Narsi Bhagat - 1940

Directed by Vijay Bhatt, Narsi Bhagat is a 1940 Hindi devotional film (Narsi Mehta in Gujarati) that revolves around the story of Narsi regarded as the greatest saint poet of Gujarat. Unlike the 1932 Gujarati film Narasinh Mehta which was also based on the same poet’s life and concentrated more on devotion Narsi Bhagat is focused more on miracles. Almost all the miracles associated to the saint are shown in the film and the gods are also shown several times in the film.

Narsi’s own poems are included in the film brilliantly to depict the different episodes in the life of the saint. The film ends with the bhajan vaishnava jana to intimating the gist of the film which concerns what it means to be a vaishnavite (followers of Lord Vishnu).

Bhatt cast Vishnupant Pagnis as the bard after the performance of the latter in the 1936 Gujarati movie Sant Tukaram. Durga Khote played the role of Narsi’s wife.