A Selective Study in Post-Colonial Bengali Cinema - always yours
A Selective Study in Post-Colonial Bengali Cinema - always yours
A Selective Study in Post-Colonial Bengali Cinema - always yours
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ISSN: 2277-9426<br />
Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies<br />
Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
9 August 2012<br />
Janmashtami, 24 Srabon, 1419<br />
Monsoon Issue<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema: <strong>Bengali</strong>s and C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Editor:<br />
Asst. Editors:<br />
Tamal Dasgupta<br />
Sourav Gupta<br />
Mousumi Biswas Dasgupta<br />
Sujay Chatterjee
The articles' and reviews' copyrights©<strong>in</strong>dividual contributors. Editorial©Tamal Dasgupta.<br />
Cover design by Dr Neeru Prasad and Santanu Chandra. Further, Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies<br />
is an open access, free for all e-journal and we promise to go by an Open Access Policy for<br />
readers, students, researchers and organizations as long as it rema<strong>in</strong>s for non-commercial<br />
purpose. However, any act of reproduction or redistribution of this journal, or any part<br />
thereof, for commercial purpose and/or paid subscription must accompany prior written<br />
permission from the Editor, Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies. For any queries, please contact:<br />
editjbs@gmail.com and journalofbengalistudies@gmail.com.
Contents<br />
Editorial 5<br />
Articles<br />
Towards a Historiography of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Or, Everyth<strong>in</strong>g You Enquired about Herbert Sarkar, but Were Dismissed by the Coffee House<br />
Intellectual<br />
Tamal Dasgupta 8<br />
Utopias of Celluloid Love: The Golden Era of the 1950s & Popular Culture <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Kaustav Kundu 51<br />
Adivasi Women <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> Literature and C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Debasree De 76<br />
Writ<strong>in</strong>g a Biography of <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Publicity: the Logic of Differentiation, and a Journey of<br />
Desire<br />
Spandan Bhattacharya 87<br />
Adaptation of Films from Plays: A selective study <strong>in</strong> post colonial <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Sourav Gupta 104<br />
From Tollygunge to Tollywood: The Transformation of <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Industry between 1980 and the<br />
Present<br />
Anugyan Nag 120<br />
Film Reviews<br />
Pather Dabi and Revolutionary Nationalism <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema: A Review<br />
Sujay Chatterjee 169<br />
Promot<strong>in</strong>g Kolkata on a Global Scale: A Review of Kahaani<br />
Abhijit Mallick 176<br />
Kahaani and Bhooter Bhobishyot: Two Reviews<br />
Mousumi Biswas Dasgupta 179<br />
Creative Workshop: Theory <strong>in</strong> Practice<br />
A Script Adaptation of a Poem<br />
Debanjan Das 189
Disclaimer:<br />
The views and op<strong>in</strong>ions expressed by the <strong>in</strong>dividual contributors are their own and the<br />
editorial board of Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies does not have any responsibility <strong>in</strong> this regard.<br />
The images appear<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the Journal are parts of critical project, not for any commercial use.<br />
Images are either provided by the authors of respective articles from their personal collections<br />
and /or are copyright free to the best of knowledge & belief of the editorial board.
Editorial<br />
Bengal has a glorious history of perform<strong>in</strong>g arts. We f<strong>in</strong>d mentions of songs and dances <strong>in</strong> the<br />
performance of Buddha Natak <strong>in</strong> Charyapada (Chorjapod), we know Chaitanya himself used to<br />
perform <strong>in</strong> plays based on Krishna Leela, we are heirs to an ancient tradition of Jatras, we had our<br />
Kathak Thakurs (rhapsodes) who narrated epics <strong>in</strong> our villages, we <strong>in</strong>herit an enchant<strong>in</strong>g art of<br />
dance and music of the Raas of Radha Krishna, we have been fortunate to have the tradition of a<br />
pictorial art of story tell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> our Pot Chitro (Patachitra, an ancient form of graphic narrative) that<br />
has been traditionally done by our Potuas and puppet dances have been a regular feature of our<br />
Melas which <strong>in</strong> turn have historically del<strong>in</strong>eated the forms of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong> Bengal.<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema, when detached from these roots, loses its anchor and turns <strong>in</strong>to non-art. The<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema issue of Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies (Vol. 1, No. 2) be<strong>in</strong>g published on the occasion of<br />
Janmashtami is a celebration of our performative traditions, and as a token gesture, our cover<br />
carries an image from Uday Shankar's 1923 ballet, Radha Krishna.<br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema becomes an <strong>in</strong>tegral part of human life under modernity, but the tradition of mimetic<br />
performance is perhaps as old as the human civilization itself. In India, earliest <strong>in</strong>stances of act<strong>in</strong>g<br />
date back to the Vedic times or even earlier. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the Ashwamedha, Rajasuya and Vajapeya<br />
sacrifices, the achievements of ancient k<strong>in</strong>gs and sages were narrated with music and act<strong>in</strong>g. This<br />
tradition was systematically expounded by Bharata, <strong>in</strong> his Natya Shastra. Perhaps it is this tradition<br />
of performative arts, so deep-rooted <strong>in</strong> our culture, that enables the Indians to produce the<br />
maximum number of films <strong>in</strong> the world <strong>in</strong> any given year. Tamil, Telugu and H<strong>in</strong>di film <strong>in</strong>dustries<br />
<strong>in</strong>herit an ancient Indian tradition of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment through spectacular performance accompanied<br />
by songs and dances.<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> Film Industry that <strong>in</strong>itially started far ahead of these <strong>in</strong>dustries eventually suffered a<br />
decl<strong>in</strong>e, dur<strong>in</strong>g which it economically survived by mostly produc<strong>in</strong>g emotional and romantic films,
6|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
<strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g realistic depictions of character-oriented actions. A certa<strong>in</strong> flow of emotion compensated<br />
our <strong>in</strong>dustry for the absence of f<strong>in</strong>ance, spectacular technology and market<strong>in</strong>g. Meghe Dhaka Tara<br />
by Ritwik Ghatak is a brilliant example of this flow of emotion. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, even Bharata's Natya<br />
Shastra put emphasis on the flow of emotion through the actor and the actress, so <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
emotional films are not without a l<strong>in</strong>eage.<br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema is a marvel of modern technology and its birthplace is the west. Western <strong>in</strong>fluences<br />
and resistance to those <strong>in</strong>fluences run as common motifs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema which started with<br />
Hiralal Sen <strong>in</strong> the 1890s under western <strong>in</strong>fluences, but it soon found its unique <strong>Bengali</strong> expression.<br />
Greek <strong>in</strong>fluences <strong>in</strong> our art and culture once produced Gandhara Art <strong>in</strong> India, the subject of which<br />
was unmistakably Indian, but the style of the treatment of that subject was Greek. Likewise <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fluenced by Hollywood gives birth to a composite film culture that nevertheless<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s <strong>Bengali</strong> to the core. A fertile process of cultural hybridity that encouraged <strong>in</strong>novation and<br />
discouraged bl<strong>in</strong>d imitation marked <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> its early period.<br />
The decl<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry was a result of the absence of a <strong>Bengali</strong> nationalist<br />
politics, a vacuum that was filled by the presence of Communist <strong>in</strong>fluence. Lack of fund<strong>in</strong>g was<br />
another contribut<strong>in</strong>g factor. Overseas patronage com<strong>in</strong>g from the Tamils settled abroad yielded<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> concrete benefits for Tamil Film Industry, but <strong>Bengali</strong>s by and large lacked that communal<br />
bond<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> an atmosphere heavily laden with left-liberal ideology. Partition and the constant flow of<br />
refugees and <strong>in</strong>filtrators from East Pakistan and later Bangladesh jeopardized <strong>Bengali</strong> economy. The<br />
absence of a <strong>Bengali</strong> trader class has been our bane throughout our history and our c<strong>in</strong>ema suffers<br />
massively due to lack of <strong>Bengali</strong> capital.<br />
However, contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema gives us a lot of hopes. <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema is turn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
around and is deliver<strong>in</strong>g commercial hits which are artistically noteworthy too. <strong>Bengali</strong> viewers are<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g to multiplexes to watch <strong>Bengali</strong> movies. Tollywood now supersedes Bollywood and<br />
Hollywood <strong>in</strong> terms of bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> Bengal which stopped be<strong>in</strong>g the case s<strong>in</strong>ce 1970s. <strong>Bengali</strong>s are
7|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g a number of of smart and brilliant movies these days and <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema can return to the<br />
glory days of New Theatres once more, armed with an <strong>in</strong>telligent story tell<strong>in</strong>g and an understand<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment.<br />
As a <strong>Bengali</strong> nationalistic endeavour, this journal rema<strong>in</strong>s committed to the study and<br />
analysis of <strong>Bengali</strong> culture, and cont<strong>in</strong>ues to nurture that project <strong>in</strong> this current issue celebrat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema: <strong>Bengali</strong>s and C<strong>in</strong>ema. We congratulate our contributors whose s<strong>in</strong>cere research<br />
works exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and the <strong>Bengali</strong>s' relationship with c<strong>in</strong>ema from different thoughtprovok<strong>in</strong>g<br />
perspectives will not only cont<strong>in</strong>ue to provide <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to the historical development for<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry for all future students of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, it will also make its permanent place<br />
<strong>in</strong> the historiography of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. It will be a collector's item for anyone who is <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> culture, we believe.<br />
In this issue we have <strong>in</strong>cluded a third section <strong>in</strong> our journal, <strong>in</strong> addition to articles and<br />
reviews, which is called 'Creative Workshop: Theory <strong>in</strong> Practice'. This section features a creative<br />
work related to the theme of this issue of JBS. This issue's creative workshop features a script<br />
adaptation of a poem, with a brief note from the scriptwriter.<br />
The editorial board (and the contributors) can be reached at editjbs@gmail.com and<br />
shoptod<strong>in</strong>a@gmail.com. Readers of JBS can f<strong>in</strong>d updates and call For Papers for the forthcom<strong>in</strong>g<br />
issues and post comments and responses at http://bengalistudies.blogspot.<strong>in</strong>/ .
Towards a Historiography of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Or,<br />
Everyth<strong>in</strong>g You Enquired about Herbert Sarkar, but Were Dismissed by<br />
the Coffee House Intellectual<br />
Tamal Dasgupta<br />
This article attempts an aga<strong>in</strong>st-the-gra<strong>in</strong> read<strong>in</strong>g of Herbert the book (1993) and Herbert the film<br />
(made <strong>in</strong> 2005, public release <strong>in</strong> Kolkata <strong>in</strong> 2006) and <strong>in</strong> the process of that read<strong>in</strong>g, tries to<br />
establish a methodology for study<strong>in</strong>g the historical trajectory of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, which is a part of<br />
the larger socio-economic-political trajectory of <strong>Bengali</strong> culture <strong>in</strong> the twentieth century). Nabarun<br />
Bhattacharya's Herbert (that won Sahitya Academy Award <strong>in</strong> 1997) is a deeply c<strong>in</strong>ematic novel,<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g by the admission of Suman Mukhopadhyay (the director of Herbert) himself <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>terview<br />
with Deepa Ganesh published <strong>in</strong> The H<strong>in</strong>du on April 7 2006, where he says, “The first read<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the novel evoked c<strong>in</strong>ematic images” (Ganesh, “The Outsider and His City”). Accord<strong>in</strong>gly, the film<br />
made by Suman Mukhopadhyay is meta-c<strong>in</strong>ematic; Herbert is a movie about movies. Nathan Lee, a<br />
film critic, speaks of Herbert the film <strong>in</strong> these terms <strong>in</strong> New York Times on 10 December 2008:<br />
“Movies are very much the po<strong>in</strong>t of this film: allusions to classic Hollywood and Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema
9|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
abound” (Lee, “Storm Advisory: Cyclone of a Life on the Horizon”). In this article we shall see that<br />
Herbert can tell us a th<strong>in</strong>g or two about <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema, and read<strong>in</strong>g of certa<strong>in</strong> motifs from the<br />
text-film duo of Herbert will lead us <strong>in</strong>to a correspond<strong>in</strong>g study of certa<strong>in</strong> trope from the history of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. The attempt is not just to read Herbert as a symbolic/allegorical history of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
culture/C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the second half of the twentieth century. Rather, there are simultaneous read<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
of the crisis of <strong>Bengali</strong> culture and the communist hegemony and the personal crisis and tragedy of<br />
Herbert Sarkar <strong>in</strong> this article. There have been two English translations of Herbert till date, but all<br />
references to the novel <strong>in</strong> this article are made to the orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>Bengali</strong> text, and excerpts from the<br />
novel, wherever they occur <strong>in</strong> this article, are translated by the present writer.<br />
The literary c<strong>in</strong>ematic exchange/transference economy that is at work between Herbert the<br />
movie and Herbert the novel needs to be looked at keep<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d the nuances of textual<br />
transmission, determ<strong>in</strong>ed by the physicality of a particular medium. Even a certa<strong>in</strong> issue of the little<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>e where Herbert was first published and the copy of a hard-bound edition of Herbert will<br />
differ from each other: though both might be carry<strong>in</strong>g the same text, the novel will have different<br />
textual expressions and embodiments and sensual forms <strong>in</strong> each case. However, differences <strong>in</strong><br />
mediums are as valid as the <strong>in</strong>teractions among them. Instead of fetishiz<strong>in</strong>g the medium of c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
and the literary medium as two isolated and fortified doma<strong>in</strong>s, concretely separated by technology,<br />
strategy, registrar and history, we can look at the literary c<strong>in</strong>ematic <strong>in</strong>teraction that is at work <strong>in</strong> the<br />
text-film duo of Herbert as transaction of a text across mediums where each medium is coterm<strong>in</strong>ous<br />
with another, and they together exist with<strong>in</strong> a complex matrix of <strong>in</strong>terrelationship.<br />
Herbert is an extraord<strong>in</strong>ary character. When history hovers over an enchanted Kolkata<br />
shrouded <strong>in</strong> the mist of memory and oblivion, the surreal conditions of coexistence between past<br />
and present can be called Herbert Sarkar, the protagonist of the novel and film Herbert. Herbert is a<br />
cryptic history of the degeneration of Bengal <strong>in</strong> the later half of twentieth century, which is<br />
contrasted and compared <strong>in</strong> the novel with the (once celebrated but now f orgotten) literature of
10|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century that witnessed Bengal renaissance (if spelt with a small r, we can perhaps do<br />
justice to some of its valid critiques). Herbert br<strong>in</strong>gs to the foreground the relationship between<br />
literature and c<strong>in</strong>ema (Herbert, <strong>in</strong> all senses of the term, is a boi; the <strong>Bengali</strong> colloquial word for<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema is boi which also means book, and that reflects our deep rooted national desire for narratives<br />
as we expect to see a boi on screen), and also the connection of c<strong>in</strong>ema to other discourses: like<br />
history, for example. The archeology of n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century <strong>Bengali</strong> culture is a recurrent motif <strong>in</strong><br />
Herbert.<br />
The literature-c<strong>in</strong>ema transaction is not unilateral, it works both ways. The novel by<br />
Nabarun Bhattacharya itself evokes c<strong>in</strong>ematic imagery and employs c<strong>in</strong>ematic technique repeatedly.<br />
Keith Cohen speaks of novel's deep <strong>in</strong>debtedness to c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the twentieth century, <strong>in</strong> terms of<br />
structure, narrative technique and use of language (79-104). Herbert the novel is a case <strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t.<br />
The c<strong>in</strong>ematic technique of montage is <strong>in</strong>tegral to the author's design that produces a collage<br />
between past and present <strong>in</strong> this novel. There are multiple quotations from n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century (and<br />
early twentieth century) <strong>Bengali</strong> poetry <strong>in</strong> this novel <strong>in</strong> regular <strong>in</strong>tervals; they offer a carefully<br />
designed archaicism. They are strategically placed at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of each chapter, and are<br />
sometimes placed <strong>in</strong>side the ma<strong>in</strong> body of text, too. They are quotations from obsolete, obscure and<br />
qua<strong>in</strong>t sources (most contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> readers have not even heard of these writers; some even<br />
might suspect them to be fictitious, but all these names of the poets and the l<strong>in</strong>es of the poems are<br />
actually historical), hazily identifiable with the age of national awaken<strong>in</strong>g of Bengal; archaic and<br />
mean<strong>in</strong>gless to the present times, at a first glance they are little more than hieroglyphic elements<br />
from a past the contexts of which were different and now they are hard to decipher, at least for the<br />
historically amnesiac generations grow<strong>in</strong>g up under communist hegemony (s<strong>in</strong>ce these precommunistic<br />
times constitute an equivalent to what is called Jahiliyyah <strong>in</strong> Islamic world-view;<br />
unregenerate and meant to be looked down upon, they preceded the establishment of true and<br />
chosen times, which beg<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Bengal with the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of communist hegemony).
