If there’s one thing cousins and rival kings Sohat (Himansu Rai) and Ranjit (Charu Roy) can’t resist, it’s gambling. While on a hunting trip together, the two kings are more interested in gambling with each other than they are in actually hunting. Unbeknownst to Ranjit, Sohat has conspired to kill Ranjit with a poisoned arrow during the trip so it will look like an accident and he’ll be able to take control over Ranjit’s kingdom. But they happen to be hunting close to where Kanwa (Sarada Gupta), a healer turned hermit, lives with his daughter Sunita (Seeta Devi) so Ranjit it taken there to recover. Meanwhile, Ranjit falls in love with Sunita, as does Sohat. Sunita loves Ranjit and isn’t interested in Sohat’s attempts to win her over. But Kanwa refuses to let his daughter marry Sunita because of his gambling habit and they plan to run away together.
After spending a blissful week together before their wedding, Sunita suddenly decides to leave Ranjit after she gets word that her father is dead and she’s presented with some evidence that suggests Ranjit had murdered him. As she leaves to head home, Sohan meets up with her and tries to make her think he’s trying to protect her from Ranjit while Ranjit has a friend of his try to catch up with her and explain the truth.
Once she’s convinced of Ranjit’s innocence, Sunita decides to go through with the wedding. But on the big day, Sohan arrives with the one thing that could put the wedding to a complete halt — some dice.
Even if you think a movie about two men vying for a woman’s affection sounds trite, A Throw of Dice is still very much worth seeing. Once you see it, it’s not the kind of movie you ever forget seeing. Its beautiful cinematography, beautiful costuming, and exquisite scenery make it stand out from other Hollywood productions that have similar plots. This film is absolutely stunning. It’s been compared to some of Cecil B. DeMille’s work because of its spectacular scenery and large crowd scenes, but there was no need to build sets for A Throw of Dice on a Hollywood soundstage when they could film it on location in India. It’s simply one of the most visually beautiful films I’ve ever seen. If you have any interest in film history, particularly in world cinema, this is a must see. Very few movies that were made in India during the silent era still exist intact today, so A Throw of Dice is a rare chance to see a silent film that was filmed in India and starred Indian actors.
