Nirmala (1938)

Nirmala is a 1938 Hindi social drama from Bombay Talkies, the studio founded by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani, directed by the German filmmaker Franz Osten, who made most of the studio's early films. It reunites Devika Rani and Ashok Kumar, the leading screen pair of the time after Achhut Kanya, in a story about a woman's marriage and the pressures placed on her by family and tradition. Music was by Saraswati Devi, one of the first women composers in Indian cinema. It is of interest mainly as part of the Bombay Talkies golden period.