
An impossibly innocent villager named Ganga comes to the big city to find a girl who would agree to become his wife. The first girl he meets is actually a troubled prostitute named Champa whom he manages to rescue from the brothel she has been in for some time. He takes her home and in a most typical Hindi film style, announces her as his sister. Along with them lives a crippled middle-aged man. Ganga falls for a beautiful girl named Barkha, and her parents agree to have them married, but alas, Barkha's brother Rakesh identifies Champa and the marriage is cancelled as a result.
Directed by Sohanlal Kanwar, Pehchan leans on a strong ensemble — Manoj Kumar, Babita Kapoor, Balraj Sahni — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 1970.
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Director Jean Renoir’s entrancing first color feature—shot entirely on location in India—is a visual tour de force. Based on the novel by Rumer Godden, the film eloquently contrasts the growing pains of three young women with the immutability of the Bengal river around which their daily lives unfold. Enriched by Renoir’s subtle understanding and appreciation for India and its people, The River gracefully explores the fragile connections between transitory emotions and everlasting creation.
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