Kanku

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Kanku is a 1969 Gujarati social drama directed and produced by Kantilal Rathod, based on a short story by Pannalal Patel. The film stars Kishore Bhatt, Kishore Jariwala, and Pallavi Mehta, and is set in rural north Gujarat.

Plot
Kanku marries Khumo, and their life is happy until Khumo dies young while Kanku is pregnant. Now a widow with a newborn son named Hiriyo, she faces poverty and must raise him on her own. She takes loans from a local merchant, Malakchand, who is a widower and develops feelings for her, which she partly shares. As Hiriyo grows up, he gets married. Gossip swirls around Kanku’s pregnancy after her widowhood, but she bravely declares her intention to remarry and explains her situation to her son, who initially opposes her. Eventually, Kanku marries Malakchand.

Production and music
The film was adapted from Pannalal Patel’s 1936 short story “Kanku,” with Patel helping to write the script and dialogues. Lyrics were written by Venibhai Purohit and music was composed by Dilip Dholakia. The film was released in 1969 and runs 148 minutes; a shortened 136-minute version was released on DVD by Moser Baer.

Reception and legacy
Kanku was commercially successful and critically acclaimed. It is considered a milestone in Gujarati cinema; critic Amrit Gangar described it as the first real spark in the Gujarati film firmament. The song “Mune Andhara Bolave” became popular. Pallavi Mehta won an award at the 1970 Chicago International Film Festival. The film also earned four state awards: Best Director (Rathod), Best Cinematography (Kumar Jaywant), Best Story (Pannalal Patel), and a Special Prize for Gujarati Film Produced in Gujarati. A copy is archived at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

After its success, Pannalal Patel expanded the story into a novel serialized in Jansatta in 1970, dedicated to Kantilal Rathod.