Indo-Soviet diplomatic relations intensified after India gained Independence from the British in 1947. The general sense of amity between the two countries helped India in combating its perpetuating struggle against western imperialism and colonialism. With former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to the USSR and Soviet leaders Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin’s and the then Communist Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev’s visit to India in 1955, there emerged radical changes in the Soviet foreign strategy.
Amidst these political developments, Indio-Soviet camaraderie sought a new cultural apogee. The USSR and India jointly produced a number of films at that time, the first of which was Journey Beyond Three Seas, aka Pardesi. Made in 1957, it was jointly directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Vasili Pronin. The film, based on the travelogues of Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin, was dubbed in both Hindi and Russian. It also starred the South Indian film actress, Padmini. The film tells the story of Afanasy Nikitin, a Russian trader (who travelled to India in the middle of the 15th century), who falls in love with an Indian girl, Champa played by Nargis Dutt. The film also starred Oleg Strizhenov as Nikitin and featured Prithviraj Kapoor, Balraj Sahni and Padmini in supporting roles.
Fascinatingly, it is now considered a Russian literary masterpiece.
Eminent Indian music director and playback singer, Anil Biswas created music for the film. Some memorable hit songs the film delivered include Rasiya Re Man Basiya Re by Meena Kapoor, and Na Dir Dim by Lata Mangeshkar. Unfortuantely, as of today, only a black and white copy of the Hindi film survives.
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