11|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Chapter four of Nabarun Bhattacharya's Herbert conta<strong>in</strong>s the episode of B<strong>in</strong>u (the naxalite<br />
nephew of Herbert), and it beg<strong>in</strong>s with a quotation from Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, “Oi shuno! Oi<br />
shuno! Bheriro aaoyaj he Bheriro aaoyaj!” (Hark! Hark! The sound of the Drums of War, dear, the<br />
sound of the Drums of War!). This l<strong>in</strong>e is actually taken from Rangalal Bandyopadhyay's poem<br />
“Shadh<strong>in</strong>ota H<strong>in</strong>otay Ke Banchite Chay” (Who Wants to Live Without Freedom!), that became one<br />
of the greatest patriotic-revolutionary songs of n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century, and as a great poetry of<br />
nationalism, was second only to Vande Mataram <strong>in</strong> terms of its impact on the people, though now<br />
very few <strong>Bengali</strong>s would be able to remember the entire poem beyond the title. Now, the parallels<br />
are too obvious to miss. The trajectory of Naxalite movement shares some uncanny similarities with<br />
that of our armed freedom struggle. Herbert takes place <strong>in</strong> a space time location that still has<br />
memories (perhaps deeply buried with<strong>in</strong> the unconscious, like the memory of B<strong>in</strong>u's diary was<br />
buried with<strong>in</strong> Herbert's unconscious and it returned to haunt Herbert <strong>in</strong> his dream) of Bengal<br />
renaissance and the revolutionary nationalist movement. The Central Kolkata residence of Herbert –<br />
Sahebpara (erstwhile white town) is 20 m<strong>in</strong>utes walk from his residence, we are told <strong>in</strong> the novel<br />
(47) – has been the birthplace of the social, political and cultural awaken<strong>in</strong>g of Bengal, someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
that has been made obscure to the generations liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> post-Independence Kolkata. The novel<br />
draws our attention to that obscurity while quotations from n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century poetry are placed<br />
parallel to the actions that are tak<strong>in</strong>g place <strong>in</strong> contemporary Kolkata. Each quotation, acts like “a<br />
giant metaphor, or analogy” to a correspond<strong>in</strong>g event <strong>in</strong> the novel <strong>in</strong> a strategy of montage, we can<br />
say follow<strong>in</strong>g Keith Cohen (87). And <strong>in</strong> this analogy there is a heightened contrast between the<br />
coded past glory, and the contemporary pett<strong>in</strong>ess: Herbert is to Bengal renaissance what the times<br />
of the house gecko is to the age of the great reptiles.<br />
Unfortunately these quotations f<strong>in</strong>d no echo <strong>in</strong> the film. The film-maker probably could not<br />
f<strong>in</strong>d a way to represent these elements <strong>in</strong> an audio-visual medium; they are completely discarded <strong>in</strong><br />
the movie. Thus Herbert Sarkar is even more historically impoverished <strong>in</strong> the film than he was <strong>in</strong>
12|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the novel; apart from the n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century books on ghosts and afterlife, Herbert the film does not<br />
have any other mention of any old works of <strong>Bengali</strong> literature. In the novel, these extracts at the<br />
beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of each chapter constitute references to the glorious past of Bengal, as if ancestral voices<br />
are heard from afar <strong>in</strong> a dream. They appear like hieroglyphs: apparently unrelated to the ma<strong>in</strong> text,<br />
and difficult to comprehend, like rituals whose orig<strong>in</strong>al mean<strong>in</strong>gs are now lost and are uttered by<br />
the authorial voice of the writer like esoteric mantras, which beg<strong>in</strong> each chapter of Herbert's lifestory.<br />
They are actually memories of our national awaken<strong>in</strong>g, which is deeply buried beneath the<br />
plot <strong>in</strong> Herbert's narrative. Who reads out these l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> the novel? The omnipresent narrator does.<br />
But does Herbert hear them? Certa<strong>in</strong>ly he does not. Do these l<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong>fluence his life <strong>in</strong> some way or<br />
other? They <strong>in</strong>deed do. Are these l<strong>in</strong>es a part of the plot? They are, but only <strong>in</strong> magically foretell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the actions which take place <strong>in</strong> contemporary Kolkata. It seems the characters are not aware that<br />
they are repeat<strong>in</strong>g history (that is the <strong>in</strong>evitable fate of those who forget history), while the writer<br />
and the readers are aware of the presentiment offered by these excerpts from n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century<br />
poetry. It is a pity that neither these elliptical extracts nor the gap/silence between the l<strong>in</strong>es of these<br />
extracts and the events <strong>in</strong> Herbert's life <strong>in</strong> Nabarun's text f<strong>in</strong>d any c<strong>in</strong>ematic representation <strong>in</strong><br />
Suman Mukhopadhyay's Herbert.<br />
Herbert's father, Lalitkumar (who is called Lalitmohan on page 73 of the novel, no doubt an<br />
act of lapse on the part of Nabarun Bhattacharya) has been a failed film-maker while alive; he and<br />
his wife cont<strong>in</strong>ue to witness the events of Herbert's life after they are dead. The entire life-story of<br />
Herbert becomes a film that his late father, a ghost, captures <strong>in</strong> a movie camera (after his mother<br />
dies, she jo<strong>in</strong>s her husband <strong>in</strong> this c<strong>in</strong>ematographic experience). Lalitkumar calls Herbert's life a<br />
movie, after Herbert has committed suicide, and wants his wife's op<strong>in</strong>ion about whether it will be a<br />
hit or a flop (73). The novel ends with an assertion that the life/film of Herbert has been a flop one:<br />
there is no picture on the screen, and the only sound that is heard is “cat, bat, water, dog, fish” (80).<br />
The film explicitly shows Lalitkumar as the director-c<strong>in</strong>ematographer who keeps film<strong>in</strong>g Herbert's
13|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
life, and there are certa<strong>in</strong> parts of the film which make the noise of an unedited rush and appear <strong>in</strong><br />
the semblance of rush pr<strong>in</strong>t of projection at the edit<strong>in</strong>g table.<br />
The dead parents of Herbert film<strong>in</strong>g his life's narrative<br />
There are references to Eisenste<strong>in</strong>'s Battleship Potemk<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the film: when Herbert visits<br />
Presidency College where B<strong>in</strong>u is tak<strong>in</strong>g admission, the stairways rem<strong>in</strong>d him of the famous Odessa<br />
steps from Eisenste<strong>in</strong>'s movie which Herbert happened to watch with his communist elder brother<br />
Krishna. This is a meta-c<strong>in</strong>ematic symbol <strong>in</strong> two different ways. First, Herbert whose life events<br />
constitute a film, remembers Eisenste<strong>in</strong>'s movie. Secondly, Eisenste<strong>in</strong> has been <strong>in</strong>tegral to the<br />
'progressive' <strong>Bengali</strong> understand<strong>in</strong>g of c<strong>in</strong>ema, so the spectators are aware of the revolutionary<br />
temperament of the times.<br />
Herbert commits suicide <strong>in</strong> the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the novel, and then the story of his life lead<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to this suicide is narrated us<strong>in</strong>g the strategy of flashback, and all along the visual imag<strong>in</strong>ation of the<br />
writer is noticeably c<strong>in</strong>ematic. Different time zones come to coexist with<strong>in</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>gle frame <strong>in</strong> the<br />
film accord<strong>in</strong>gly. The novel makes the historical-contemporaneous <strong>in</strong>terface <strong>in</strong>to a frequent motif.<br />
Different generation share the same screen space, the same frame <strong>in</strong> the c<strong>in</strong>ematic strategy of the<br />
director Suman Mukhopadhyay. All of Herbert's ancestors come together to witness Herbert's<br />
cremation. The dead generations constitute a montage to the climax of explosion wait<strong>in</strong>g to happen<br />
as Herbert's body will enter the furnace. While the past generations are witness<strong>in</strong>g and register<strong>in</strong>g
14|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the life story of Herbert, we understand, he too is re-enact<strong>in</strong>g the legacy of his forebears.<br />
The suicide of Herbert Sarkar, which is a direct outcome of his encounter with the<br />
rationalists, is full of surreal squalor and wretchedness (someth<strong>in</strong>g that characterizes the novel as a<br />
whole), someth<strong>in</strong>g that rem<strong>in</strong>ds of late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth and early twentieth century Europe's urban<br />
decadence. Nabarun Bhattacharya's short story “Steamroller” beg<strong>in</strong>s with a quotation from<br />
Baudelaire: “Je dis: Vive la Revolution! comme je dirais: Vive la Destruction! Vive la Mort!”<br />
(Halaljhanda 13). These words of Baudelaire can be translated as follows; “I say: Long Live<br />
Revolution! Like I say: Long Live Destruction! Long Live Death!” This theme recurs <strong>in</strong> Nabarun's<br />
works time and aga<strong>in</strong>. We can see that death and destruction constitute a montage with revolution <strong>in</strong><br />
Herbert the novel, the atmosphere of which is dom<strong>in</strong>ated by an extraord<strong>in</strong>ary gloom. It was written<br />
after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Empire which caused not just emotional and political trauma<br />
but f<strong>in</strong>ancial stra<strong>in</strong> for the writer as he lost his job that he did at a Soviet news agency. There are<br />
melancholic references to the collapse of the communist world <strong>in</strong> Herbert (61). After Herbert's<br />
death the novel laments: “Herbert is no more. Soviet Union is no more. Hippodrome Circus is no<br />
more. D<strong>in</strong>u's Restaurant by the side of famous Gosa<strong>in</strong> mansion on Shimla Street is no more” (29).<br />
The tone of this novel is so gloomy that it at times leads us <strong>in</strong>to believ<strong>in</strong>g that the past of Bengal<br />
almost entirely consists of alcoholic, lecherous, selfish, superstitious, petty crooks who are now<br />
watch<strong>in</strong>g over Herbert <strong>in</strong> pervert pleasure and accompany<strong>in</strong>g him <strong>in</strong>to his death.<br />
Herbert's death offers a rich multitude of significations. At one level, the cremation of<br />
Herbert lead<strong>in</strong>g to explosion offers a suitably communistic catharsis. However, the explosion does<br />
not signal a return to naxalism. The death of Herbert does not follow a resurrection: he does not<br />
return as a ghost like his ancestors. Herbert has just died like Soviet Union, Chairman's Ch<strong>in</strong>a and<br />
Charu Majumdar and like them he can not be recalled to life any more. A subversion aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
rul<strong>in</strong>g order has <strong>in</strong>deed occurred and Herbert's dead body has challenged the complacency of the<br />
state power. But the explosion takes place through a remnant of the past, not through the promise of
15|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
a revolutionary future (which might proverbially belong to socialism). Possibilities of a postcommunist<br />
aesthetics and politics emerge from Herbert's death. The aesthetic (not <strong>in</strong> the sense of<br />
artistic qualities, but <strong>in</strong> the orig<strong>in</strong>al sense of discourses perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to bodily sensations; it is from<br />
this orig<strong>in</strong>al sense medical sciences have the antonym anaesthesia) versus logic conflict <strong>in</strong> Herbert<br />
is particularly <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. The compulsions of the physical body we are born with are not malleable<br />
to cold reason, which <strong>always</strong> represents the case of power. Ghosts are no longer commensurate with<br />
a world dom<strong>in</strong>ated by the immediate urges of the present that is ruled by a vulgar materialism<br />
(represented by the rationalists). But paradoxically, ghosts are a material need: our body needs the<br />
memory of phylogeny. Human bodies are existentially conditioned to myths. Herbert <strong>in</strong>vents stories<br />
of souls because that is a bodily desire to reach out to the dead, while this aesthetic long<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Herbert enters <strong>in</strong>to deep conflict with the logic of a mechanical materialism that is championed by<br />
the rationalists. Terry Eagleton, who <strong>in</strong> recent years entered <strong>in</strong>to heated debates with rationalists like<br />
Richard Dawk<strong>in</strong>s and Christopher Hitchens (Eagleton took the side of theology, God and the<br />
human need for religion: those who are <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> further read<strong>in</strong>g can study Eagleton's Reason,<br />
Faith and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate) observed:<br />
I th<strong>in</strong>k McCabe was right to see that the traditional Christian belief is <strong>in</strong> the resurrection of<br />
the body rather than the deeply non-Judaic notion of the immortality of the soul. As Thomas<br />
Aqu<strong>in</strong>as might have said, if a renewed form of existence doesn't <strong>in</strong>volve my body it doesn't<br />
<strong>in</strong>volve me. He identified people with their bodies – as Wittgenste<strong>in</strong> did <strong>in</strong> that remark that<br />
if you want an image of the soul you should look at the human body. Soul-language is just<br />
a way of account<strong>in</strong>g for what makes creative, historical, self-transformative bodies like<br />
human ones ontologically dist<strong>in</strong>ct from material bodies like CD players and peperclips.<br />
Once one has a sufficiently phenomenological account of the body, such language can drop<br />
out of the picture. It's no longer useful <strong>in</strong> one's battle with the mechanical materialists.<br />
(Eagleton and Beaumont 310) (bold letters m<strong>in</strong>e)
16|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Herbert <strong>in</strong> dialogue with the dead<br />
Herbert is not conscious that his dialogues with the dead are a response to his body's search for<br />
signification. From bits and pieces of a tortuous life experience, Herbert builds up myths, resorts to<br />
obscure books that deals with ghosts and <strong>in</strong>vents a soul-language that alone can express his<br />
ontological crisis. Myths are all that can ever allay the deep wounds his life has susta<strong>in</strong>ed. If we<br />
read the follow<strong>in</strong>g excerpt where Terry Eagleton discusses Walter Benjam<strong>in</strong>'s formulation of the<br />
significance of the dead body <strong>in</strong> German baroque tragedy, it becomes evident that Herbert's past<br />
was released by his dead body <strong>in</strong>to multiple symbolic read<strong>in</strong>gs:<br />
The baroque flays and butchers the liv<strong>in</strong>g flesh <strong>in</strong> order to <strong>in</strong>scribe some allegorical mean<strong>in</strong>g<br />
there; s<strong>in</strong>ce the liv<strong>in</strong>g body presents itself as an <strong>in</strong>expressible symbolic unity, it is only <strong>in</strong> its<br />
brutal undo<strong>in</strong>g, its diffusion <strong>in</strong>to so many torn, reified fragments, that some provisional<br />
mean<strong>in</strong>g may be ripped from its organic closure. The body thus achieves its full revelation<br />
only as a corpse; it is by death alone that the Trauerspiel characters can enter <strong>in</strong>to the realms<br />
of allegory, shedd<strong>in</strong>g their flesh so that the drama may scavenge for significance among its<br />
pieces. In a curious prefigurement of Freudian theory, it is only by divid<strong>in</strong>g the body,<br />
grasp<strong>in</strong>g it as the decentred site of contradictions between this or that cathected organ, that<br />
some potentially redemptive mean<strong>in</strong>g may be released from its delusive Gestalt.
17|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Psychoanalysis, like Trauerspiel and carnival, is born at the juncture between signifier and<br />
somatic, and all three modes explore their strange <strong>in</strong>versions: organ as signifier, signifier as<br />
sensuous practice, desire as the hollow<strong>in</strong>g of the body by language itself. In the Trauerspiel,<br />
as <strong>in</strong> Beyond the Pleasure Pr<strong>in</strong>ciple, that hollow<strong>in</strong>g is carried to the po<strong>in</strong>t of death itself: if<br />
for Freud all desire speaks of the utterly unrepresentable silence of death, so for Benjam<strong>in</strong><br />
the Trauerspiel body may speak only when it has been quelled to a corpse. And <strong>in</strong>deed what<br />
is this corpse, that heap of cryptic fragments, that ambiguous image whose image is <strong>always</strong><br />
elsewhere, if not the very text of the Trauerspiel itself, <strong>in</strong> which mean<strong>in</strong>g and the material<br />
letter, voice and writ<strong>in</strong>g, presence and absence are at once mutually <strong>in</strong>volved and about to<br />
come apart at the seams? (WB 151)<br />
Herbert is a suicide; he is called a martyr <strong>in</strong> the slogans of his friends when his funeral procession is<br />
out, and he is also a pharmakos like the character of Bhogi from Nabarun Bhattacharya's “Bhogi”<br />
(the blurb of Auto O Bhogi says that explicitly, that Bhogi is another face of Herbert), a novel where<br />
a person voluntarily offers himself to be slaughtered as a part of a mysterious cosmic design.<br />
Herbert's suicide is the denouement of his be<strong>in</strong>g torn between two worlds: the past and the present.<br />
Herbert's dynamites are from the past. The past com<strong>in</strong>g back to haunt the present is a very familiar<br />
motif <strong>in</strong> Nabarun Bhattacharya's works. Like Herbert's dynamites, a bullet that rema<strong>in</strong>ed dormant<br />
<strong>in</strong>side the barrel of a revolver (from the Naxalite period) for 30-35 years accidentally kills a man <strong>in</strong><br />
Nabarun's short story, “Amar Kono Bhoy Nei To” (“I Don't Have Anyth<strong>in</strong>g to Fear, Do I?”,<br />
collected <strong>in</strong> his Sreshtho Golpo). Mahanagar@Kolkata, the third film of Suman Mukhopadhyay is<br />
made from three short stories of Nabarun Bhattacharya which <strong>in</strong>clude “Amar Kono Bhoy Nei To”.<br />
Past is a major presence is most of Nabarun's works. And the present times are doomed to repeat<br />
the actions of the past <strong>in</strong> Herbert. Herbert's encounter with the rationalists <strong>in</strong> fact re-enacts one of<br />
the most massive and basic phenomenon of twentieth century Bengal: the rationalists versus<br />
Herbert conflict that ends <strong>in</strong> Herbert's suicide rem<strong>in</strong>ds us of the nationalism versus communism
18|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
conflict (among other fields of social life, it took place <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema too), that ended <strong>in</strong> the<br />
tragic destruction of nationalism, which was primordial, mythical, and could not survive the<br />
arsenals of <strong>in</strong>tellectually superior reason<strong>in</strong>g of communist thought.<br />
Simultaneous read<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong>to the trajectory of Bengal's general cultural and political<br />
degeneration and the predicament of Herbert Sarkar repeatedly rem<strong>in</strong>d us of this adage: those who<br />
forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Herbert repeats a past. In the film, the <strong>in</strong>terrogation sequence<br />
at police headquarters is cut at specific junctures and flashbacks of Herbert's life beg<strong>in</strong>. For <strong>in</strong>stance<br />
the <strong>in</strong>terrogation of Dhanna (Bratya Basu) is followed by flashbacks of Dhanna's past life. Quite<br />
significantly, when Krishna (Bimal Chakraborty) is asked by Police officer (Sabyasachi<br />
Chakraborty) whether he supports the “terroristic” and “violent” acts of his deceased son, and he<br />
replies that state violence was no less terroristic, what follows is a jump cut to the rationalists<br />
enter<strong>in</strong>g Herbert's house and charg<strong>in</strong>g him with fraud. One of the rationalists takes photographs of a<br />
