चंदीदास

The life of the fifteenth-century Bengali Vaishnava poet-saint Chandidas, who transgressed caste boundaries through his devotion to Krishna and his love for the washerwoman Rami. New Theatres cast K.L. Saigal as the saint-poet and Uma Shashi as Rami, with R.C. Boral's score weaving classical Bengali melody under devotional verse. Saigal's singing of 'Prem Nagar Mein Banaoongi Ghar Main' became one of the earliest lasting hits of Hindi sound cinema.

R.C. Boral drew on kirtan and Baul traditions of Bengal to create a score that sounded devotional and cinematic simultaneously; Saigal's voice suited the saint's role perfectly, lending the songs a quality of lived belief rather than performed piety.

Director Nitin Bose was one of New Theatres' most technically adventurous filmmakers; Chandidas showcased his ability to integrate song seamlessly into narrative — an approach that would influence Bengali and Hindi cinema for a decade.

The first major saint-devotional film of Hindi sound cinema and a defining Saigal vehicle; it established New Theatres' template of classical-inflected film music directed at an educated, emotion-seeking public.

Remembered chiefly through Saigal's songs, especially 'Prem Nagar Mein'; a touchstone of the saint-film genre that runs from Tukaram (1936) to Meera (1945).