नरसी भगत — गांधी का प्रिय भजन परदे पर

In 1940 Vijay Bhatt's Prakash Pictures made Narsi Bhagat — the life story of saint Narsinh Mehta, with Vishnupant Pagnis in the title role and Gandhi's beloved bhajan 'Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye' sounding on screen. Music by Shankar Rao Vyas.

In 1940 Vijay Bhatt's Prakash Pictures made Narsi Bhagat — the life story of the fifteenth-century Gujarati poet-saint Narsinh Mehta. At its centre was Vishnupant Pagnis, who stepped into the saint's role; Durga Khote played Manekbai. This was the age when saint films wove devotion and cinema together, and Bhatt shaped one of his most enduring works within that current.

The soul of the film was Narsinh Mehta's bhajan 'Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye, Je Peed Parayi Jane Re' — Mahatma Gandhi's most beloved hymn. Narsi Bhagat brought this centuries-old composition alive on screen, lending devotional poetry the new, wide reach of cinema. A bhajan once heard in prayer gatherings now sounded in picture halls.

The film's music was composed by Shankar Rao Vyas, who bound the devotional voice to the story's emotional current. Pagnis's singing and acting blended so closely that the line between saint and performer blurred. Narsi Bhagat endures for this reason — a film in which music was not mere backdrop but the very breath of the narrative.