hysterical Herbert on the verge of tears, and comments that Stal<strong>in</strong> would be the perfect remedy for<br />
such elements as Herbert, and we immediately associate the rationalists' terror on Herbert (for the<br />
crime that he relived some myths and resorted to the ghosts of past) with state violence.<br />
The puritan zealotry with which the rationalists want to destroy Herbert f<strong>in</strong>ds its echo <strong>in</strong> the<br />
deep hostilities shown by the cultural bosses of the then Left Front Government <strong>in</strong> 2006 to the<br />
screen<strong>in</strong>g of Herbert at the Govt owned c<strong>in</strong>ema hall, Nandan (called the 'Art Film Theatre' by its<br />
founders which <strong>in</strong>cluded not just Party apparatchiks, but also the likes of Satyajit Ray), and<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to a news report the film was shown only after signature campaigns were run <strong>in</strong> favour of<br />
Herbert as a rejo<strong>in</strong>der to the <strong>in</strong>itial refusal of Nandan authorities to screen this film on the pretext<br />
that such a film would send “wrong signals to audiences”, and after runn<strong>in</strong>g for three weeks<br />
(Shamik Bag, “Nandan's Litmus Test”), as another report puts it, the film was abruptly and<br />
unceremoniously “shown the door” (“Nandan Frowns on Gay Lover Story”, The Telegraph, 20<br />
December 2010). The date on which Herbert was released at Nandan was March 3, 2006 (“An
19|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Ord<strong>in</strong>ary Man”, The Telegraph, 2 March 2006).<br />
The charges of the rationalists/Cultural bosses (that must have <strong>in</strong>cluded the then Left Front<br />
Government's Chief M<strong>in</strong>ister who personally took an <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> Nandan) aga<strong>in</strong>st Herbert/Herbert<br />
and the charges of the <strong>in</strong>tellectual film movement aga<strong>in</strong>st conventional <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema share some<br />
uncanny commonality. After the <strong>in</strong>tellectual political space <strong>in</strong> Bengal started be<strong>in</strong>g taken over by<br />
the communists and their frontal organizations like IPTA, there came an <strong>in</strong>ternationalist revolt<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st nationalist art. Herbert is so odious because he represents a certa<strong>in</strong> essence of traditional,<br />
unregenerate Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess that can not be accommodated <strong>in</strong>to coffee houses and university<br />
corridors.<br />
Now, let us look at the left-lean<strong>in</strong>g, progressive reaction aga<strong>in</strong>st our conventional c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
(that started <strong>in</strong> late 1940s and cont<strong>in</strong>ued throughout 1950s), both Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g on the forefront of that reaction, though, as we shall see, their attitude to the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
that precedes them is not <strong>always</strong> that of unmixed hostility and is best summed up as ambivalent. If<br />
one reads Ray's Bishoy Cholochchitro or Our Films Their Films, it becomes clear that he detested<br />
early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. The general attitude of apathy and ignor<strong>in</strong>g prevails <strong>in</strong> Ray's article “Silent<br />
Films” written <strong>in</strong> 1970 that is entirely silent on the silent films made <strong>in</strong> Bengal and <strong>in</strong> spite of<br />
repeated references to silent film view<strong>in</strong>g experiences <strong>in</strong> Kolkata, silent films made <strong>in</strong> Kolkata f<strong>in</strong>d<br />
no mention and so it later conveniently features <strong>in</strong> his “Their Films” section <strong>in</strong> the collection of his<br />
film-related writ<strong>in</strong>gs published under the title Our Films Their Films.<br />
In Bishoy Cholochchitro Satyajit Ray speaks of the horror of his first acqua<strong>in</strong>tance with<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> 1927: it was a silent film named Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy (37). Elsewhere also <strong>in</strong> his<br />
childhood memoir Jokhon Chhoto Chhilam he repeats that his first impression of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema –<br />
the view<strong>in</strong>g experience of Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy – was negative, that watch<strong>in</strong>g this movie led him to develop<br />
a contempt, literally a sneer<strong>in</strong>g attitude (nak shnitkono bhab) towards <strong>Bengali</strong> films and that he<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ued to stay away from <strong>Bengali</strong> films because of his first experience (30). One may wonder if
20|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
it was the familiar 'progressive' attitude of bash<strong>in</strong>g early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema that led Satyajit to trust so<br />
much an immature judgment from his childhood. This film Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy is very little known today,<br />
barr<strong>in</strong>g Satyajit's scath<strong>in</strong>g criticism of it; no pr<strong>in</strong>t survives as it was a Madan production (all of their<br />
early films were destroyed <strong>in</strong> a fire).<br />
Anyway, the present writer's searches reveal that Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy was the first film of Dhiraj<br />
Bhattacharya as a hero (may not be the one to be released first), who went on to become one of the<br />
most popular heroes <strong>in</strong> silent <strong>Bengali</strong> films and later on a renowned character artist as talkies<br />
arrived. In Dhiraj Bhattacharya's memoir Jokhon Nayok Chhilam we have detailed descriptions of<br />
the mak<strong>in</strong>g of this film (4-17). It was not an average movie. The director, a certa<strong>in</strong> Mr Ganguly (not<br />
the famous Dhiren Ganguly, who is referred to as DG <strong>in</strong> Dhiraj Bhattachaya's memoir; this Mr<br />
Ganguly, <strong>always</strong> called Gangulymoshai by Dhiraj could be P N Ganguly who also directed<br />
Durgadas <strong>in</strong> Krishnokanter Will), employed guerrilla strategy of shoot<strong>in</strong>g, even before the concept<br />
was thought of and the term was co<strong>in</strong>ed anywhere <strong>in</strong> the world. Mr Ganguly himself did not give<br />
any name to this practice of shoot<strong>in</strong>g on real locations without mak<strong>in</strong>g the crowd aware that a<br />
shoot<strong>in</strong>g is go<strong>in</strong>g on. Such shoot<strong>in</strong>g was low-budget, was done with a very small crew of 3-4 people<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the director, and did not procure any permissions from the authorities beforehand. Dhiraj<br />
while shoot<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the lead role of Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy was once about to be attacked by a mob who doubted<br />
him to be a chheledhora i.e., kidnapper of children (because of his make-up which made him look<br />
dirty and unkempt). In this film, there were on the location shoot<strong>in</strong>gs where the crowd did not<br />
realize that they were be<strong>in</strong>g filmed. One such shot was taken while Dhiraj walked from Sealdah to<br />
College Street along the pavement of Harrison Road and the camera was hidden <strong>in</strong>side a mov<strong>in</strong>g<br />
car. Dhiraj was accidentally <strong>in</strong>tercepted by a classmate of his who did not realize that a shoot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
was go<strong>in</strong>g on, and what followed was a hilarious event (the friend, after repeated pester<strong>in</strong>g was<br />
shocked to be told by Dhiraj that he was go<strong>in</strong>g to his tyrant father-<strong>in</strong>-law's house who had forcibly<br />
taken away Dhiraj's wife and son; the friend was away to Allahabad for three months and he could
21|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
not understand how Dhiraj could be married and begot a son too <strong>in</strong> these three months) but it turned<br />
out to be an excellent <strong>in</strong>stance of realistic shoot<strong>in</strong>g, as it was but natural that the college educated<br />
hero would be <strong>in</strong>tercepted by a classmate near College Street. It was a silent film so all the<br />
spectators later grasped was absolutely realistic action and not the strange conversation which<br />
actually took place. Dhiraj Bhattacharya's memoir gives an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g description of this <strong>in</strong>cident<br />
(16-17).<br />
Dhiraj Bhattacharya<br />
One wonders whether Satyajit Ray watched Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy carefully. All that Ray seems to<br />
remember from Kal Por<strong>in</strong>oy is the rubb<strong>in</strong>g of two pairs of feet <strong>in</strong> a scene of nuptial night (Bishoy<br />
Cholochchitro 37). Thankfully, Dhiraj Bhattacharya was no more when Ray was writ<strong>in</strong>g this article<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1978 (later published <strong>in</strong> Bishoy Cholochchitro). Because, it would not be the first humiliation that<br />
he received at the hands of the makers of the revolutionary and progressive new c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
Dhiraj met with some traumatic experience of humiliation at a felicitation programme<br />
organized for Satyajit Ray after Pather Panchali's success. Dhiraj was neglected and<br />
unceremoniously ignored by the assembled progressive <strong>in</strong>tellectuals. There is a touch<strong>in</strong>g narration<br />
<strong>in</strong> Rabi Basu's Shat Rong of how Dhiraj was very much impressed by Satyajit's works on the rural<br />
details, and Satyajit's realistic treatments, and how he wanted to congratulate Satyajit as an ardent<br />
admirer. The humiliation (he was “elbowed out by the ris<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tellectuals”) brought tears to the old<br />
man's eyes. It is a temptation to quote the conversation he had with Rabi Basu on that occasion.<br />
“We are now counted among old haggards, aren't we?”<br />
I (Rabi Basu) said to console him, “No, no, why are even you th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g that?”<br />
Dhirajda said, “But they've compelled me to th<strong>in</strong>k that. Don't they know that the road on
22|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
which they are walk<strong>in</strong>g with pomp and authority was made smooth with the blood from our<br />
bosoms? What days we had! Nobody rented a home to us because we acted <strong>in</strong> films. If<br />
walked on a street, the doors and w<strong>in</strong>dows of the houses were closed quickly to protect the<br />
honour of the maidens. Had to come to the place of close relative on any occasion at the<br />
dead of night lest other <strong>in</strong>vitees got angry to see us and severed relations. Endur<strong>in</strong>g all abuse<br />
and derision we nurtured and kept the art of c<strong>in</strong>ema alive. Is this the reward for that?” (1:<br />
22-24)<br />
A deep disgust with the older form of c<strong>in</strong>ema cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be fostered by the film movement <strong>in</strong><br />
Kolkata as a hallmark of progressive credentials, as the cultural <strong>in</strong>tellectual academic scenario<br />
<strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly came to be dom<strong>in</strong>ated by communists and left-liberal <strong>in</strong>tellectuals of various hues.<br />
Even such m<strong>in</strong>dless charges were enthusiastically made by <strong>Bengali</strong> 'progressive' critics which are<br />
uncritically reproduced verbatim <strong>in</strong> an article by Subhajit Chatterjee who teaches Film Studies at<br />
Jadavpur University as to why early <strong>Bengali</strong> films (made <strong>in</strong> British India under British censorship)<br />
did not have depiction of “patriotic terrorism”:<br />
As em<strong>in</strong>ent film critic Mriganka Sekhar Ray noted, " ...a feel<strong>in</strong>g of disgust and distaste for<br />
the conventional Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema became the arsenal for the film society enthusiasts."<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this narrative, the general malaise of the system owed largely to the middle<br />
class <strong>in</strong>sensitivity towards contemporary socio-political milieu as well as their <strong>in</strong>ability to<br />
develop an <strong>in</strong>digenous 'c<strong>in</strong>ematic' sensibility, thereby encourag<strong>in</strong>g passive emulation of<br />
Hollywood products. Reflect<strong>in</strong>g on erstwhile decades of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, another noted film<br />
critic Suryo Bandyopadhyay compla<strong>in</strong>ts, " ...even the subject matters selected for mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
films were of <strong>in</strong>ferior quality. In films such as Dhooli, Achyutkanya ...or Bordidi there was<br />
no image of patriotic terrorism, no agitation— <strong>in</strong> one word anyth<strong>in</strong>g whatsoever perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
to Indian politics. Lots of dull, lifeless films full of sentimentality (nyaka nyaka) ran <strong>in</strong> the<br />
halls and the middle class used to watch them. And got so engrossed <strong>in</strong> them that they even
23|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
used to forget the Fam<strong>in</strong>e [1943] … (www.jmionl<strong>in</strong>e.org)<br />
Most of the charges (and they are clichés) which are uttered aga<strong>in</strong>st early c<strong>in</strong>ema of Bengal are<br />
banal to the po<strong>in</strong>t of be<strong>in</strong>g ridiculous. For <strong>in</strong>stance, the timid and non-experimental early <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
film-makers were contrasted with the revolutionary film-makers of Ch<strong>in</strong>a who shot the legendary<br />
Long March by cont<strong>in</strong>uously travel<strong>in</strong>g with Mao's army <strong>in</strong> film critic Partha Raha's C<strong>in</strong>emar<br />
Itibrittanto (127). Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, Susan Hayward speaks of the flourish of “nationalistic leftist”<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a dur<strong>in</strong>g 1930s and 40s; the communists promptly effected a closure on such films<br />
after seiz<strong>in</strong>g power (416-17).<br />
But even when not compared with the revolutionary Ch<strong>in</strong>ese film-makers who had a vast<br />
country where only bits and parts of it were colonized and who enjoyed a relative degree of<br />
freedom <strong>in</strong> choos<strong>in</strong>g their subjects prior to Mao's take-over, this charge aga<strong>in</strong>st early <strong>Bengali</strong> filmmakers<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s serious: why could not they obta<strong>in</strong> British government approved raw materials to<br />
film the battle of Bagha Jat<strong>in</strong> on the bank of Buribalam river, or shoot a documentary or two on the<br />
bomb-mak<strong>in</strong>g laboratories at Maniktola, or capture <strong>in</strong>to celluloid the valiant ambush of B<strong>in</strong>oy<br />
Badol D<strong>in</strong>esh at Writers', or shoot some reels of Surjo Sen carry<strong>in</strong>g out a raid on Chittagong<br />
armoury, or record the mov<strong>in</strong>g images of the advances of Subhash Bose's INA at Imphal? And<br />
hypothetically, once such films were made, why could not they subsequently devise some suitably<br />
revolutionary mechanism to get these films approved by the Censor Board? This is all beyond our<br />
understand<strong>in</strong>g. <strong>Bengali</strong> Theatres often produced seditious plays, but why could not <strong>Bengali</strong> films?<br />
Partha Raha asks (127). Now of course c<strong>in</strong>ema made <strong>in</strong> Bengal was a medium that depended on the<br />
government from start to f<strong>in</strong>ish, from procur<strong>in</strong>g raw films to censorship clearance and subsequent<br />
release, and to our limited <strong>in</strong>tellect it might appear that theatre required lesser capital and was less<br />
troublesome for government <strong>in</strong> not be<strong>in</strong>g visible beyond its immediate audience, but if the<br />
'progressive' <strong>in</strong>tellectuals conveniently found no difference between film and theatre <strong>in</strong> this<br />
particular <strong>in</strong>stance to further their case, we should not argue. It is an entirely different matter that
24|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
theatricality was one of the ma<strong>in</strong> charges repeatedly made aga<strong>in</strong>st early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema by the<br />
'progressive' <strong>in</strong>telligentsia, and it was repeatedly argued that early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema – prior to the<br />
arrival of true, revolutionary, socialist realism <strong>in</strong>spired c<strong>in</strong>ema – collapsed the difference between<br />
film and theatre, and this medium was treated like stage, a charge that Satyajit Ray himself repeats<br />
<strong>in</strong> Bishoy Cholochchitro (40); but more of that later.<br />
The result of these attacks on Bengal's c<strong>in</strong>ematic tradition by the (communist party <strong>in</strong>spired<br />
and IPTA legacy-bear<strong>in</strong>g) <strong>in</strong>tellectuals has been disastrous. We were not only taught to ignore our<br />
history, but also to detest it. We were impoverished, <strong>in</strong>tellectually and culturally, of the historical<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>uity of the Indic <strong>Bengali</strong> civilization, and the already given absence of a <strong>Bengali</strong> trader class<br />
meant that there could be very little resistance to the <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g left-liberal-<strong>in</strong>ternationalist<br />
hegemony. Our c<strong>in</strong>ema began to lapse <strong>in</strong>to a super-<strong>in</strong>tellectual avant gardism (that <strong>in</strong> spite of<br />
churn<strong>in</strong>g out a lot of gibberish and rubbish, one has to admit, gave us some films which cont<strong>in</strong>ue to<br />
yield an <strong>in</strong>tellectual universal appeal to the elite educated urban classes). But quite disastrously,<br />
what rema<strong>in</strong>s the backbone of any thriv<strong>in</strong>g movie <strong>in</strong>dustry, that is, popular culture, customs, faith<br />
and tradition – they all took a back seat. We were denationalized. Necessity of preserv<strong>in</strong>g the past<br />
was forgotten. Bankim once lamented that <strong>Bengali</strong>s were without a history. It can not not have<br />
escaped the notice of the imperialists of different hues (Anglo-American-Soviet-Ch<strong>in</strong>ese) that it<br />
suits everybody's agenda if <strong>Bengali</strong>s are and will rema<strong>in</strong> a people without history.<br />
Bengal's film history has ever s<strong>in</strong>ce rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> jeopardy. Recently re-published by Patra<br />
Bharati (April 2012), Kalish Mukhopadhyay's magnum opus Bangla Cholochchitroshilper Itihash<br />
1897-1947 has come with some additional images, many of them be<strong>in</strong>g rare photos. One such<br />
image on page 115 shows an image of the great actor of yesteryear (and master of comedy) Bhanu<br />
Bandyopadhyay (the caption says that it was Dena Paona, a 1931 talkie, directed by Premankur<br />
Atorthi). Now of course that cannot be the case, as the Bhanu Banerjee we are familiar with was not<br />
an actor <strong>in</strong> 1931 (born <strong>in</strong> 1920, he was only 11 years old <strong>in</strong> 1931; the image shows a familiar still of
25|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Bhanu from 1960s). That 1931 film <strong>in</strong>deed had a Bhanu Bandyopadhyay <strong>in</strong> its cast, but it had to be<br />
someone else, it was another Bhanu Bandyopadhyay.<br />
This image comes with a wrong caption A collage of the images of the senior Bhanu Bandyopadhyay<br />
(Kalish Mukhopadhyay 115) (Kalish Mukhopadhyay 145)<br />
A little research on the part of the present writer reveals that there <strong>in</strong>deed was another Bhanu<br />
Bandyopadhyay, who played the role of a friend of Pahari Sanyal and Pramathesh Barua, called<br />
Samir (a m<strong>in</strong>or character with very little dialogues, but he shared ample screen space with the two<br />
lead characters) <strong>in</strong> Rajat Jayanti. IMDB (Internet Movie Data Base) page of Rajat Jayanti however,<br />
makes the same mistake aga<strong>in</strong> and hyperl<strong>in</strong>ks the concerned actor's name with the profile of our<br />
familiar Bhanu Bandyopadhyay, the comedian. If that database was made by a <strong>Bengali</strong> after<br />
