Kariyavar

Kariyavar is 1948 Indian Gujarati film written and directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi. It was produced by Chimanlal Desai under banner of Sagar Movietone. It was based on the story by Shayda which itself was based on a folklore of a stepwell. The soundtrack was composed by Ajit Merchant.

Plot
In a village, there was a challenge that whoever reach into a pot housing a venomous cobra would have the privilege of installing an idol in a temple. A village girl Raju accepts and becomes successful in the challenge. The cobra forms a bond with Raju and also grants her wish that he will protect her whenever she needs. Madhav, a son of gypsy Balam Vanzara, falls in love with Raju while Champa, Vanzara's adoptive daughter, falls in love with Veera, Raju's malevolent neighbour who harbors envy for Madhav. Madhav was bitten by the cobra while he went to watch Raju's dance performance. Raju uses of the previously granted wish so the cobra retracts its venom, stipulating that a stepwell must be dug in the village. Meanwhile Raju and Madhav get married. Seeking vengeance, Veera shows the wrong place to dig the stepwell resulting in a dry well. The village suffering from the drought is manipulated by Veera to demand a sacrificial exorcism involving newly married couple of Raju and Madhav to rise the water in the stepwell. Champa decides to marry Veera as well as agrees to sacrifice herself. Finally the sacrifice of Champa and Veera results in the miraculous rising of well waters, resolving the village's problem.

Cast

 * Dina Sanghvi as Raju
 * Dhulia
 * Shobha
 * Mulchand Khichdi
 * Manhar Desai
 * Chhanalal
 * Urmila
 * Kusum Thakur
 * Kamlakant
 * Shyamabai
 * Narendra Desai

Production
The story of the film was based on Shayda's novel Vanzari Vaav which was based on a folklore. The black-and-white film was produced by Chimanlal Desai under banner of Sagar Movietone while script, dialogues and direction was by Chaturbhuj Doshi. It features a rural, folkloric, mythological story. The love story in the film is complex and contains numerous symbolic allusions with clear sexual undertones.

It is known for debut film of Dina Sanghvi who is also known as Dina Pathak.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ajit Merchant while the lyrics were written by Chaitanya and Nandkumar Pathak.