4 [[Crore]] or US$500,000 in 2022)
| gross = {{INR|75 lakh}}<ref name="GHOSH2010"/>
}}
'''''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo''''' is a [[Bhojpuri film]] released in 1962 [[Film director|directed]] by [[Kundan Kumar]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sharan|first=Renu|title=History of Indian Cinema|publisher=Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd|year=2014|isbn=978-9350836514}}</ref> It was the first-ever Bhojpuri film, and starred [[Kumkum (actress)|Kumkum]], Ashim Kumar and [[Nazir Hussain]]. It had music by [[Chitragupta (composer)|Chitragupta]], lyrics by Shailendra and songs sung by [[Lata Mangeshkar]] and [[Mohammad Rafi]]. The film is based on author [[Acharya Shivpujan Sahay]]'s short story ''Kahani Ka Plot''.

''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' was released on 5 February 1962 at Prakash Talkies, Benares.{{sfn| Ghosh|2010|pages=15}} The film was directed by Kundan Kumar and produced by [[Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi]] and his partner [[Om Prakash Lal|Jai Narayan Lal]] on behest of the first president of India, Dr. [[Rajendra Prasad]], with initial budget of Rs.150,000 eventually ending up at approximately 500,000. It was shown to [[Desh Ratna]] Dr. Rajendra Prasad at a special screening organized at Sadaqat Ashram, Patna before its release.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://movies.ndtv.com/regional/first-bhojpuri-film-to-be-screened-during-bihar-divas-92406 | title=First Bhojpuri Film To Be Screened During Bihar Divas | publisher=NDTV/Indo-Asian News Service | date=17 March 2011 | access-date=3 February 2014 | archive-date=23 February 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223171354/http://movies.ndtv.com/regional/first-bhojpuri-film-to-be-screened-during-bihar-divas-92406 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/such-a-long-journey/558114 | title=Such a long journey | first=Jaskiran |last=Kapoor | date=23 December 2009 | newspaper=The Indian Express | access-date=3 February 2014 }}</ref>

The theme is based on widow remarriage.

== Plot ==
Shyam is a wealthy boy who falls in love with a poor girl named Sumitri. The boy's father, a [[Loan|moneylender]], demands a [[dowry]], but the boy objects. In response, the father says, "I invested in your education and raised your value, so why shouldn't I take the dowry?" Unable to marry the girl he loves, Shyam leaves home. Meanwhile, Sumitri is forced to marry a sixty-year-old man. The groom dies before consummating the marriage. After becoming a young widow, she is mistreated by her in-laws. She attempts suicide but survives, ultimately becoming a dancing girl. Shyam eventually finds her and marries her.<ref name="GHOSH2010" />

==Cast==
*[[Kumkum (actress)|Kumkum]]
* Jagannath Shukla (Jaggi Baba)
* Ashim Kumar as Shyam
* [[Nazir Hussain]]
* [[Ramayan Tiwari]]
* [[Helen (actress)|Helen]]
* [[Padma Khanna]]
* [[Sujit Kumar]]
* [[Leela Mishra]]
* [[Tun Tun]]
* Bhagwan Sinha

==Soundtrack==
''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' has music by [[Chitragupta (composer)|Chitragupta]], with lyrics by [[Shailendra (lyricist)|Shailendra]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Ganga Maiya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo Songs|publisher=[[Gaana (music streaming service)|Gaana.com]]| url = http://gaana.com/album/ganga-maiya-tohe-piyari-chadhaibo| access-date = 2014-02-06}}</ref>

* "Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo" - [[Lata Mangeshkar]], [[Usha Mangeshkar]]
* "Sonwa Ke Pinjra Mein" - [[Mohammed Rafi]]
* "More Karejwa Men Pir " - [[Lata Mangeshkar]], [[Usha Mangeshkar]]
* "Kahe Bansuria Bajaile" (Happy) - [[Lata Mangeshkar]]
* "Ab To Lagat Mora Solvwa Saal" - [[Suman Kalyanpur]]
* " Luk Chuk Badra" - [[Lata Mangeshkar]]
* "Kahe Bansuria Bajaile" (Sad) - [[Lata Mangeshkar]]