watch<strong>in</strong>g the movie, then it is an unfortunate mistake, but by no means an uncharacteristic one<br />
(absence of history normally paves way to such confusions: for example, as I am writ<strong>in</strong>g this article<br />
on 8/8/2012, the current Wikipedia entry on Dhiren Ganguly shows the image of Rob<strong>in</strong> Majumdar,<br />
the actor-s<strong>in</strong>ger). Anyhow, further studies reveal that film historian Rabi Basu <strong>in</strong> his Shat Rong<br />
speaks of a “Bhanu Bandyopadhyay (elder)” <strong>in</strong> the cast of a double version film of New Theatres<br />
(made <strong>in</strong> both <strong>Bengali</strong> and H<strong>in</strong>di) titled Obhigyan – the H<strong>in</strong>di version was called Abhag<strong>in</strong> – that<br />
was made <strong>in</strong> 1938 (1: 127). In Kalish Mukhopadhyay's book, on page 145, there is <strong>in</strong>deed a collage<br />
of multiple images of this senior Bhanu Bandyopadhyay. It seems that he was a favourite actor of
26|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
New Theatres. Dhiraj Bhattacharya's memoir Jokhon Nayok Chhilam also mentions the elder Bhanu<br />
Bandyopadhyay (69), who worked <strong>in</strong> Madan Theatres as well (84).<br />
The above example <strong>in</strong>dicates two th<strong>in</strong>gs. First, Bankim's well known lament about the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>s' lack of history and historical consciousness applies perfectly to the historiography of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. Secondly, absolute lack of support from establishments, <strong>in</strong>stitutions, academia and<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual quarters (all dom<strong>in</strong>ated by left-liberal ideology) ensures that whatever little bits of the<br />
history of early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema survives <strong>in</strong> the form of anecdotes, catalogues, personal memoirs,<br />
popular tabloid features and public relations, they are collected by <strong>in</strong>dividuals <strong>in</strong> mostly journalistic<br />
endeavours under the auspice of various magaz<strong>in</strong>es and newspapers patronized by common readers.<br />
There had never been any systematic writ<strong>in</strong>g down of the early history of <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry. As<br />
a result, a critical and scholarly query <strong>in</strong>to early film history has never been undertaken. A serious<br />
historiography of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema (prior to 1950s) has not been attempted. Quite expectedly, Kalish<br />
Mukhopadhyay's book too is journalistic <strong>in</strong> nature.<br />
It is quite <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to note that Kalish Mukhopadhyay, editor of the renowned <strong>Bengali</strong> film<br />
and theatre magaz<strong>in</strong>e Rup-Moncho, was <strong>in</strong>volved with revolutionary nationalist movement and a<br />
close follower of Subhash Bose. In fact Kalish Mukhopadhyay started this film magaz<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> 1939<br />
under the <strong>in</strong>struction of Subhash Bose himself who felt that such a magaz<strong>in</strong>e was needed <strong>in</strong> Bengal,<br />
and who <strong>in</strong>structed him to take an early retirement from revolutionary politics and devote his full<br />
time and energy to this magaz<strong>in</strong>e (Bangla Cholochchitroshilper Itihash 370-371).<br />
There were fundamental reasons beh<strong>in</strong>d this decision of Subhash Bose. The great leader<br />
could not have failed to notice the tremendous import of this new marvel of modernity called<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema for the common people. The star system of c<strong>in</strong>ema is a commonly shared currency of<br />
popular recognition and cultural symbolism. Common people love c<strong>in</strong>ema and dote on the stars. A<br />
star is a symbol of the aspirations of a community, and <strong>in</strong> fact plays a huge role <strong>in</strong> the formation of a<br />
culturally coherent community of spectators. Thus Hollywood used its star system as a successful
27|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
method of cultural expansion. In Bengal, heroes like Dhiren Ganguly, Durgadas and P C Barua and<br />
hero<strong>in</strong>es like Kanan Debi and Chandrabati Debi (and later the likes of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra<br />
Sen) became the <strong>in</strong>signia of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment provided by c<strong>in</strong>ema and c<strong>in</strong>ema moulded<br />
popular culture through its commonly shared pool of narratives and commonly transmitted ideas.<br />
Dhiren Ganguly Pramathesh Barua and Chandrabati Debi Durgadas Bandyopadhyay<br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema, then, is a pivotal process of cultural standardization and is <strong>in</strong>strumental to the mak<strong>in</strong>g of a<br />
national language, a language consist<strong>in</strong>g of certa<strong>in</strong> symbols (stars) and stories and visuals and<br />
music which build up a community. C<strong>in</strong>ema offers the language of cultural communication that<br />
gives birth to a collective community that through the commonly shared narratives (and <strong>in</strong> the<br />
Indian case music and lyrics as well) builds up its collective cognition, a commonly shared<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation that shapes popular cultural expressions. C<strong>in</strong>ema gives birth to a nation. <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema is one of the prime constituents of the national identity of the Indic <strong>Bengali</strong> people.<br />
As an aside, one may wonder if the star system is as autocratic and undemocratic as a<br />
communist party hierarchy, and the answer will be that there are certa<strong>in</strong> concrete differences. In a<br />
communist party (and all party <strong>in</strong>spired cultural organizations like IPTA etc), an <strong>in</strong>dividual who is a<br />
boss becomes not a symbol, but a substitute of collective will (Trotsky's concept of substitutionism
28|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
immediately com<strong>in</strong>g to m<strong>in</strong>d). A star is no longer a star when people don't consider him one, but the<br />
communist boss rema<strong>in</strong>s a boss so long as the party does not break <strong>in</strong>to pieces or there is a coup.<br />
And early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema did not just have stars; even the m<strong>in</strong>or roles were portrayed to perfection<br />
by some great character artists. Extraord<strong>in</strong>ary character artists were produced by the stage and<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema of Bengal <strong>in</strong> those days; ever s<strong>in</strong>ce the communist take over, a loyal mediocrity enforced by<br />
the progressive circles gradually came to rule supreme, eventually cancel<strong>in</strong>g out true possibilities of<br />
great act<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the name of a partisan collective.<br />
Let us come back to the question of the lost history of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. It is now globally<br />
recognized that Hiralal Sen of Kolkata was the first film maker <strong>in</strong> Indian film <strong>in</strong>dustry – whereas<br />
Phalke cont<strong>in</strong>ues to be “credited” with the “mak<strong>in</strong>g of the first Indian feature film” – as Susan<br />
Hayward records <strong>in</strong> her C<strong>in</strong>ema Studies:<br />
However, if we are to be true to history, then Hiralal Sen is really India's first film-maker. He<br />
established the Royal Bioscope Company <strong>in</strong> Calcutta and filmed plays from the major<br />
theatres <strong>in</strong> that city. A first film of his (dat<strong>in</strong>g from 1903) Alibaba and the Forty Thieves not<br />
only marks Sen out as the first film-maker <strong>in</strong> India, but, <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gly, also pre-dates by four<br />
years France's verion of the same story (Pathé's Ali Baba, 1907). (Hayward 420)<br />
Hiralal Sen
29|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
One significant question is, is there a s<strong>in</strong>gle mention of Hiralal Sen <strong>in</strong> the works of Satyajit Ray and<br />
Ritwik Ghatak? I failed to f<strong>in</strong>d any such mention <strong>in</strong> Satyajit's Bishoy Cholochchitro, Our Films<br />
Their Films and Ritwik Ghatak's Cholochchitro Manush ebong Aro Kichu (which is a complete<br />
collection of his writ<strong>in</strong>gs about c<strong>in</strong>ema, posthumously published). Most <strong>Bengali</strong>s themselves have<br />
been conveniently ignorant of the fact that Hiralal Sen was the first film-maker not just <strong>in</strong> Bengal<br />
but <strong>in</strong> India, as is noted by Kalish Mukhopadhyay (375-383), who worked relentlessly to establish<br />
this long forgotten fact of history among a people that found a pervert pleasure <strong>in</strong> its amnesia of its<br />
glorious past. Our film history is <strong>in</strong> a sorry state, and our acqua<strong>in</strong>tance with our past is abysmal,<br />
thanks to the relentless efforts of the 'progressives'.<br />
There are certa<strong>in</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant tropes of the communist version of our c<strong>in</strong>ema history which are<br />
repeated to the po<strong>in</strong>t of be<strong>in</strong>g cliché s<strong>in</strong>ce the communists took over <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>telligentsia: the precommunistic<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema of the past was generally unregenerate, as opposed to the chosen proletarian<br />
art approved by the Party that will one day occupy the world, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the Marxist telos. It was<br />
reactionary, not revolutionary, avant-garde and experimental, like the c<strong>in</strong>ema made by the<br />
progressive left-oriented film-makers. It was star-centric, <strong>in</strong>dividualist and profit-motivated, as<br />
opposed to the true collective art of people's c<strong>in</strong>ema. It was theatrical and full of overact<strong>in</strong>g, as<br />
opposed to the anti-professional doctr<strong>in</strong>es of neo-realist c<strong>in</strong>ema which believed with a a puritan<br />
zealotry <strong>in</strong> the non-actors' ability to depict the truth of life.<br />
Sadly, like most of the left-liberal clichés , the progressive fetish aga<strong>in</strong>st professional actors<br />
too turns out to be hollow. Satyajit Ray recalls an <strong>in</strong>cident where an admirer of his film (named Mrs<br />
Flaherty, who was the wife of renowned director Robert Flaherty) <strong>in</strong> United States refused to<br />
believe that there were professional actors – and not rustic villagers – <strong>in</strong> Pather Panchali (Our<br />
Films Their Films 55-56). There was an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g encounter between Ritwik Ghatak and Chhabi<br />
Biswas (the former was direct<strong>in</strong>g the latter <strong>in</strong> a film titled Koto Ojanare that never got f<strong>in</strong>ished and<br />
released) where Ritwik began as sceptical of Chhabi's professional brand of act<strong>in</strong>g and after a day's
30|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
shoot<strong>in</strong>g was over, became a huge admirer and exclaimed: “Baapre, aami kaake obh<strong>in</strong>oy shekhaate<br />
giyechhilaam” (My God, whom I did try to teach act<strong>in</strong>g!) (Das 261).<br />
Ah<strong>in</strong>dra Choudhury happens to be one of the ma<strong>in</strong> accused who are counted among the<br />
practitioners of the ancien regime of an unregenerate theatricality, an oft-raised charge that is<br />
repeated <strong>in</strong> left-lean<strong>in</strong>g critic Amitabha Dasgupta's article, “Nawo Shudhu Chhobi” (202). However,<br />
Ah<strong>in</strong>dra was the maker, de facto director and ma<strong>in</strong> actor of a silent film produced <strong>in</strong> Kolkata <strong>in</strong><br />
1920, titled Soul of a Slave, which makes him one of the earliest pioneers of <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry,<br />
and this film was made even before he made it big on commercial stage. If one follows the<br />
conception and production of the film as detailed <strong>in</strong> his autobiography Nijere Haraye Khnuji, one<br />
will realize that Ah<strong>in</strong>dra was keenly aware of the differences between film and theatre, even <strong>in</strong><br />
1920. Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha recollects an event from the shoot<strong>in</strong>g of a film based on Sharat Chandra's novel<br />
Datta <strong>in</strong> his memoir Mone Pore, where Ah<strong>in</strong>dra criticized the director's theatrical style “I have done<br />
Rashbehari a thousand times on stage. I know everyone's dialogue by heart. But is this c<strong>in</strong>ema that<br />
is happen<strong>in</strong>g? This is just stage. I cannot take it anymore” (38). We <strong>in</strong>deed had a lot of badly made<br />
theatrical films <strong>in</strong> the early days, but we had masters of the craft at the same time. Pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
masters and the abusers <strong>in</strong> the same brush smacks of vested <strong>in</strong>terests.<br />
Ah<strong>in</strong>dra accepted the offer to direct a Telugu movie titled Vipranarayan <strong>in</strong> 1937 though he<br />
did not know the language and all he could do was to look after act<strong>in</strong>g and technicalities as he<br />
rem<strong>in</strong>isced <strong>in</strong> his Nijere Haraye Khnuji (2: 130). The film was a success, and shortly after that, he<br />
was recognized by the common people <strong>in</strong> South India when he went to visit modern day Andhra<br />
Pradesh (2: 169), he was held <strong>in</strong> high esteem and was also given a public felicitation (2: 200). South<br />
Indian films were shot <strong>in</strong> Kolkata studios those days. Today while <strong>Bengali</strong> films are copy<strong>in</strong>g South<br />
Indian movies and are be<strong>in</strong>g made <strong>in</strong> South Indian studios, one can not help the feel<strong>in</strong>g that it is a<br />
vengeance of history on the <strong>Bengali</strong>s who have failed to celebrate, promote and protect their<br />
cultural heritage.
32|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Ah<strong>in</strong>dra Choudhury<br />
Ah<strong>in</strong>dra was a master of the stage, and was given the title Notoshurjo (Sun among the<br />
actors) for his performance <strong>in</strong> Shontan, an adaptation from Bankim's Anandamath. This play was<br />
performed <strong>in</strong> spite of hostilities from a number of Islamic organizations who had the open support<br />
of the then Prime M<strong>in</strong>ister of Bengal Government (led by Muslim League) Khaja Nazimudd<strong>in</strong>, as<br />
Rabi Basu po<strong>in</strong>ts out, and also reports that Syamaprasad Mukherjee stepped <strong>in</strong> to ensure that the<br />
performance of the play takes place (2: 111). Ah<strong>in</strong>dra was <strong>in</strong>deed the greatest actor of <strong>Bengali</strong> stage<br />
<strong>in</strong> those days (closely rivaled by Shishir Bhaduri). But to say that Ah<strong>in</strong>dra did not understand the<br />
difference between stage and c<strong>in</strong>ema is a gesture of gross ignorance and characterizes the sweep<strong>in</strong>g<br />
left-liberal progressive generalization about the glorious period of early <strong>Bengali</strong> stage and c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
which they have denigrated to the best of their capacity.<br />
Personalities like Ah<strong>in</strong>dra Choudhury heralded a golden age <strong>in</strong> early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema that<br />
culm<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> the New Theatres, prior to the 'left-progressive' hegemony <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> art and culture.<br />
They were characteristically pragmatic about the popular pulse, they were masters of their craft,<br />
they nurtured their Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess to the core and spoke truth <strong>in</strong> their memoir without car<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
jargons of left-liberal political correctness. When <strong>Bengali</strong>s first ventured <strong>in</strong>to moviemak<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />
only c<strong>in</strong>ema hall <strong>in</strong> north Kolkata, Cornwallis C<strong>in</strong>ema, were under the ownership of the non-<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>s (Parsee owners Madan Theatres); they made it impossible for films made by <strong>Bengali</strong>s to<br />
be released, as Ah<strong>in</strong>dra Choudhury recollects, and to cope up with this problem, a <strong>Bengali</strong>-owned
33|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
playhouse named Monomohon Theatre promptly changed to a c<strong>in</strong>ema hall to show movies made by<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>s (2: 60). Dhiraj Bhattacharya records <strong>in</strong> his memoir Jokhon Nayok Chhilam the dirty<br />
politics he suffered when he was offered a role as a hero <strong>in</strong> a H<strong>in</strong>di/Urdu film to be made by the<br />
Madan Theatres; overnight there was an alliance of the non-<strong>Bengali</strong>s (mostly Muslims who<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ated the fields of direction, music, script and dance) at Madan Theatres who did not want<br />
H<strong>in</strong>di-Urdu c<strong>in</strong>ema to be <strong>in</strong>vaded by a <strong>Bengali</strong> hero, and he was unjustly shown the door (166-<br />
169). The candid confession of Dhiraj without car<strong>in</strong>g for political correctness is a case <strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t: the<br />
past masters saw reality without the t<strong>in</strong>ged glass of false liberal idealism that would later come to<br />
dom<strong>in</strong>ate <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>telligentsia.<br />
This is not the case that idea of communistic excesses is unfamiliar with <strong>Bengali</strong>s,<br />
particularly s<strong>in</strong>ce 2006-7 when mass opposition to the rul<strong>in</strong>g Left Front Government began. But<br />
liberalism rema<strong>in</strong>s such a deep rooted doctr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> pysche, and the divid<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>e between<br />
left-w<strong>in</strong>g politics and liberal politics is so blurred that that <strong>in</strong> a recent play of Bratya Basu, titled<br />
Ruddhoshongeet Ritwik Ghatak has been portrayed as an arch crusader for artistic freedom aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
Party's doctr<strong>in</strong>aire and dogmatic leadership, as a k<strong>in</strong>d of liberal idol. But if one reads the collected<br />
non-fictional writ<strong>in</strong>gs of Ghatak, Cholochchitro, Manush ebong Aro Kichu the impression one gets<br />
is that Ghatak was dogmatic <strong>in</strong> a charactersitically communistic way. Particularly, the “Pr<strong>in</strong>ciples of<br />
Gananatya Sangha” (the Bengal chapter of IPTA) that was penned by Ritwik, is a typical study of<br />
Communist Party's propaganda: full of jargons, propagat<strong>in</strong>g a cult of <strong>in</strong>tolerance and m<strong>in</strong>dless<br />
submission to Party slogans characterize this manifesto (Ghatak 42-55).<br />
Nevertheless, Ritwik Ghatak had occasional praise for Pramathesh Barua, and urged others<br />
to study <strong>Bengali</strong> and Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> details before gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to Eisenste<strong>in</strong> and Pudovk<strong>in</strong> and the<br />
hsitories of Italian, Hungarian and Russian movies; he also comments that “we have been<br />
contemptuous about our own surround<strong>in</strong>g” (73). Ritwik Ghatak is an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g study <strong>in</strong> contrasts.<br />
In spite of be<strong>in</strong>g considered the authority on partition centric movies, he actually lived <strong>in</strong> a denial of
33|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the partition: <strong>in</strong>stead of analys<strong>in</strong>g it, he <strong>always</strong> simply thought that it should never have happened,<br />
he <strong>always</strong> refused to “accept” it (290), as if it did not become a reality till he accepted it, and<br />
commented that he did not have anyth<strong>in</strong>g else to say about partition, except that this cutt<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Bengal <strong>in</strong>to two parts was a disaster (290). There is a touch<strong>in</strong>g melodrama <strong>in</strong> his attitude, but he<br />
