THREE CLASSICS-BIMAL ROY
DO BIGHA ZAMIN
1953 directed bimal roy starring balraj sahni and nirupa roy in lead roles. The film is known for its socialist theme, and is an important film in the early parallel cinema of India and is rightly considered a trend setter
Like most of movies by Bimal Roy, art and commercial cinema are merged to create a movie that is still looked upon as a benchmark and paved way for future cinema makers in the neo-realist movement, which was about to start in the 70s
Plot
The story revolves around a farmer, Shambhu( balraj sahni), who has been hit badly by a famine in Bengal The real reason of his sorrow is that the zamindar (land owner) wants to acquire his land on the pretext that Shambhu had taken some loan from him. Shambhu has to pay back the landlord and hence moves to the city to look for some other source of money
Scene to remember
The most famous scene from the movie is when Shambhu pushes himself to the limit pulling a RIKSHAW t.he rider on the rickshaw offers Shambhu more money to pull faster because he is chasing (probably) his girlfriend who is in a horse pulled carriage. Shambhu can not resist the temptation, and he keeps smiling in anticipation of getting more money.. In this race, rickshaw loses a wheel and Shambhu is injured.
sambhu's righteousness
through all these hardships Shambhu does not lose his righteousness, which is the moral of the movie.. Shambhu's morality is the only thing that remains his own till the end.Climax-the endingThe movie ends with Shambhu returning to his village, only to see his land sold and a factory being constructed over it
cinematic reference point
Recipient of a special mention at Cannes, winner of the social progress award at Karlovy Vary, and awarded Best Film trophy at the very first Film fare Awards, do bigha zamin has become a cinematic reference point
Renowned auteur Bimal Roy's first Hindi film to make a seismic impact, it is one of the earliest Hindi films to bridge the art-commerce chasm.This gritty tale of an impoverished farmer's struggle to retain his land is realistic and set in a deromanticised rural-urban dystopia. highly dramatic in its narration.
italian neo realism
Bimal Roy turned producerTo make the kind of films he wanted to. He had seen the highly influential The Bicycle Thief (1949) and was inspired by the Italian neo realism movement.
stark subject
he chose a stark subject, eschewed stars and made his cast wear realistically worn out clothes. He imbued the film with overwhelming poignancy
opening
The film opens with images of a parched earth and barren trees. The country has just suffered a two-year draught. The rains have skinny, bare-chested farmer Shambu Mahato (Balraj Sahni) delighting with his wife Paro (Nirupa Roy) and son Kanhaiya (Rattan Kumar), in the genesis of hope that comes with the rains.
Ending
The film ends with the family returning to their land only to witness a factory already standing on their do bigha zameen, the chimney's black smoke, literally and figuratively, blowing away their hopes.
SUJATA
Sujata is a 1959 hindi film. The film starred sunil dutt and nutan in lead role supported by lalita powar and shshikala
subject
The film explored the situation of caste in india. The music was s.d.burman and the lyrics by majrooh
Plot
Sujata is a romance between a brahmin young man, Adheer -sunil dutt and an untouchable woman, Sujata -nutan
gandhism-buddhism
The movie has gandhi's fight against untouchability and the myth of chandalika in buddhism as its subtexts on the basis of which it tries to criticize the practice of untouchability in indiaBrahmin couple Upen and Charu bring up the orphaned Sujata
Although Upen is fond of the adoptive child, his wife Charu and mother never fully embrace Sujata because she is an untouchable. They never fail to remind Sujata that she doesn't belong amongst Brahmins
Blood donate
One day, Upen's wife falls down the stairs and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors tell the family that in order to save Charu, they need blood of a rare group. Only Sujata's blood matches and she willingly donates blood
Happy ending
When Upen's wife knows that her life was saved by Sujata, she realizes her mistakes and accepts her as her daughter. Sujata and Adheer are finally married
BANDINI
Bandini is a film directed and produced by bimal roy .roy earlier directed classic such as do bigha zamin and devdas.Bandini explores the human conflicts of love and hate intertwined in the mind of Kalyani-nutan
The movie tells the story of Kalyani, the all suffering, selfless, sacrificing, and strong yet weak Indian woman. She must make a choice between two very different men
Plot
A female centric movie (one of the rare ones in Indian movies), Bandini revolves around Kalyani or Bandini -the imprisoned
imprisoned kalyani
She is in a prison in India. We learn the circumstances of her crime in flashback. Kalyani had fallen in love with a freedom fighter/anarchistBikash -ashok kumarduring the british raj who later leaves her in the village promising to come back but never does
Migration to city
The society treats them harshly. Broken by her father's misery and that of her own, Kalyani moves to the city, to the singing of the "O Jaanewale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana"
Caretaker but poisons
In the city she works as a caretaker of an almost insane woman, who is also the wife of Bikash. Kalyani learns that her father came to the city looking for her and died in an accident. That prompts her to poison her lover's wife, identifying her as the cause of her miseries.
Director Bimalda captures her emotions with light and darkness falling on her face due to a welder's torch and the thumping of Iron in the background
The jail doctor
devenBack from the flashback in the jail Deven-dharmendra the jail doctor falls in love with her. Kalyani is not ready for it and starts to stay away from him. They are always shown with a partition in between after Deven proposes her.
Use of symbolic signs
Another symbolism used in the movie is the occasional shouting of "All is well" by the prison guard when nothing in the movie is.
Imprisoned with love
The lines "Main Bandini Piya ki, Main Sangini Hoon Saajan ki" in the end score of the movie tells us that Kalyani is imprisoned by her love.
Climax song
"Mere saajan hain us paar" is sung by the musician s.d burman himself.The climactic song, it beautifully expresses Kalyani's dilemma of having to choose between Bikash & Deven. Though the movie features excellent songs they all depict the situation like nothing else could.
KalyaniThe character of Kalyani gets lifted from that of a woman who is a prisoner of destiny to one who defines her own freedom
kamal bose
Bandini is brilliantly photographed by Kamal Bose with its rich tonal quality and evocative framing.
