Bismi Sadi (1924)

Homi Master's directorial debut at Kohinoor is a social attacking Bombay's industrial parvenu class, initiating the realist-reformist melodrama as a genre. It tells of the street hawker Devidas, who goes to the city to make his fortune but, once successful, becomes an exploitative cotton mill owner and a callous snob knighted by the British. His wife, the kindly Hirabai, is made to suffer and his daughter Rukmini is dishonoured: The happy ending sees his deathbed repentance and Rukmini is saved by the real heir to the business. Location shots filmed on board a steamer and the mise en scene of a factory workers' violent revolt figured prominently in the film's marketing campaign.