fails abjectly to offer an artistic <strong>in</strong>terpretation of partition: but then how could he <strong>in</strong>terpret<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g that he <strong>always</strong> lived <strong>in</strong> denial of? Cultural clashes (just like religion, myth and faith)<br />
constituted a bl<strong>in</strong>d spot <strong>in</strong> the class only vision of the communists. His class conscious sympathy<br />
for the Muslims of Bangladesh notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g, Ritwik had to go alone to Bangladesh for shoot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Titas Ekti Nodir Nam as it was <strong>in</strong>sisted by his Bangladeshi producers that his unit for Titas could not<br />
have <strong>in</strong> it a s<strong>in</strong>gle Indian (296). It goes without say<strong>in</strong>g that the tremendous oppression on the<br />
H<strong>in</strong>dus <strong>in</strong> East Pakistan/Bangladesh has never been a matter of concern for Ritwik. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly,<br />
after he returned from Bangladesh, Ritwik Ghatak enthusiastically started address<strong>in</strong>g his<br />
<strong>in</strong>terviewer <strong>in</strong> Kolkata (not a Muslim) as Mian (307). Bilet Ferat (England Returned) of 1921 was a<br />
comedy film by Dhiren Ganguly, one of the earliest films made <strong>in</strong> Bengal, and we th<strong>in</strong>k there could<br />
have been a Bangladesh Ferat with a character like Ritwik as its ma<strong>in</strong> protagonist.<br />
Ritwik exhibited an unusual propensity of call<strong>in</strong>g those he disagreed with CIA agents: a<br />
film-maker or two who could do someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> India already sold themselves off to CIA, he<br />
thundered (88). All those who are mak<strong>in</strong>g blockbuster movies with superior techniques at the<br />
<strong>in</strong>vestment of big capital are CIA agents too (30), and Delhi is full of CIA agents who do not allow<br />
revolutionary movies to be made (326), as Ritwik po<strong>in</strong>ts out. About fellow film-makers and artists<br />
who fail to toe the world revolutionary l<strong>in</strong>e, he reserves some choicest abuses: Ritwik calls<br />
Bergman a “jochchor” (sw<strong>in</strong>dler) because he depicts myth, spirituality, religious symbols and<br />
ancient mythical times of the Vik<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> his films (<strong>in</strong>stead of show<strong>in</strong>g some proper materialistic and<br />
atheist subjects <strong>in</strong> a suitably communistic outlook), and accuses that Bergman is tak<strong>in</strong>g the audience<br />
backward, <strong>in</strong>stead of expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the ancient times away <strong>in</strong> the terms of the present; Ritwik Ghatak's
34|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
typically communistic hatred aga<strong>in</strong>st Bergman for fail<strong>in</strong>g to be suitably materialistic reveals a<br />
dogmatist and doctr<strong>in</strong>aire approach (274-6). Ritwik Ghatak call<strong>in</strong>g Bergman a sw<strong>in</strong>dler for<br />
celebrat<strong>in</strong>g myth can not help rem<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g us of Herbert be<strong>in</strong>g called a sw<strong>in</strong>dler by the rationalists.<br />
However, the same Ritwik Ghatak later on makes a volte-face and talks animatedly about myth and<br />
Indian perspectives because by then the west's emphasis on spirituality became to potent a force not<br />
to reckon with, and Ritwik meanwhile becomes fashionably converted to the theories of Carl<br />
Gustav Jung, who, he th<strong>in</strong>ks, complements Marxism (299-302). But there is no reason to believe<br />
that an attachment to myth might have mitigated his communistic materialism. on another occasion,<br />
Ritwik particularly praises the satire on religion <strong>in</strong> Buñuel's Viridiana; Buñuel, by show<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
“entire Roman Catholic dogma is bogus”, has become the greatest artist of contemporary times<br />
(319).<br />
Form and aesthetics are rooted <strong>in</strong> cultural consciousness worldwide, and religion is the most<br />
important popular culture. The local roots of a film makes it an authentic artefact: <strong>in</strong> other words,<br />
skilful use of myth, religion, spirituality, faith and popular memory is the hallmark of good c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
There is <strong>always</strong> plenty of universalism <strong>in</strong> talks of c<strong>in</strong>ematographic techniques, which are abstract,<br />
objective, scientific and are supposedly <strong>in</strong>ternational, but this universalism is actually a liberal<br />
reification of c<strong>in</strong>ema, because c<strong>in</strong>ema atta<strong>in</strong>s the status of art only <strong>in</strong> its cultural specificity, its<br />
rootedness, its celebration of the local myth, tradition, popular faith and history. Therefore, <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema can aspire to the status of art only by becom<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>Bengali</strong> nationalist art.<br />
Most probably along the l<strong>in</strong>e of the Soviets, Ritwik also realized that film-mak<strong>in</strong>g is a<br />
question of “the flourish of the <strong>in</strong>ner soul of the country” and that c<strong>in</strong>ema was not just <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
but it was a national art too, and called for the “nationalization” of Indian film <strong>in</strong>dustry (190); by<br />
this term he meant that film <strong>in</strong>dustry should be state owned. This is not to argue that communist<br />
party and left w<strong>in</strong>g politics have any <strong>in</strong>herent opposition with a nationality's <strong>in</strong>terests. Worldwide,<br />
<strong>in</strong> most of the countries, left politics has synchronized itself well with national traditions. However,
35|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the left of India (not Indian left, as the communist parties <strong>always</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed that they are not Indian<br />
communist parties, but communist parties of India) has a long history of anti-national activities and<br />
has rema<strong>in</strong>ed accomplices of British (later Soviet and still later Ch<strong>in</strong>ese) imperialism.<br />
Ritwik's dogmatic, doctr<strong>in</strong>aire and <strong>in</strong>tolerant side was aga<strong>in</strong> revealed when he attacked all<br />
poetry that was written after Sukanta (though he was ready to make an exception “sometimes for<br />
Subhash”) on the pretext of be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>comprehensible and reactionary. Sunil Gangopadhyay and<br />
Shakti Chattopadhyay were named among those who drank liquor and recited poetry which was<br />
noth<strong>in</strong>g but “outcome of constipation” (213).<br />
At one level Ritwik talks of the masses, and at another level, admits that he has mostly failed<br />
to connect to them: the <strong>in</strong>surmountable difference between the radical jargons and reality of popular<br />
culture leads to this fallacy. Ritwik laments that the usual th<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>always</strong> happens with his movies<br />
is that the ten penny and six penny seats rema<strong>in</strong> empty while the educated bhadraloks are the only<br />
spectators (297). <strong>Bengali</strong> leftyism has actually been a spectacle of high-brow upper class upper<br />
caste people anxiously uphold<strong>in</strong>g their difference from the rest of ignorant, superstitious populace.<br />
The former stands for culture, while the rest stands for oposhongshkriti (bad culture). Ritwik was<br />
flabbergasted when a film distributor told him “Mister, make a film like Kolitirtho Kalighat<br />
(Kalighat, Pilgrimage of Kali Yuga), so that the spectators throw fistfuls of co<strong>in</strong>s at the silver<br />
screen. We get a penny or two by sell<strong>in</strong>g those films” (185).<br />
Because the experimental avant garde art championed by the 'progressives' failed to reach<br />
out to the masses, the 'progressives' consoled themselves by concoct<strong>in</strong>g a myth that the popular<br />
plays and films <strong>in</strong> Bengal which were commercially successful were artistically retrograde. It is an<br />
oft repeated charge that the commercial stage of Kolkata was deeply submerged with<strong>in</strong> the<br />
quagmire of ancien regime, with no express contact with latest European experimentalism (unless<br />
the communists arrived on scene with Nobanno). Noth<strong>in</strong>g could be furtrher than the truth. For<br />
example, the play P.W.D where Durgadas Bandyopadhyay acted <strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong> role (first staged <strong>in</strong>
36|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
1940) made use of the verfremdung technique of Brecht, where actors drew the audience's attention<br />
to the constructed nature of the play. A self-conscious theatricality marked this play while the actors<br />
on stage acknowledged themselves as actors. Sudhiranjan Mukhopadhyay's book Shei Nayok<br />
Durgadas gives an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g account of the performance of P.W.D.. The thespians did not make a<br />
cult of Brecht; they did not utter mouthful of theories and did not attempt to run after latest<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectual fashions; they did not even speak of alienation or verfremdung; without do<strong>in</strong>g that they<br />
could be experimental, and immensely popular too, as they could connect to their masses and share<br />
their Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
This play used to beg<strong>in</strong> with Durgadas com<strong>in</strong>g on stage with a list of actors, and he<br />
summoned them one by one. He called the real names of the actors and they all responded from<br />
with<strong>in</strong> the auditorium: they came on to the stage from the spectators' seats. The play's end uses the<br />
verfremdung strategy aga<strong>in</strong>. The actors assume that the play is over and start tak<strong>in</strong>g off their<br />
costumes and props while still be<strong>in</strong>g on the stage and the curta<strong>in</strong> be<strong>in</strong>g still raised; someone starts<br />
humm<strong>in</strong>g a tune, and someone starts criticiz<strong>in</strong>g someone else's act<strong>in</strong>g. In the midst of these, the<br />
prompter enters hurriedly with the script, a flute and a torch and exclaims, “what on earth are you<br />
people do<strong>in</strong>g? The curta<strong>in</strong> has not dropped yet.” Durgadas' character, Mr Sen <strong>in</strong>quires why, and he<br />
is told that he is yet to deliver his f<strong>in</strong>al dialogue. Durgadas: “Is it so? Give me ten rupees. No? Ha<br />
ha ha. Well, then P.W.D. Work is over. Good night ladies and gentlemen.” Then all the actors s<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
chorus: “This earthly world of Maya and illusion is our stage/ the way playmaster Mr Jolodhor<br />
makes one up, he plays that role” and the play comes to an end (Sudhiranjan Mukhopadhyay 99).<br />
This play atta<strong>in</strong>ed legendary popularity and was also an example of collective act<strong>in</strong>g, which<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the communist view did not exist prior to Nobanno.<br />
We had a commercially successful and artistically <strong>in</strong>novative tradition of perform<strong>in</strong>g arts <strong>in</strong><br />
Bengal for a long time, but what happens after the left-liberal <strong>in</strong>telligentsia came to dom<strong>in</strong>ate the<br />
scenario, was an assault on that tradition. Partition not just deprived us of an immense market, but
37|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
threw the domestic economy <strong>in</strong>to deep jeopardy. <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema gradually became commercially<br />
sick, the <strong>in</strong>dustry began to dry up as the audiences were not gett<strong>in</strong>g the popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment which<br />
characterized other prom<strong>in</strong>ent <strong>in</strong>dustries of India, most notably H<strong>in</strong>di and Tamil. We can read<br />
Herbert as an allegory of our shr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g cultural production. One dom<strong>in</strong>ant theme of popular c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
is that of production and manufactur<strong>in</strong>g of narrative. A look at Mumbai-based <strong>Bengali</strong> scriptwriter<br />
Sach<strong>in</strong> Bhowmik's Collected Works confirms that popular narratives are manufactured out of the<br />
already exist<strong>in</strong>g elements of popular imag<strong>in</strong>ation; popular c<strong>in</strong>ema, <strong>in</strong> other words destroys the<br />
enlightenment derived Romanticism of an orig<strong>in</strong>al auteur, the liberal humanist fantasy of a<br />
visionary film-maker. Popular c<strong>in</strong>ema, like epic and ballad, comes out of the social cultural and<br />
political roots of a people. Surapati Marik is a producer who wants to manufacture a hit narrative<br />
out of Herbert's dialogues with the dead, as he is able to detect the elements of a popular formula <strong>in</strong><br />
them. He calls Herbert “choubachhar telapia” (small fish from bath tub), whom he wants to promote<br />
and make big (55). The idea stuck to Herbert and it appeared <strong>in</strong> his suicide note. The small fish of<br />
bath tub now goes to the confluence of Ganga and Bay of Bengal, Herbert writes <strong>in</strong> his suicide note.<br />
His suicide was an avenue towards a bigger and unknown world, he hoped. He did not know that he<br />
would literally make a blast.<br />
Satyajit Ray s<strong>in</strong>gs praise to the formula movie made <strong>in</strong> Bombay <strong>in</strong> his book Bombaier<br />
Bombete from the Feluda series. He comes back to the question of formula (for the commercial<br />
success of a film) <strong>in</strong> Our Films Their Films (90-91). Satyajit Ray himself celebrated popular<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>in</strong> films like Parash Pathar with Tulsi Chakraborty (who characterizes stage and<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema act<strong>in</strong>g prior to arrival of leftists). Satyajit succeeded to make great movies because of actors<br />
like Chhabi Biswas, he exploited Jatra tradition <strong>in</strong> Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne ( a deeply operatic and<br />
fantastic movie). He explores the charm, fantasy and adventure of re<strong>in</strong>carnation <strong>in</strong> Sonar Kella. It is<br />
then self-contradictory on Satyajit's part that he cont<strong>in</strong>ues to whip up 'progressive' clichés aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
early <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema for pander<strong>in</strong>g to formulas of popular enterta<strong>in</strong>ment (<strong>in</strong> Our Films Their Films
38|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
and Bishoy Cholochchitro). The film society movement (Satyajit is reputed to be one of its found<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fathers) <strong>in</strong> Bengal has practised a systematic politics of denigrat<strong>in</strong>g our past glories. As a typical<br />
example, we can take Cholochchitrer Obhidhan (Encyclopedia of C<strong>in</strong>ema) by Dhiman Dasgupta:<br />
this book is a characteristic product of film society movement, and is absolutely silent on <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema prior to Satyajit Ray.<br />
A hatred for Bengal's glorious past, a distaste for the pagan Jahiliyyah, the heathendom of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema characterizeed the progressive film-buffs produced by the film societies. Gaston<br />
Roberge's (a Jesuit teacher of films based <strong>in</strong> Kolkata, also one of the lead<strong>in</strong>g members of film<br />
society movement <strong>in</strong> Kolkata) C<strong>in</strong>emar Kotha (Tale of C<strong>in</strong>ema) is another book that is totally silent<br />
on <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. The title should have been 'the tale of c<strong>in</strong>ema except Bengal'. It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
note that the foreword to this book is written by Satyajit Ray who only mentions western c<strong>in</strong>ema,<br />
European avant garde and the fashionably <strong>in</strong>tellectual film movement as if <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema does not<br />
even exist. And this book was written <strong>in</strong> Kolkata meant to be read by the <strong>Bengali</strong>s. The attempt at<br />
the denationalization of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s started by the British was cont<strong>in</strong>ued by the <strong>in</strong>ternationaliz<strong>in</strong>g<br />
drives of the communist party. International <strong>always</strong> meant ap<strong>in</strong>g the whites, Russian or American or<br />
any European ideal, depend<strong>in</strong>g on which end of the left-liberal spectrum one f<strong>in</strong>d oneself.<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema used to be thriv<strong>in</strong>g once. It was the first <strong>in</strong>dustry outside Hollywood that<br />
was called its semblance Tollywood. Madan Studio was renamed Tollywood Studio for a brief<br />
period (still later it became Indrapuri Studio), and s<strong>in</strong>ce then the name stuck. (Dhiraj Bhattacharya<br />
179). As the <strong>in</strong>dustry became sick and began to suffer because of poor commerce, Satyajit Ray<br />
compla<strong>in</strong>ed that if a <strong>Bengali</strong> film was made at a cost of 150000, <strong>in</strong> n<strong>in</strong>e out of ten cases it would not<br />
get its money back (Our Films Their Films 39). However, Ray's argument <strong>in</strong> the same ve<strong>in</strong> that<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> is understood by only 15% of Indian population, and therefore <strong>Bengali</strong> films yield poor<br />
commerce is hard to swallow. Tamil was understood by even lesser number of people, but that did<br />
not prevent them from hav<strong>in</strong>g a gigantic blockbuster like Chandralekha (produced and directed by
39|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
legendary Tamil film-maker S S Vasan) <strong>in</strong> 1948 that was made at a cost of 600,000 USD and was<br />
released on 609 screens worldwide, accord<strong>in</strong>g to the wikipedia article.<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema gradually withdrew <strong>in</strong>to an <strong>in</strong>ternationalist cocoon, if we are allowed the<br />
oxymoron. Films started be<strong>in</strong>g made for festivals, while ma<strong>in</strong>stream movies suffered from lack of<br />
capital, lack of creative support from the ascendancy class (which was now too enchanted with<br />
revolutionary ideals to th<strong>in</strong>k about popular c<strong>in</strong>ema), and lack of any social direction as Bengal came<br />
<strong>in</strong> the firm grip of the communist movement. Satyajit himself pioneered <strong>in</strong> festival-centric<br />
moviemak<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
With the second film I grew bolder, and the consequences were less happy. My mistake from<br />
a commercial po<strong>in</strong>t of view, was to take even bigger liberties with my source material than<br />
<strong>in</strong> Pateh Panchali which had at least reta<strong>in</strong>ed the ma<strong>in</strong> contours of the orig<strong>in</strong>al. As a result,<br />
the urban audiene which was largely familiar with the plot of Aparajito was irritated by the<br />
deviations. As for the suburban audience, it was shocked by the portrayal of the mother and<br />
son relationship, so sharply at variance with the conventional notion of mutual sweetness<br />
and devotion.<br />
Aparajito lost money. It was at this po<strong>in</strong>t that the European film festivals came <strong>in</strong>to<br />
the picture. The awards won by the two films put a new complexion on the situation, and I<br />
realized that a <strong>Bengali</strong> film-maker did not have to depend on the home market alone. (Our<br />
Films Their Films 42)<br />
The ascendancy's version of reality f<strong>in</strong>ds a dom<strong>in</strong>ant place <strong>in</strong> literature and art, and new realism <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema was the dom<strong>in</strong>ant world view of the left-lean<strong>in</strong>g middle classes. The ballad<br />
traditions of India, and folk conventions were looked down upon. Songs and dances were an<br />
anathema for left puritans who were passionate to see their version of reality be<strong>in</strong>g depicted on<br />
screen. As a result, <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual films failed to connect to their masses, and <strong>Bengali</strong> film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry took its downward turn.
