BÉHULA is based on a Bengali legend about the serpent goddess Manasa. A rich merchant who defies the goddess is taught a tragic lesson. Only the faith and determination of his daughter-in-law, Béhula, can appease Manasa’s wrath. The Anglo-Indian actress Patience Cooper, India’s first female film star, shines in the title role. The film was directed by the French Pathé cameraman Camille Legrand, who realised this mythological drama in Calcutta for the cinema mogul Jamshedji Framji Madan. A visual feast and a rare example of an Indian silent film production, the vast majority of which are lost.
