Payal ki Jhankaar (The Tinkling of Anklets), 1980

Set of 8 Showcards, c. 1980, 37.5cm X 63cm
Tinted gelatin silver print and poster paint on textured board with hand-lettering and cut-out title.

Payal Ki Jankhaar was India's submission to the American Film Academy as The Tinkling of Anklets in the Best Foreign Film category in 1980.

Known for its beautiful dance sequences, this film is set in the mountains of Uttar Pradesh and tells the story of a young female from a village who goes through various hardships for her love of dance. The brightly-coloured showcards feature traditional dance and costumes, scenes of rural life, and the romance between two young lovers. The village, mythologized in the colonial and nationalist periods as a place of authenticity and indigenous identity, was seen as part of a fantasy landscape to which urban Indians could escape.  

The film Payal Ki Jhankaar (1980) was produced by Rajshri Productions and directed by Satyen Bose.  Music by Raj kamal.  Colour, Hindi, starring Alankar, Komal Mahuvakar and Shyama.

--Text by Dr. Deepali Dewan and Alexandra McCarter, based on Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema Showcards: Indian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980s. Showcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011. Copyright of and reproduced here with the generous permission of the Royal Ontario Museum.

Literature
Deepali Dewan, ed. Bollywood Cinema ShowcardsIndian Film Art from the 1950s to the 1980sShowcards from The Hartwick Collection. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum Press, 2011, p. 109, Cat. no. 57-62.

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