==Production==

===Development===
At an award function in Mumbai in the late 1950s, character actor [[Nazir Hussain]] met then president Dr. Rajendra Prasad, who also belonged to Bihar. During their conversation Prasad asked Hussain, "Why don't you make films in Bhojpuri?" The conversation inspired Hussain. He had already written the screenplay of the ''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'', meaning "Ganges Mother I will offer you the auspicious yellow sari" (if my wishes come true) and had first given it to [[Bimal Roy]], with whom he had worked in ''Devdas'' (1955).<ref name="GHOSH2010"/><ref name="GokulsingDissanayake2013">{{cite book |author1=K. Moti Gokulsing|author2=Adjunct Fellow East-West Center Hawaii Scholar in Residence Wimal Dissanayake|author3=[[Wimal Dissanayake]]|title=Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djUFmlFbzFkC&pg=PA155|date=17 April 2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-77284-9|pages=155–}}</ref>

In a chance encounter, Hussain met [[Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi]], a businessman from [[Arrah]] in Bihar, at a film studio in Bombay. Shahbad, owned cinema halls in [[Dhanbad]] and [[Giridih]]. When Hussain narrated the story to Shahabadi, Alongside his partner [[Om Prakash Lal|Jai Narayan Lal]], they both agreed to produce the film. Shahabadi and Lal immediately agreed to finance the film at {{INR Convert|1.5|l}}, though eventually it cost {{INR Convert|5|l}}. Kundan Kumar, who hailed from Varanasi, and had made the film ''Bade Ghar Ki Bahu'' (1960) with [[Geeta Bali]] and [[Abhi Bhattacharya]] was chosen.<ref name="GHOSH2010"/>

===Filming===
The [[muhurat shot]] was shot at [[Shaheed Smarak]] (Martyr's Memorial) in [[Patna]] on 16 February 1961. The shooting formally started the next day. The film was mostly shot in [[Maner]], a small town 30 km west of Patna and pilgrimage town of [[Varanasi]]. It has sequences shot at [[Gol Ghar]] in Patna and [[Arrah]] railway station.<ref name="GHOSH2010"/>

==Release and reception==
At the First Bhojpuri Film Awards for Bhojpuri and [[Magadhi]] films, organized by the ''Bhojpuri Film Samaroh Samiti'' and held on 27 April 1965, at Ananda Bazar Patrika Bhawan, Calcutta, ''Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' won numerous awards, including Best Film, Best Actress (Kum Kum), Best Supporting Actor ([[Nazir Hussain]]), Best Lyrics (Shailendra), Best Story ([[Nazir Hussain]]) and Best Playback Singer - Male (Mohammed Rafi - "Sonwa Ke Pinjre mein").<ref name="GHOSH2010">{{cite book|first=Avijit | last = Ghosh|title=Cinema Bhojpuri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wAuTZ6_1XL4C&pg=PT46|date=22 May 2010|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-81-8475-256-4|pages=46–}}</ref>

==Legacy==
In 2011, it was shown during 99th ''Bihar Divas'' (Bihar Day) celebrations.<ref name=exp>{{cite news |title=Strong at 50, Bhojpuri cinema celebrates |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/strong-at-50-bhojpuri-cinema-celebrates/749762/0 |publisher=[[Indian Express]]|date=14 February 2011 }}</ref><ref name=ndtv>{{cite news |title=First Bhojpuri Film To Be Screened During Bihar Divas |url=http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_Story.aspx?id=ENTEN20110171729&keyword=&subcatg= |publisher=[[NDTV]] Movies |date=17 March 2011 }}{{dead link|date=October 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0233774}}

[[Category:1962 films]]
[[Category:Films about widowhood in India]]
[[Category:Films shot in Bihar]]
[[Category:1960s Bhojpuri-language films]]

Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo - Revision history

TeresitaPennell at 09:04, 14 February 2026