40|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Kanu Bandyopadhyay (Who Played Harihar <strong>in</strong> Pather Panchali) went completely unnoticed<br />
and unappreciated <strong>in</strong> the role of Ramakrishna <strong>in</strong> the film Bhagaban Sri Sri Ramkrishna that<br />
released four months after Pather Panchali and the film went <strong>in</strong>to oblivion ever s<strong>in</strong>ce, a fact<br />
lamented by noted film historian Rabi Basu who considered the act<strong>in</strong>g of Kanu Bandyopadhyay <strong>in</strong><br />
the role of Ramakrishna at par with Pather Panchali; Basu compla<strong>in</strong>ed that the film society<br />
movement <strong>in</strong>spired <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>tellectual spectators did not give this film its due (2: 75).<br />
Popular elements like religion and myth (not to speak of songs and dances) could ensure<br />
success of a film. But those elements were totally untouchable for the new regime. In 1958, Satyait<br />
Ray castigates the familiar and well-trodden paths that a director may take to deliver a blockbuster:<br />
There are three familiar and well-trodden path open to him. He can make mythological<br />
films, or he can make 'devotional' ones, or he can make 'socials' – preferably melodramas –<br />
which must have the adornment of the latest favourite star team. All three must have the<br />
usual concomitant of songs and dances and must not be below two and a half hours <strong>in</strong><br />
length. This last proviso is so rigid, and so firm is the exhibitor's faith <strong>in</strong> it, that a film which<br />
dares to disregard it may never see the light of day.<br />
Needless to say, these formulas do not work every time, but they are the ones that<br />
have had the longest and the most lucrative existence. They have evolved out of the<br />
producers' deliberate and susta<strong>in</strong>ed play<strong>in</strong>g down to a vast body of unsophisticated audience<br />
on the simple tradition of the Jatra, a form of rural drama whose broad gestures, loud<br />
rhetoric and simple emotional patterns have been reta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> the films to a degree<br />
unimag<strong>in</strong>able to those not familiar with this unique form of film mak<strong>in</strong>g. The songs and<br />
dances too are a legacy of the theatrical-operatic tradition.<br />
One can imag<strong>in</strong>e a utopian situation where the spread of literacy might have gone<br />
hand <strong>in</strong> hand with an attempt on the part of the producers to come out of the groove and<br />
present the film-go<strong>in</strong>g public with someth<strong>in</strong>g more worthwhile than tired rework<strong>in</strong>g of
41|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
hackneyed old patterns. But this has not happened and is not likely to happen for some<br />
decades yet, unless some chance revolution should br<strong>in</strong>g about the process. So the<br />
mythologicals and devotionals will stay and cont<strong>in</strong>ue to provide the staple fare for the<br />
majority of Bengal's film public. What, then, should the srious film maker do? Should he<br />
accept the situation and apply himself to the mak<strong>in</strong>g of serious mythologicals and serious<br />
devotionals, keep<strong>in</strong>g the popular <strong>in</strong>gredients and cloth<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong> the semblance of art? This<br />
is obviously a way out of the impasse, but it raioses an important question: can a serious<br />
film maker, work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>India, afford to shut his eyes to the reality around him, the reality that<br />
is so poignant and so urgently <strong>in</strong> need of <strong>in</strong>terpretation <strong>in</strong> terms of the c<strong>in</strong>ema? I do not th<strong>in</strong>k<br />
so.<br />
For the truly serious, socially conscious film maker, there can be no prolonged<br />
withdrawals <strong>in</strong>to fantasy. He must face the challenge of contemporary reality, exam<strong>in</strong>e the<br />
facts, probe them, sift them and select from them the material to be transformed <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
stuff of c<strong>in</strong>ema. (Our Films Their Films 40-41)<br />
Let us remember the days when <strong>Bengali</strong> films were successful, delivered hits <strong>in</strong> all those<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellectually prohibited genres, and the <strong>in</strong>dustry was thriv<strong>in</strong>g (not just due to the black money<br />
flow<strong>in</strong>g from war-contracts). Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha jo<strong>in</strong>ed New Theatres <strong>in</strong> 1946 as an assistant to the<br />
legendary sound recordist Bani Dutta. The first play back mach<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> India was manufactured <strong>in</strong><br />
New Theatres studio by Bani Dutta and Mukul Bose, at a time when the rest of India simply used to<br />
import these mach<strong>in</strong>es from the West; Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha recollects fondly <strong>in</strong> his memoir that some of the<br />
best talents from Calcutta University's science college used to jo<strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry as<br />
technical experts <strong>in</strong> those days (33). Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha furthers draws our attention to the fact that New<br />
Theatres produced some of the best technicians <strong>in</strong> the Indian film <strong>in</strong>dustry (36), most of whom later<br />
had to migrate to Bombay while some went to Madras.<br />
Now I shall turn to the memoir of Asit Sen: this book records both the height of <strong>Bengali</strong> film
42|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry's glory as well as its most pathetic downturns as the 'progressive' hegemony beg<strong>in</strong>s from<br />
the 1950s and is complete by the 1970s. By the mid 50s, as Asit Sen recalls <strong>in</strong> his memoir, Bimal<br />
Roy comes to a function <strong>in</strong> Kolkata and laments the poor technical quality of <strong>Bengali</strong> films which<br />
otherwise def<strong>in</strong>itely came under the category of good c<strong>in</strong>ema (9). <strong>Bengali</strong> films were unanimously<br />
considered to be models by the rest of India, and were reproduced and copied <strong>in</strong> Bombay and<br />
Madras, sometimes unauthorized copy<strong>in</strong>g took place too. Shammi Kapoor produced an<br />
unauthorized version of Asit Sen's Deep Jwele Jaai at a time when Asit Sen himself was direct<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the H<strong>in</strong>di version (titled Khamoshi) of his <strong>Bengali</strong> blockbuster (141-2). Shammi's film, called<br />
Pagla Kah<strong>in</strong> Ka reversed the roles of hero and hero<strong>in</strong>e. In this film the mental patient was the<br />
protagonist, not the lady doctor, while Shammi spoke all the dialogues which Suchitra mouthed <strong>in</strong><br />
Deep Jwele Jai. This anecdotal history, funny no doubt, proves that Asit Sen, who was reputed to<br />
follow the gharana of New Theatres could deliver successful films and strike an <strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />
balance too (the subject matter makes it sombre; no dance is possible, but wonderful songs and a<br />
romance make the day).<br />
Shubhendu Roy (later one of the most renowned Art Directors of Bombay film <strong>in</strong>dustry)<br />
was runn<strong>in</strong>g a wooden furniture shop at Lansdowne Road after New Theatres closed down. The<br />
shop did not run well and he actually decided to go back to his ancestral village <strong>in</strong> Pabna district <strong>in</strong><br />
East Pakistan; Asit Sen and another friend forcibly made him deboard the tra<strong>in</strong> to East Pakistan<br />
from Sealdah (Sen 18). It was the dawn of the desperately diseased time that would s<strong>in</strong>ce prevail <strong>in</strong><br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry, the desperate times from which this <strong>in</strong>dustry never quite recovered. Asit<br />
Sen after deliver<strong>in</strong>g some very successful movies, almost all of them strongly woman centric, made<br />
Uttar Phalguni <strong>in</strong> 1963 and had to sit idle for a year dur<strong>in</strong>g which he turned to agriculture after<br />
purchas<strong>in</strong>g some farm land <strong>in</strong> Baruipur <strong>in</strong> 24 Parganas (26-27, 45, 61).<br />
S. S. Vasan (who made Chandralekha <strong>in</strong> late 1940s which created a history <strong>in</strong> Indian movie<br />
Industry and was <strong>in</strong> fact the first stepp<strong>in</strong>g stone towards the eventual Southern Dom<strong>in</strong>ance <strong>in</strong> Indian
43|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema) brought a number of <strong>Bengali</strong>s to his Gem<strong>in</strong>i Studio <strong>in</strong> Madras which <strong>in</strong>cluded the names<br />
like Nimai Ghosh and Ajoy Kar and P. K. Sen (now forgotten, he was a legend <strong>in</strong> film laboratory<br />
technology), and Vasan wanted Asit Sen to take over from him the director's mantle of Gem<strong>in</strong>i<br />
Studio, as Asit Sen's memoir records (39). Asit Sen refused as he did not want to leave Kolkata.<br />
Irony is that later Asit Sen had to shift his base from Bengal to Bombay, as he could not survive <strong>in</strong><br />
Kolkata. The great exodus of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s thus is a sorry tale of migration and must not be misread<br />
as a glorious and adventurous expansion. Sadly the migrated <strong>Bengali</strong>s lacked any sense of<br />
community and communal bond <strong>in</strong> sojourn (Sen 34). The legendary crab mentality (“a crab tries to<br />
escape the net while others pull him down”) of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s is mentioned <strong>in</strong> an anecdote popular <strong>in</strong><br />
Bombay film circles which Sen recollects, and laments that <strong>Bengali</strong>s eat the flesh of other <strong>Bengali</strong>s,<br />
which is aga<strong>in</strong>st the practice of the entire animal k<strong>in</strong>gdom (113-14).<br />
There was a time when Uttam Kumar s<strong>in</strong>gle-handedly gave this sick <strong>in</strong>dustry commercially<br />
successful films, most of them hav<strong>in</strong>g the semblance of blockbusters, as here was an artist who was<br />
<strong>in</strong> constant touch with the national pulse of the <strong>Bengali</strong> people. Born <strong>in</strong> 1926, he still carries the<br />
memory of the glory of Bengal <strong>in</strong> art and politics. He was a product of the nationalist age. Little<br />
wonder that he mentioned Khudiram Bose and Bagha Jat<strong>in</strong> as his favourite idols; among the<br />
political icons, his only favourites were Subhash Bose and Syamaprasad Mukherjee (Ashishtaru<br />
Mukhopadhyay 143).<br />
Nevertheless, the ma<strong>in</strong>stream of <strong>Bengali</strong> movies cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be dried up: of capital and of<br />
talents. Our best talents no longer jo<strong>in</strong>ed our <strong>in</strong>dustry. Popular culture was to be looked down upon.<br />
The law of dim<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g returns ensured that our <strong>in</strong>dustry will grow more and more anemic <strong>in</strong><br />
appearance, just like Herbert Sarkar. It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to note that Herbert's lapse <strong>in</strong>to simplistic<br />
thoughts and the gradual loss of his poetic capacity run parallel to the retrogressive metamorphosis<br />
of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. This lapse notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g, Herbert cont<strong>in</strong>ues to nurture an <strong>in</strong>articulate but<br />
organic nostalgia for the old, forgotten times which did not impose alienation. An atmosphere of
44|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
long<strong>in</strong>g (Taan, Maya) dom<strong>in</strong>ates Herbert, a long<strong>in</strong>g for the old world, a long<strong>in</strong>g for what has gone<br />
away. In the movie, Sepia colour is used to convey a certa<strong>in</strong> nostalgia, while technicolour represents<br />
the contemporary.<br />
It rem<strong>in</strong>ds of the old world charm of the early school of c<strong>in</strong>ema actors. The dialogue<br />
delivery was not casual like the neo realist c<strong>in</strong>ema but had a rhythm <strong>in</strong> it: it had a core emotional<br />
appeal. Songs and dances too held a primitive charm for the common people of our land, but these<br />
were an anathema for our bhadralok ascendancy. The deliberate hatred for every tradition that is<br />
native born has been the world-view of a dom<strong>in</strong>ant section of <strong>Bengali</strong> society compris<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
collaborator classes.<br />
In Nabarun Bhattacharya's Herbert, the leader of the rationalists, Pronob Ghosh, while<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g away with his team after <strong>in</strong>sult<strong>in</strong>g, Herbert takes the names of some Europeans who claimed<br />
to practise occult (who are to be contrasted with Herbert who is a mere “Gopal Bhnar”). This<br />
episode is exactly reproduced <strong>in</strong> the film. It clearly establish the Eurocentric attitude of the<br />
rationalists. One process of history that took place <strong>in</strong> Bengal is that with the arrival of the<br />
communist party and its <strong>in</strong>spired <strong>in</strong>telligentsia on the scene, the self-hat<strong>in</strong>g Eurocentric <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
collaborator classes now had a fashionably revolutionary way of hat<strong>in</strong>g their tradition, culture and<br />
past glories, and tak<strong>in</strong>g pride <strong>in</strong> affiliat<strong>in</strong>g themselves with the west, which is precisely the case of<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> torch-bearers of the International Rationalist movement <strong>in</strong> Herbert.<br />
One <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g question about the rationalists can be raised: why they are not <strong>in</strong>terrogated <strong>in</strong><br />
the film, which shows elaborate <strong>in</strong>terrogations done by the police <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g the friends and family<br />
of Herbert. The rationalists could have been quite logically accused of be<strong>in</strong>g abettors <strong>in</strong> Herbert's<br />
suicide. Many naxalites and ex-communists as well as some practis<strong>in</strong>g leftists <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly turned to<br />
rationalist movement (speak<strong>in</strong>g from my own first hand experience of grow<strong>in</strong>g up <strong>in</strong> Bengal <strong>in</strong> the<br />
1980s and 1990s) <strong>in</strong> an overall ambiance of economic determ<strong>in</strong>ism, enlightenment rationality and<br />
progressivist triumphalism that came to rule Bengal s<strong>in</strong>ce its <strong>in</strong>telligentsia and political classes
45|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
affiliated themselves with communist movement. The rationalist movement <strong>in</strong> Bengal, we could<br />
say, came to be dom<strong>in</strong>ated by a characteristically communistic spirit. There is no deny<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
Bengal's rationalists constitute a part of the larger left, liberal and progressive paradigm dom<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g<br />
a state that has seen the longest rule by an elected communist regime <strong>in</strong> the world, and also been the<br />
birthplace of naxalism. Many rationalists be<strong>in</strong>g naxalite radicals, a reader/viewer of Herbert might<br />
feel curious to know their response to the explosion at Herbert's cremation.<br />
Herbert retorts to the rationalists<br />
In many ways the <strong>Bengali</strong> cont<strong>in</strong>uum of compradorship reveals itself <strong>in</strong> the trajectory of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, and the life-movie of Herbert. Satyajit Ray accuses that most of the early <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema used to copy Hollywood, and even Pramathesh Barua's films had an overt appearance of<br />
hybridity, <strong>in</strong>stead of pure Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess (Bishoy Cholochchitro 39-40). There is substantial truth <strong>in</strong><br />
this statement. <strong>Bengali</strong>s have long been captivated by the fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g power of the west. The photo<br />
album of failed director-producer Lalitkumar Sarkar is a case <strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> Nabarun's Herbert (20). It<br />
conta<strong>in</strong>ed the colour images of the who's who from Hollywood. The very name of Herbert is<br />
borrowed from the west: it signifies a submission to the charm of the west. Herbert's father who<br />
made movies <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge was an ardent admirer of Hollywood movies. The name of Herbert<br />
derived from the name of Leslie Howard, as Lalitkumar thought that Herbert resembled that<br />
particular Hollywood actor (21).
46|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Herbert was given a worn-out moth-eaten Ulster coat that orig<strong>in</strong>ally belonged to his uncle,<br />
Girishkumar (27). Herbert wore that and stood <strong>in</strong> front of the mirror and uttered “Cat, Bat, Water,<br />
Dog, Fish” (47). There is a post-colonial angle <strong>in</strong> “Cat Bat Water Dog Fish”; these words may be<br />
the first l<strong>in</strong>e of any English primer. These words signify the charms of English for Herbert who<br />
otherwise does not know the language. The angel's statue at a Shahebpara curio shop, the fairy<br />
outside the w<strong>in</strong>dow on the night of Herbert's suicide, the Ulster coat are core symbols of Kolkata's<br />
fasc<strong>in</strong>ation with the its former rulers from the western hemisphere. Herbert takes a regular walk<br />
everyday dur<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>ter <strong>in</strong> his memorable attire of the Ulster coat (called “Olestar” <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong>), and<br />
Suman Mukhopadhyay's visual imag<strong>in</strong>ation of these strolls is brilliant, though his Herbert wears a<br />
simple overcoat. Herbert stands apart from the crowd. His walks along the streets of Shahebpara<br />
constitute a melancholy signifier of a trapped past that is still powerless to be redeemed. While he<br />
takes solitary strolls <strong>in</strong> the white town of Kolkata, the janitors and ayahs suspect that Herbert may<br />
have European blood <strong>in</strong> his ve<strong>in</strong>s (47). In the film, Herbert <strong>in</strong> his black overcoat also foreshadows<br />
his own death, and I am rem<strong>in</strong>ded of Terry Eagleton's l<strong>in</strong>es: “Peerlessly self-composed, resist<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
dismembered crowd, the flaneur moves majestically aga<strong>in</strong>st that historical gra<strong>in</strong> that would<br />
decompose his body <strong>in</strong>to an alien mean<strong>in</strong>g, reduce his num<strong>in</strong>ous presence to an allegory of loss”<br />
(Walter Benjam<strong>in</strong> 154).<br />
There is a certa<strong>in</strong> human difficulty <strong>in</strong> liv<strong>in</strong>g without myths. The second film of Suman<br />
Mukhopadhyay, Chaturanga, based on Tagore's eponymous novel, traces a post-enlightenment,<br />
post-rationalist journey of two Presidency College educated friends, who f<strong>in</strong>d solace <strong>in</strong> H<strong>in</strong>duism<br />
and become disciples of a spiritual Guru. Herbert never needed a Guru to access myths. A div<strong>in</strong>e<br />
simpleton, he can directly approach certa<strong>in</strong> raw and primordial spaces with<strong>in</strong> human desire, <strong>in</strong> the<br />
unrepressed gesture of communicat<strong>in</strong>g with the dead. Herbert signals the arrival of postenlightenment,<br />
post-rational, post-modern and most importantly post-communist consciousness.<br />
Significantly, Herbert is no dissident manifesto of a Foucauldian madman: say<strong>in</strong>g so would be a
47|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
misread<strong>in</strong>g of Herbert's predicament. The author Nabarun Bhattacharya tried (and quite successfully<br />
did so) to depict the classical tragedy of a circumstantially trapped protagonist, who needs to <strong>in</strong>vent<br />
myths to make sense of the world around him, and just when he is capable of mak<strong>in</strong>g sense of the<br />
world through myths, the world can no longer make any sense out of him, and can only torture him<br />
for be<strong>in</strong>g recalcitrantly resistant to the ways of the rational world. The film of Suman<br />
Mukhopadhyay dextrously transacts this tragedy to celluloid.<br />
Shubhashish Mukhopadhyay (who plays Herbert) <strong>in</strong> conversation with director Suman Mukhopadhyay<br />
Bibliography<br />
Books:<br />
Basu, Rabi. Shat Rong (<strong>in</strong> two volumes). Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 1998.<br />
Bhattacharya, Dhiraj. Jokhon Nayok Chhilam. Kolkata: New Age Publishers Pvt Ltd, 2007.<br />
Bhattacharya, Nabarun. “Amar Kono Bhoy Nei To”. Sreshtho Golpo. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
2006. 263-267.<br />
---. Auto O Bhogi. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2007.<br />
---. Halaljhanda O Onnanno. Kolkata: Shoptorshi Prokashon, 2009.<br />
---. Herbert. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2004.<br />
Bhowmick, Sach<strong>in</strong>. Rochonashomogro. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2011.<br />
Chattopadyay, Abhik, ed. Chironob<strong>in</strong> Nayok Durgadas. Kolkata: Protibhash, 2012.
48|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Choudhury, Ah<strong>in</strong>dra. Nijere Haraye Khnuji (<strong>in</strong> two volumes). Kolkata: Shoptorshi Prokashon, 2011.<br />
Cohen, Keith. Film and Fiction: The Dynamics of Exchange. New Haven and London: Yale<br />
University Press, 1979.<br />
Das, Gopal. “Chhayachhobir Kimbodonti Chhabi Biswas.” Nawo Shudhu Chhobi. Ed. Kalyani<br />
Mondol. Kolkata: Nirajona, 2011. 261-265.<br />
Dasgupta, Amitabha. “Nawo Shudhu Chhobi.” Nawo Shudhu Chhobi. Ed. Kalyani Mondol.<br />
Kolkata: Nirajona, 2011. 199-208.<br />
Dasgupta, Dhiman. CholochchitrerObhidhan. Kolkata: Banishilpo, 2000.<br />
Eagleton, Terry. Walter Benjam<strong>in</strong> or Towards a Revolutionary Criticism. London: Verso, 2009.<br />
Eagleton, Terry and Matthew Beaumont. The Task of the Critic: Terry Eagleton <strong>in</strong> Dialogue .<br />
London: Verso, 2009.<br />
Ghatak, Ritwik. Cholochchitro Manush Ebong Aro Kichhu. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2007.<br />
Hayward, Susan. C<strong>in</strong>ema Studies: The Key Concepts (2 nd edn). London and New York: Routledge,<br />
2000.<br />
Mukhopadhyay, Ashishtaru. Ojana Uttam. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2006.<br />
Mukhopadhyay, Kalish. Bangla Cholochchitroshilper Itihash, 1897 Theke 1947. Kolkata: Patra<br />
Bharati, 2012.<br />
Mukhopadhyay, Sudhiranjan. Shei Nayok Durgadas. Kolkata, Protibhash, 2012.<br />
Ray, Satyajit. Bishoy Cholochchitro. Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Pvt Ltd, 1993.<br />
---. Jokhon Chhoto Chhilam. Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Pvt Ltd, 1992.<br />
---. Our Films Their Films. Hyderabad and New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005.<br />
Raha, Partha. C<strong>in</strong>emar Itibrittanto. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2000.<br />
Roberge, Gaston. C<strong>in</strong>emar Kotha. Kolkata: Banishilpo, 1995.<br />
Sen, Asit. Smritir Shonali Rekha. Kolkata: Dey's Publish<strong>in</strong>g, 2012.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ha, Tapan. Mone Pore. Kolkata: Ananda Publishers Pvt Ltd, 2011.
