Jesal Toral is a 1971 Indian Gujarati devotional film written and directed by Ravindra Dave. It proved to be one of the biggest hits of Gujarati cinema and ran for 25 weeks in theatres.

Jesal Toral
Poster
Directed byRavindra Dave
Written byJitubhai Mehta
Himmat Dave (script)[1]
Ramesh Mehta
Based onFolklore of Jesal Toral
Produced byKanti R. Dave
T. J. Patel[1]
Starring
CinematographyPratap Dave
Music byAvinash Vyas (lyrics and composition)
Production
company
Kirti Films
Release date
  • 1971 (1971)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageGujarati

Cast

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The cast is as follows:[1]

Production

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Ravindra Dave had planned to remake his Hindi blockbuster film Nagina (1951) with Leena Chandavarkar and Sanjay Khan, but the project was delayed.[2][3] As a result, he turned his production crew to Gujarati cinema to keep them employed.[4]

The film is based on local folk legend of bandit Jesal Jadeja who was preached and reformed by Kathi saint-woman Toral. Their memorial shrines are located in Anjar in Kutch district, Gujarat. It was the first Eastmancolor Gujarati film and was a debut film of Upendra Trivedi and Ramesh Mehta.[2][3][1] It was shot in Orvo technicolor. As the Laxmi Studio at Baroda was not yet commissioned, the film was partly shot in Kutch and partly in Mumbai.[5]

Soundtrack

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Jesal Toral
Soundtrack album by
Released23 January 1971 (1971-01-23)[6]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length23:56
LanguageGujarati
LabelSaregama
External audio
  JioSaavn

All lyrics are written by Avinash Vyas; all music is composed by Avinash Vyas

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Dhuni Re Dhakhavi"Mahendra Kapoor2:50
2."Ori Ori Aav Gori"Asha Bhosle3:11
3."Jesal Karile Vichar"Suman Kalyanpur3:20
4."Paap Tarun"Diwaliben Bhil, Ismail Valera1:42
5."Roi Roi Kone Sambhalavu"Ismail Valera4:31
6."Bujhai Ja"Mahendra Kapoor,1:43
7."Thobhi Ja Thobhi Ja"Suman Kalyanpur3:22
8."Mara Payal Ni Chhuti Dor"Krishna Kalle3:17
Total length:23:56

The song "Dhuni Re Dhakhavi" became very popular.[7]

Release and reception

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The film was released in 1971.[5] The film was exempted from the tax by the Government of Gujarat to encourage production of the Gujarati films.[5]

The film proved to be one of the biggest hits of Gujarati cinema[2][3] and ran for 25 weeks in theatres. It won 17 awards from the Government of Gujarat. The film is considered to have revived the Gujarati cinema. Dave went on to direct more than 25 Gujarati films and never returned to Hindi cinema.[4][8][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Raghuvanshi, Harish. "જેસલ-તોરલ". Gujarati Vishwakosh (in Gujarati). Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d K. Moti Gokulsing; Wimal Dissanayake (17 April 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9.
  3. ^ a b c Ramachandran, T. M.; Rukmini, S. (1985). 70 Years of Indian Cinema, 1913-1983. CINEMA India-International. p. 345. ISBN 9780861320905.
  4. ^ a b Dave, Hiren B. (16 April 2019). "Tribute: Director Ravindra Dave, who was 'Ravinbhai' in Hindi films and 'Bapa' for Gujarati cinema". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Thaker, Dhirubhai; Desai, Kumarpal, eds. (2007). Gujarat: A Panorama of the Heritage of Gujarat. Prakashan: 2 (1st ed.). Ahmedabad: Smt. Hiralaxmi Navanitbhai Shah Dhanya Gurjari Kendra, Gujarat Vishwakosh Trust. p. 530.
  6. ^ "Jesal Toral - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". JioSaavn.
  7. ^ Shah, Saurabh. "ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મો : રાખનાં રમકડાં અને પંખીડાંનું પીંજરું". Sandesh (in Gujarati). Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  8. ^ Vaghela, Shailendra Manshukhlal (16 April 2019). "જન્મશતાબ્દી / ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મોના સુવર્ણયુગના શિલ્પી રવીન્દ્ર દવે" [Janmashatabdi / Gujarati Filmona Suvarnayugna Shilpi Ravindra Dave]. Divya Bhaskar. Birth Centenary: Ravindra Dave The Architect of the Golden Age of Gujarati Cinema (in Gujarati). Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
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