49|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Thoraval, Yves. The C<strong>in</strong>emas of India. New Delhi: Macmillan India Ltd, 2000.<br />
Onl<strong>in</strong>e Resources:<br />
“An Ord<strong>in</strong>ary Man: Screen On and Off.” The Telegraph. 2 Mar. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.<br />
.<br />
Bag, Shamik. “Nandan's Litmus Test.” livem<strong>in</strong>t.com. 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.<br />
.<br />
Chandralekha. wikipedia.org. 8 May 2012. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.<br />
.<br />
Chatterjee, Shubhajit. “Remapp<strong>in</strong>g Transitions of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong>to The 50s”. jmionl<strong>in</strong>e.org, n.d.<br />
Web. 1 Aug 2012. .<br />
Ganesh, Deepa. “The Outsider and His City.” The H<strong>in</strong>du. 7 Apr. 2006. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.<br />
.<br />
Lee, Nathan. “Storm Advisory: Cyclone of a Life on the Horizon.” The New York Times. 10 Dec.<br />
2008. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. .<br />
“Nandan Frowns on Gay Love Story.” The Telegraph. 20 Dec. 2010. Web. 1 Aug. 2012.<br />
<br />
Rajat Jayanti. IMDB. n.d. Web. 1 Aug. 2012. .<br />
Films:<br />
Mukhopadhyay, Suman, dir. Chaturanga. Perf. Rituparna Sengupta, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Kabir<br />
Suman. Campfire Films Production. 2008.<br />
---. Herbert. Perf. Subhashish Mukhopadhyay, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Bratya Basu. Ripples<br />
Productions, <strong>in</strong> association with Tritriyo Sutra Films. 2006.<br />
---. Mahanagar@Kolkata. Perf. Anjan Dutta, Arun Mukhopadhyay, Rituparna Sengupta. AVA Film
50|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Productions. 2010.<br />
Tamal Dasgupta is an Asst Professor of English at Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, University of<br />
Delhi. He got a first class masters <strong>in</strong> English from Jadavpur University, Kolkata <strong>in</strong> 2005, was<br />
awarded UGC-NET-JRF <strong>in</strong> 2006, and is currently is pursu<strong>in</strong>g his PhD on Terry Eagleton from<br />
University of Calcutta. He is the founder-editor of Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies.
Utopias of Celluloid Love:<br />
The Golden Era of the 1950s & Popular Culture <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Kaustav Kundu<br />
Ei poth jodi na shesh hoi…..<br />
The era of ‘Uttam-Suchitra’, the mid-1950s through the 1960s, is commonly designated as<br />
the ‘golden period’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, and has been rem<strong>in</strong>isced and written about extensively.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g these years, <strong>Bengali</strong> directors were able to produce a genre of film melodrama that became<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegral to a <strong>Bengali</strong> sense of self. Identification was rooted <strong>in</strong> the figures of an idealized female and<br />
an idealistic and ethical male, embodied respectively by Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar, and their<br />
romantic love became the stuff of <strong>in</strong>tense emotional identification among <strong>Bengali</strong>s of the post<strong>in</strong>dependence<br />
generation. With her sophisticated looks, fiery and expressive eyes, strong<br />
personality, and bear<strong>in</strong>g Suchitra Sen was an <strong>in</strong>stant hit with the youth of Bengal <strong>in</strong> the 1960s.<br />
Uttam Kumar, with his famous smile and charm<strong>in</strong>g demeanor, too was a phenomenon to reckon<br />
with. And together, they were an unbeatable romantic pair: of the sixty films Suchitra Sen worked<br />
<strong>in</strong>, thirty were with Uttam Kumar. A whole generation of men and women, especially from the<br />
1950s to the 1970s, grew up on the Uttam-Suchitra magic. Coupled with astound<strong>in</strong>g music and<br />
great scripts, it was the Uttam-Suchitra juti (pair) that became an unbeatable equation. The same<br />
prototypes were common <strong>in</strong> films of that era which did not actually feature Uttam Kumar and
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Suchitra Sen together, and it has been unanimously suggested that ‘Uttam-Suchitra’ should be used<br />
as a sign, for the broader genre of the 1950s and 1960s popular melodrama. This article analyses the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of the 1950s through a study of the Uttam-Suchitra cult. It argues that by the end of<br />
the post-war decade the Bengal film <strong>in</strong>dustry was f<strong>in</strong>ally effective <strong>in</strong> secur<strong>in</strong>g its niche market<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st Bombay, and that it was able to do so through the creation of star texts that became <strong>in</strong>tegral<br />
to the <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class’s (re)fashion<strong>in</strong>g of self. In the era of Uttam-Suchitra, the Bengal c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
became truly ‘<strong>Bengali</strong>’. The legendary star pair of Bengal, Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen<br />
succeeded <strong>in</strong> establish<strong>in</strong>g a tradition of romanticism <strong>in</strong> Bengal that has survived the social, national<br />
and political upheavals of almost half a century and more. The social significance of the star pair<br />
can be read from the fact that even today, almost several decades after the death of Uttam Kumar <strong>in</strong><br />
1980 and the voluntary retirement of Suchitra Sen <strong>in</strong> the mid-1970s, when otherwise the <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
film <strong>in</strong>dustry is reel<strong>in</strong>g under the onslaught of films from Bollywood, reruns of the bewitch<strong>in</strong>g tales<br />
starr<strong>in</strong>g Uttam-Suchitra/ Suchitra-Uttam recreate the glorious nostalgia of two classic star-crossed<br />
lovers striv<strong>in</strong>g to rise above their dest<strong>in</strong>y. Most <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gly, even <strong>in</strong> these times of ‘remakes’, the<br />
timeless impact of the Uttam-Suchitra juti has been such that not a s<strong>in</strong>gle filmmaker till date has<br />
dared to remake any of the films where they shared screen space as the evergreen Mahanayak and<br />
Mahanayika.<br />
Though the Uttam-Suchitra films became the paradigm of romantic love for the 1950s<br />
generation, they were much more than simple love stories. Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g its Hollywood-<strong>in</strong>spired<br />
quality, this genre was able to create an affective space that gave <strong>Bengali</strong>s – and especially middleclass<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>s – a sense of charm and grace, which they imag<strong>in</strong>ed to be their very own. It made for<br />
a self-image, which though somewhat <strong>in</strong>sular was also profoundly positive, and <strong>in</strong>spired a sense of<br />
‘feel-good’ ‘Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess’. This sense of ‘Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess’ derived from this genre’s referenc<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> ideal of the ethical and good life which made its way <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema with the emergence of the<br />
bhadralok culture. However, it was also fundamentally marked by the historical trajectory of post-
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<strong>in</strong>dependence Bengal, and <strong>in</strong>flected by the transform<strong>in</strong>g nature of the <strong>Bengali</strong> social and cultural<br />
milieu of the post-<strong>in</strong>dependence era.<br />
Significantly, the ‘Uttam-Suchitra’ genre was characterized by a certa<strong>in</strong> style of black and<br />
white c<strong>in</strong>ematography, a def<strong>in</strong>ed mode of light<strong>in</strong>g, fram<strong>in</strong>g, camerawork and schematized tones to<br />
create a polarized, “morally legible” universe that melodrama essentially needs. The romantic<br />
couple was the arbiter of this ‘morally legible’ universe – empowered to make ethical choices,<br />
appropriat<strong>in</strong>g that role, as it were, from established figures of authority. In the world of Uttam and<br />
Suchitra, the conventional locus of authority, the family, is withered, leav<strong>in</strong>g the romantic couple as<br />
the makers of their own dest<strong>in</strong>y. In the films that constitute this oeuvre, parental figures of authority<br />
are either totally absent or, at most, present <strong>in</strong> the peripheries, rather conspicuously <strong>in</strong>active so far<br />
as any expected assertion of authority is concerned. Withered family structures make space for a<br />
very important aura of lonel<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> the films, where<strong>in</strong> the family ceases to be a buffer for the<br />
romantic couple. This, it may be argued, deepens the stra<strong>in</strong> with<strong>in</strong> this world, for it is almost<br />
entirely left to the couple to legitimize their liaison and, there<strong>in</strong>, their ethical choices assume a<br />
greater significance. In truth, however, it was the relative laxity or non-existence of established<br />
structures of authority that made for the centrality of the couple form <strong>in</strong> this body of films, as also<br />
the powerful fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e persona of Suchitra Sen. In the world of Uttam-Suchitra, the couple is almost<br />
sovereign and supreme <strong>in</strong> contrast to the established genre of ‘socials’ or ‘family dramas’, where the<br />
couple form was mediated by the social and familial. Yet this sovereignty comes at a price, and the<br />
couple must pay that price before they can atta<strong>in</strong> their love. In the absence of the legitimiz<strong>in</strong>g force<br />
of the patriarchal and familial, the love of Uttam-Suchitra must be tested on the altar of fire: love<br />
assumes a transcendent quality, and almost becomes a moral virtue before it can atta<strong>in</strong> fruition.<br />
The trauma produced by the couple’s need to make ethical choices before their love can be<br />
raised to the level of the sublime afflicts the world of Uttam-Suchitra with signs of paranoia and<br />
madness, and core films of the genre have themes revolv<strong>in</strong>g around mental illness, misrecognition,
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the loss of memory and its recovery (Harano Sur). In fact, the world of Uttam-Suchitra was<br />
someth<strong>in</strong>g of a psychic order, one that might be understood <strong>in</strong> relation to the psychic order<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Bengal post-1947.<br />
The displacement and degeneration of <strong>Bengali</strong> life after 1947 has been the subject of<br />
scholarly work, literature and art. In his essay ‘Memories of Displacement: The Poetry and<br />
Prejudice of Dwell<strong>in</strong>g’, Dipesh Chakrabarty <strong>in</strong>dicates the sense of trauma that accompanied the<br />
relocation of <strong>Bengali</strong> H<strong>in</strong>dus from East Bengal to the city of Calcutta, and the psychological<br />
adjustments that such displacement and relocation entailed. 1 Hordes of refugees from East Bengal/<br />
East Pakistan poured <strong>in</strong>to Calcutta after the exacerbation of communal tensions <strong>in</strong> 1946-47, and<br />
transformed the city <strong>in</strong>to a chaotic megalopolis. Vacant spaces were fast taken up by refugee<br />
colonies, which stood as testimony to the degenerat<strong>in</strong>g conditions of human life, and produced a<br />
deep anguish and moral anxiety at various levels of society – a society which had already<br />
experienced the phantasm of the fam<strong>in</strong>e of 1943. However, as Bhaskar Sarkar po<strong>in</strong>ts out <strong>in</strong> his book<br />
Mourn<strong>in</strong>g the Nation: Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Partition, “Several comedies sought to<br />
accommodate and diffuse accentuated ‘bangal-ghoti’ tensions with<strong>in</strong> humorous sett<strong>in</strong>gs.” 2 The<br />
differences between the two groups and the two k<strong>in</strong>ds of <strong>Bengali</strong>s were exploited to produce<br />
farcical situations that became occasions for conduct<strong>in</strong>g complex negotiations <strong>in</strong> a light ve<strong>in</strong>. The<br />
most common strategy was to <strong>in</strong>troduce a stereotypically bangal character <strong>in</strong> the proceed<strong>in</strong>gs, to<br />
produce good-natured conflict and a few laughs. By the end, of course, all dispute would be settled,<br />
and general camaraderie would prevail: audiences would feel secure <strong>in</strong> the knowledge that <strong>in</strong> spite<br />
of their difference, the bangal refugees could be assimilated with<strong>in</strong> the ma<strong>in</strong>stream population of<br />
West Bengal. As with all stereotypical representations, the m<strong>in</strong>ority was depicted as be<strong>in</strong>g different<br />
from the norm, and turned <strong>in</strong>to objects of ridicule: on grounds of their accent, their deportment,<br />
their customs and food habits, even their disorientation <strong>in</strong> new surround<strong>in</strong>gs. Consider, for <strong>in</strong>stance,<br />
the caricatural character of Kedar (a role essayed by Bhanu Bandyopadhyay who was a real-life
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bangal) 3 <strong>in</strong> Sharey Chuattar (the first film starr<strong>in</strong>g the Uttam-Suchitra pair), a rollick<strong>in</strong>g comedy set<br />
<strong>in</strong> a board<strong>in</strong>g house. Kedar embodies the stereotypical concept of a loud-mouthed, crass, and<br />
ultimately absurd bangal who seems forever famished: as soon as his friend returns home from a<br />
vacation, he hastens to see if he brought back homemade ghee; he frequently visits people who<br />
serve good quality tea; smell<strong>in</strong>g freshly made dessert, he runs around look<strong>in</strong>g for the source. He is<br />
the jocular friend of the hero Rampriti (Uttam Kumar); but once they start woo<strong>in</strong>g the same girl,<br />
Ramola (Suchitra Sen <strong>in</strong> her screen debut), he turns <strong>in</strong>to a schem<strong>in</strong>g fiend. Of course, he is too <strong>in</strong>ept<br />
to cause any serious damage: his pathetic attempts at w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g Ramola’s affections produce mere<br />
hilarity. Fail<strong>in</strong>g both <strong>in</strong> romance and <strong>in</strong> villa<strong>in</strong>y, the bangal is reduced to a harmless clown – a<br />
comic plot device. Bandyopadhyay also appeared <strong>in</strong> Ora Thake Odhare (They Live on the Other<br />
Side, 1954), another comedy featur<strong>in</strong>g Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, which could well be the<br />
most explicit comic depiction of the ghoti-bangal rift. While the film is about the <strong>in</strong>teractions of two<br />
families, one ghoti, the other bangal, that happen to be neighbors, the title – which translates as<br />
“They live on the other side” – clearly alludes to the other Bengal across the new political border; it<br />
engages contemporary social sentiments, locat<strong>in</strong>g the comedy as a microcosm of a larger reality.<br />
Communal violence rema<strong>in</strong>ed one component of the partition experience that could not be<br />
easily sublimated by fantasy or by comedy. Violence terrorizes; it hurts, humiliates, and leaves deep<br />
scars both on the body and the psyche. Violence <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, unfold<strong>in</strong>g with a mimetic potency, raises
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particularly charged ethico-political questions. Not surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, much like its H<strong>in</strong>di counterpart,<br />
popular <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of the 1950s shied away from direct representations of the trauma. And yet,<br />
as with H<strong>in</strong>di films of the period, it is possible to locate <strong>in</strong>dices of communal aggression and<br />
victimization <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> films. In many ways, the violation of women became the focal center of the<br />
entire experience: it was the source of misbegotten triumph, and of the most abject humiliation.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce members of both H<strong>in</strong>du and Muslim communities were <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the brutalities, and s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
the victimized women were not the only ones to be tormented by their memories, a sense of shame<br />
transcended all facile dist<strong>in</strong>ctions between aggressor and victim to engulf the entire <strong>Bengali</strong> society.<br />
Thus the rare reference to the atrocities comes <strong>in</strong> pass<strong>in</strong>g, as a shameful acknowledgment of an<br />
experience that did occur (a realist gesture, aimed at establish<strong>in</strong>g a historical milieu), but is too<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ful to be dwelled upon. Thus, <strong>in</strong> the film Sabar Uparey (Above All, 1955), the hero<strong>in</strong>e, Rita<br />
(Suchitra Sen), tells the hero, Shankar (Uttam Kumar), that she is a “tormented” (nigrihita) woman<br />
from East Bengal. But the admission becomes a romantic gesture, occurr<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the narrative at a<br />
po<strong>in</strong>t where the two are gett<strong>in</strong>g closer. As a matter of fact, Alo Amar Alo (Light O my Light, 1972),<br />
which turned out to be Uttam and Suchitra’s penultimate film together, evoked pa<strong>in</strong>ful memories of<br />
Partition violence to establish the persistence of certa<strong>in</strong> conflicts and structures of exploitation. Sen<br />
plays Atashi, the eldest daughter of a poor family liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> an illegal refugee settlement called<br />
‘Nabajiban Colony’: the name, which signifies a “new life”, registers the optimism of these<br />
displaced people.
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In c<strong>in</strong>ema, the avant-garde films of Ritwik Ghatak, made <strong>in</strong> the early 1960s, are generally<br />
regarded as the most prolific expressions of the angst of a society that had experienced a weaken<strong>in</strong>g<br />
of community life and <strong>in</strong>tense ethical crisis <strong>in</strong> the wake of political turmoil. It may be noted here<br />
that the tropes for signify<strong>in</strong>g ethical crisis were not dissimilar <strong>in</strong> Ghatak’s work and the Uttam-<br />
Suchitra films, remarkably dist<strong>in</strong>ct contemporary genres. In both genres, ethical crisis was signified<br />
through crises of mascul<strong>in</strong>ity, and pr<strong>in</strong>cipally countered <strong>in</strong> forms of female resilience. In left<strong>in</strong>tellectual<br />
Ghatak’s Partition trilogy – Meghey Dhaka Tara (The Cloud-Capped Star, 1960),<br />
Subarnarekha (The Golden L<strong>in</strong>e, 1962), and Titas Ekti Nadir Naam (A River Called Titash, 1973) –<br />
which looked at refugee lives <strong>in</strong> post-1947 Calcutta, this crisis was a disease that afflicted a<br />
deprived society; <strong>in</strong> the Uttam-Suchitra films, ethical crisis was related to personal dilemmas, and<br />
was encountered and resolved with<strong>in</strong> the world of the romantic couple – <strong>in</strong> the classic melodramatic<br />
mode. The actualization of the couple <strong>in</strong> the Uttam-Suchitra films is therefore a symbolic ethical<br />
w<strong>in</strong> – a v<strong>in</strong>dication of choices that would perhaps not be thus v<strong>in</strong>dicated <strong>in</strong> real life, or <strong>in</strong> the case<br />
of realist genres, such as Ghatak’s oeuvre. The standardized plots of these films meant that<br />
maximum energy was concentrated on the play<strong>in</strong>g out of ethical dilemmas and their ethical<br />
resolution, as <strong>in</strong> the case of the Hollywood musical, where the standardized plots meant that energy<br />
was focused on mak<strong>in</strong>g the music of love. The musical, a genre that emerged <strong>in</strong> the early 1930s, at a<br />
time when America was <strong>in</strong> the throes of the Great Depression, offered the blithe vision of life as<br />
spontaneous music mak<strong>in</strong>g, and its immense popularity has been analysed <strong>in</strong> terms of the genre’s<br />
ability to offer a way of cop<strong>in</strong>g with the starkness of everyday life. Follow<strong>in</strong>g this analysis, it may<br />
thus be argued that the schema of the v<strong>in</strong>dication of ethical choices <strong>in</strong> the Uttam-Suchitra films –<br />
which end <strong>in</strong> the proverbial embrace of love – offered, <strong>in</strong> effect, a way of contend<strong>in</strong>g with the<br />
contemporary vision of moral crisis. The moral dilemmas <strong>in</strong> these love stories are often played out<br />
<strong>in</strong> terms of the tropes of tradition and modernity – permanence and change, which become perfectly<br />
balanced <strong>in</strong> the end to signify a seamless social fabric. Unlike <strong>in</strong> Ghatak’s films, where the
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characters afflicted by ethical dilemmas embody the trauma of Partition, <strong>in</strong> the world of Uttam-<br />
Suchitra, they are phenomenon unto themselves – orig<strong>in</strong>al prototypes of the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of this<br />
period, and embodied <strong>in</strong> the personas of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, produc<strong>in</strong>g star texts which<br />
re-<strong>in</strong>scribed the <strong>Bengali</strong> film. In these films, the star emerges with such potency that the star text<br />
operates to restrict any larger implications of the ethical subtext.<br />
Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen first appeared together <strong>in</strong> the hit comedy Sharey Chuattar<br />
(Seventy-Four and a Half, 1953), and worked together for the last time <strong>in</strong> Priya Bandhabi (Lady<br />
Friend, 1975). Though both were successfully paired with other co-stars dur<strong>in</strong>g their respective<br />
careers, spann<strong>in</strong>g roughly a quarter of a century, their iconic screen personas were, for the most<br />
part, constituted by a series of films <strong>in</strong> which they appeared together between 1954 and 1961:<br />
Agnipariksha (Trial by Fire, 1954), Shapmochan (Revers<strong>in</strong>g the Curse, 1955), Sagarika (1956),<br />
Harano Sur (The Lost Tune, 1957), Pothe Holo Deri (Lost on the Way, 1957), Indrani (1958),<br />
Chaoa Paoa (Desire and Atta<strong>in</strong>ment, 1959) and Saptapadi (The Ritual of the Seven Steps, 1961).
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With these films, Uttam-Suchitra became the ultimate ‘hero’ and ‘hero<strong>in</strong>e’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, most<br />
overtly <strong>in</strong> terms of their screen chemistry, which def<strong>in</strong>ed romantic love for <strong>Bengali</strong> men and women<br />
of their generation, but perhaps more <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sically through a redef<strong>in</strong>ition of gender relations and<br />
their embodiment of a contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> modernity.<br />
The orig<strong>in</strong>al Uttam-Suchitra film, Sharey Chuattar, was a comedy of errors, with some of<br />
the lead<strong>in</strong>g ‘character’ actors of the day, among them the likes of Mol<strong>in</strong>a Devi and Padma Devi,<br />
who had been top actresses of the 1930s and 1940s. In fact, though known as the first Uttam-<br />
Suchitra film, this film’s lead pair were the not-so-young Tulsi Chakraborty and Mol<strong>in</strong>a Devi, who<br />
played a much-married couple who rediscover their romance of old after a series of comic blunders.<br />
Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen appeared as the lovers Rampriti and Ramola <strong>in</strong> a subplot, with a<br />
host of comedians, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the young Bhanu Bandopadhyay, who would become a star <strong>in</strong> his own<br />
right dur<strong>in</strong>g the 1950s and 1960s. Sharey Chuattar was a commercial success, but it did not<br />
immediately set up Uttam-Suchitra as the ultimate screen duo, nor is this a film known for their<br />
famous chemistry that would redef<strong>in</strong>e romantic love on the <strong>Bengali</strong> screen. Yet, it is important as<br />
the orig<strong>in</strong>al film of this oeuvre, which had <strong>in</strong> place the key elements that made the star texts of<br />
Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Sharey Chuattar’s Rampriti and Ramola, the man-next-door and<br />
the self-assured ‘modern’ woman, were relatively novel prototypes of the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, who<br />
made for the dist<strong>in</strong>ctive texts of the 1950s <strong>Bengali</strong> film.<br />
Rampriti and Ramola are prototypes emblematic of the 1950s <strong>Bengali</strong> youth, the middleclass<br />
male wage earner who made his home <strong>in</strong> the work<strong>in</strong>g men’s mess-house and his female<br />
counterpart, the college-go<strong>in</strong>g ‘miss’, and possibly the work<strong>in</strong>g lady to be, who symbolized the<br />
overturned gender rules of <strong>Bengali</strong> society. This new woman was a palpable presence <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
society of the period, visible <strong>in</strong> offices and schools, and by the 1960s <strong>in</strong> coffee houses and the<br />
‘addas’ that Dipesh Chakrabarty has written about <strong>in</strong> his book Prov<strong>in</strong>cializ<strong>in</strong>g Europe. 4 Thus the<br />
‘modern’ girl was now an <strong>in</strong>evitable part of middle-class <strong>Bengali</strong> life. However, Sare Chuattar’s
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Ramola was dist<strong>in</strong>ctly different from the emblematic misguided ‘modern’ woman of earlier films<br />
such as Mukti (1937), Grihadaha (1936) and Darpachurna (1952), who necessarily suffered the<br />
outcome of be<strong>in</strong>g ‘liberated’. Significantly, <strong>in</strong>tr<strong>in</strong>sic to the emergence of the new female prototype<br />
of Sharey Chuattar was a male counterpart. Sharey Chuattar’s Rampriti stands apart from his<br />
duplicitous fellow boarders; and it is the earnest Rampriti who is the most able match for the<br />
liberated Ramola, but who also anticipates the <strong>in</strong>tense and ethical male of the more emblematic<br />
films of the genre.<br />
However, as women's education became an <strong>in</strong>disputable part of the liberal modernist agenda<br />
of nationalism, <strong>in</strong> 20th century Bengal, nationalist patriarchy faced a dilemma <strong>in</strong> plac<strong>in</strong>g her with<strong>in</strong><br />
its own conf<strong>in</strong>es, for the agenda of modernism and that of nationalism, were at odds with each other<br />
when it came to the ‘educated women’. The nationalist agenda was of develop<strong>in</strong>g the nation<br />
through the gradual strengthen<strong>in</strong>g, on the cultural front, of a national middle class educated <strong>in</strong> the<br />
rational-scientific sense, affiliated with modern <strong>in</strong>stitutions, while reta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a consciousness of an<br />
authentic cultural identity. Cultural authenticity was sought to be protected by the ideology of the<br />
family and the fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e spirit there<strong>in</strong>, while the project of development and modernity was to be<br />
carried out <strong>in</strong> the public sphere, generally imag<strong>in</strong>ed to be controlled by the spirit of mascul<strong>in</strong>ity.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce education was the prerequisite for participation <strong>in</strong> the public sphere, the educated woman<br />
came to occupy a culturally ambiguous position of embody<strong>in</strong>g both mascul<strong>in</strong>ity and fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ity <strong>in</strong><br />
her dual capacity as a participant <strong>in</strong> a public sphere and as a repository of cultural authenticity. The<br />
narratives of the Suchitra Sen and Uttam Kumar starrers <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> popular c<strong>in</strong>ema of the<br />
1950s, particularly their first major success, Agnipariksha address this very dilemma. On the one<br />
hand, the popular image of a desirable woman <strong>in</strong> their films subverts the elite nationalist<br />
construction of a woman as the repository of cultural authenticity, but on the other, the transgressive<br />
libid<strong>in</strong>al energy of the hero<strong>in</strong>e-act<strong>in</strong>g-as-subject is ploughed back <strong>in</strong>to the structur<strong>in</strong>g order of the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> middle class family, thus ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the patriarchal boundaries.
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Agnipariksha, accord<strong>in</strong>g to me, would be the signature film for the romantic genre of this<br />
period because the film established the marker characteristics of the image of the star pair that<br />
survived all through their career as a pair. Though Uttam Kumar tried, and succeeded to some<br />
extent, to change his stereotypical image <strong>in</strong> his later films where he did not star opposite Suchitra<br />
Sen [most importantly, Ray’s 1966 film Nayak (The Hero)], Suchitra Sen never really grew out of<br />
her basic image. The most significant feature of the duo was that while Suchitra Sen <strong>always</strong> played<br />
a modern, educated and urbane young woman, Uttam Kumar provided the counterforce, often<br />
though not <strong>always</strong> <strong>in</strong> the form of a person with a rural/traditional background, that ultimately,<br />
through a marital union, domesticated the threaten<strong>in</strong>g modernity of the educated woman. The<br />
modern-educated status of Suchitra Sen was what the narratives turned on as they depicted the<br />
psychological struggles of the two characters <strong>in</strong> a social context of a contest between ‘tradition’ and<br />
‘modernity’.<br />
The films fall <strong>in</strong>to the melodramatic genre which as a rule emphasizes women's agency,<br />
albeit with<strong>in</strong> the parameters of patriarchy. The centrality accorded to the character of Suchitra Sen<br />
<strong>in</strong> these films is therefore no exception with<strong>in</strong> the genre. Moreover, <strong>in</strong> the Calcutta of the mid-1950s<br />
all these films were made with an eye to a female audience, the middle class <strong>Bengali</strong> housewife, as<br />
the ma<strong>in</strong>stay for the afternoon shows. The historical specificity and uniqueness of Suchitra Sen’s<br />
image, however, derive from the contradictory logic of nationalist patriarchy that deconstructs itself<br />
<strong>in</strong> try<strong>in</strong>g to enforce its rule of law.<br />
Sananda brought out a special issue devoted to this legendary pair (‘Shed<strong>in</strong> Dujoney’, August<br />
5, 1994). While Sananda is by no means a very representative magaz<strong>in</strong>e for women <strong>in</strong> the highly<br />
stratified middle class society of Calcutta, 5 it does enjoy a legitimacy among a cross-section of<br />
women and an authority to speak on different dimensions of women's lives, a representational<br />
plurality unth<strong>in</strong>kable earlier. A representation of the Suchitra-Uttam pair <strong>in</strong> Sananda therefore<br />
grants a different k<strong>in</strong>d of respectability to what was earlier seen as merely, though quite formidably,
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'popular'. Sananda writes it <strong>in</strong>to a different discourse of c<strong>in</strong>ematic gender<strong>in</strong>g and the history of<br />
Bengal, thereby construct<strong>in</strong>g it as an object of more serious <strong>in</strong>tellectual <strong>in</strong>quiry.<br />
The article concludes on the note that Suchitra Sen was “that woman whom one loves,<br />
desires, but cannot possess”. This memory of her image sums up the undecidability and<br />
ambivalence that marked popular response to her image. It is to be attributed to an ‘excess’ <strong>in</strong> her<br />
characters which <strong>always</strong> eluded a narrative closure.<br />
The title of the article is ‘Shed<strong>in</strong> Dujoney’ (On That Day the Two of Us), evok<strong>in</strong>g a widely<br />
known love song by Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath Tagore and thereby situat<strong>in</strong>g the text with<strong>in</strong> the tradition of<br />
romanticism <strong>in</strong> Bengal. The romance was sought to be located partly <strong>in</strong> some “extra-professional ...<br />
<strong>in</strong>timately personal ... mystical relation” between the pair and partly <strong>in</strong> the history of social and<br />
cultural upheaval the Bengal middle class society was go<strong>in</strong>g through <strong>in</strong> the wake of the great<br />
Bengal fam<strong>in</strong>e and the partition of Bengal:<br />
The two came exactly at that time when the collective memory of the ‘jati’ 6 was still<br />
raw with the gap<strong>in</strong>g wounds from the nightmarish visions of tra<strong>in</strong>loads of refugees,<br />
uprooted families and the pla<strong>in</strong>tive calls of the starv<strong>in</strong>g for some starch-off-the-rice<br />
(‘fan’)”. 7<br />
I want to argue that locat<strong>in</strong>g the attraction of the star pair <strong>in</strong> the realm of mystery and mysticism is<br />
to conta<strong>in</strong> the excess of libido, the erotic energy that the narratives could never quite conta<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the<br />
characters played by Suchitra Sen. In its historical context, the romantic mystery of the Suchitra-<br />
Uttam starrers presented a fictional resolution to the crisis of the <strong>Bengali</strong> striv<strong>in</strong>g to be a middle<br />
class, i.e., try<strong>in</strong>g to survive <strong>in</strong> an urban context with a rural past still alive <strong>in</strong> memory and <strong>in</strong> a<br />
network of social relations.<br />
Suchitra Sen, the hero<strong>in</strong>e, as our text describes her, was “a graceful, somber and <strong>in</strong>tense<br />
woman with a modern-educated look”. This description of her image as ‘modern-educated’ holds<br />
the key to our understand<strong>in</strong>g of the structur<strong>in</strong>g and undo<strong>in</strong>g of the narratives with<strong>in</strong> the parameters
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of a modernist-nationalist ideology through a splitt<strong>in</strong>g of the woman’s image. She is marked out as<br />
a pioneer<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>in</strong>ematic model for urbane modernity <strong>in</strong> its fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e form <strong>in</strong> Bengal. Earlier hero<strong>in</strong>es<br />
such as Kanan Devi, Padma Devi, Chandrabati Devi and the like are thereby relegated to a premodern<br />
time <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> films.<br />
Her modern-educated status permits the text to locate her <strong>in</strong>tertextually with reference to<br />
Arati, the hero<strong>in</strong>e of Satyajit Ray's film Mahanagar (The Metropolis, 1963)) and Bimala, the<br />
hero<strong>in</strong>e of Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath's novel Ghare Baire (The Home and the World), later made <strong>in</strong>to a film (<strong>in</strong><br />
1984) by Ray. Mahanagar tells the story of a middle class jo<strong>in</strong>t family <strong>in</strong> the city struggl<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
make ends meet. At one po<strong>in</strong>t the wife of the man is compelled to take up a job to keep the family<br />
afloat. The film is a sensitive depiction of the process of re-evaluation of cultural-familial norms as<br />
a middle class family tries to cope with forces they cannot fully fathom. Bimala <strong>in</strong> Ghare Baire was<br />
caught between two men, each espous<strong>in</strong>g a different relation of the woman with her home and the<br />
world. Ghare Baire ends with Bimala stand<strong>in</strong>g on the br<strong>in</strong>k of an unknown with both her home and<br />
her world as she knew them, shattered.<br />
To remember the ‘mysterious’ Suchitra Sen with reference to Arati and Bimala, characters<br />
strongly identified with their respective creators, Satyajit Ray and Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath Tagore, can be read<br />
as a cultural strategy for creat<strong>in</strong>g Suchitra Sen as the representative of ‘popular high culture’ for the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> middle class, just as Arati and Bimala represent high culture for the <strong>Bengali</strong> elite. The<br />
conflicts and dilemmas of modernity and urbanity, <strong>in</strong>herited by the aspir<strong>in</strong>g middle class of Bengal
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from their elite predecessors (Bankimchandra, Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath, Satyajit), went <strong>in</strong>to constitut<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
narratives and the character of Suchitra Sen to come to terms with that legacy at a popular level.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce education was the prerequisite for participation <strong>in</strong> the public sphere, the educated<br />
woman came to occupy a culturally ambiguous position of embody<strong>in</strong>g both mascul<strong>in</strong>ity and<br />
fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ity <strong>in</strong> her dual capacity as a participant <strong>in</strong> a public sphere and as a repository of cultural<br />
authenticity [Chatterjee: 1990]. Though androgyny is a part of the repertoire of Indian cultural<br />
traditions [Nandy: 1980], the dilemma of the educated woman could not be handled by <strong>in</strong>vok<strong>in</strong>g<br />
cultural authenticity. Though a duality of the spirit is an important part of Indian cultural symbology<br />
– the image of the ‘ardhanarishwar’ be<strong>in</strong>g one of the well known of such symbols – the social fields<br />
for their expression are quite clearly def<strong>in</strong>ed and demarcated. A woman with predom<strong>in</strong>antly<br />
mascul<strong>in</strong>e tendencies would be accepted for express<strong>in</strong>g herself accord<strong>in</strong>gly with<strong>in</strong> the familial<br />
bounds, but such behaviour would not have any def<strong>in</strong>ition if enacted <strong>in</strong> an extra-familial context.<br />
Cultural androgyny could not provide a solution to the problem called educated woman because she<br />
straddled two social spaces, the <strong>in</strong>tegrity of each opposed to the other. The narratives of the<br />
Suchitra-Uttam starrers sought to resolve this dilemma at a popular level.<br />
The centrality of the female figure <strong>in</strong> these narratives can now be understood <strong>in</strong> a context<br />
different from the universal tradition of the melodramatic genre or the functional necessity of<br />
cater<strong>in</strong>g to a predom<strong>in</strong>antly female audience. To the extent that popular films present a collectively<br />
desirable image as a dream resolution to some real social-cultural crisis, the image of Suchitra Sen<br />
offers such a resolution to the crisis of nationalism, caught between the contradictory demands of<br />
the familial and the public sphere, <strong>in</strong> def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g gender roles. The centrality of the female figure is<br />
doubly determ<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> this schema. She is an agent of modernity for her educated status, she is<br />
also the focal po<strong>in</strong>t of the family drama. My contention is that this popular image of a desirable<br />
woman subverts the elite nationalist construction of a woman as the repository of cultural<br />
authenticity. Popular c<strong>in</strong>ema, as Ashis Nandy (2006) po<strong>in</strong>ts out, is “only a distorted history of
65|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
our own desires, lived out by others”. <strong>Bengali</strong> popular c<strong>in</strong>ema shows up the desires of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
elites <strong>in</strong> a convex mirror, produc<strong>in</strong>g an image the elites have <strong>always</strong> hastened to disown.<br />
The <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ematic tradition that produced the pair of Suchitra-Uttam was started by<br />
Pramathesh Barua, the only one among the preced<strong>in</strong>g generation of actor-filmmakers whose films<br />
can be said to match the phenomenal success of Suchitra-Uttam. The tradition is one of<br />
narrativis<strong>in</strong>g nationalist modernity <strong>in</strong> terms of a man's journey from the village to the city. 8 While<br />
Pramathesh portrayed the transitionary journey as one of “betrayal, lonel<strong>in</strong>ess, unrequited love” and<br />
a gradual wast<strong>in</strong>g away with the romantic-horrific disease of tuberculosis (his magnum opus<br />
Devdas carried this image to its perfection), the 1950s version of this journey has a different slant to<br />
it. While for Pramathesh the woman was <strong>always</strong> an image of the sexually <strong>in</strong>accessible but nurturant<br />
mother (hence the whole narrative of unrequited love followed by tuberculosis), for Uttam Kumar<br />
she rather fulfilled the lack of a father figure, a protective father he had lost <strong>in</strong> leav<strong>in</strong>g the village.<br />
(In almost all their successful films <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g Agnipariksha, the death or loss of a father figure for<br />
Uttam Kumar precedes his union with Suchitra Sen. In other cases the father is simply absent from<br />
the narrative.) Suchitra Sen, on the other hand, while most of the time seen with a lov<strong>in</strong>g father<br />
figure, has either an extremely stra<strong>in</strong>ed relation with her mother (Agnipariksha) or is marked by the<br />
absence of one (Shanjher Pradeep, Chaoa Paoa, Surja Toran). Their eventual union <strong>in</strong> a marriage<br />
seeks to correct this imbalance <strong>in</strong> their respective psychic order.<br />
Agnipariksha was a super-hit <strong>in</strong> its time. Desirability <strong>in</strong> a fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e image came to be<br />
def<strong>in</strong>ed by the image of Taposhi (Suchitra Sen). But one will miss the po<strong>in</strong>t of the mean<strong>in</strong>g of the
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desirability if one focuses only on the end product of the narrative. For at that moment there is no<br />
difference between Suchitra Sen and earlier hero<strong>in</strong>es like Chandrabati Devi or Padma Devi or<br />
Nibhanoni Devi. That the image of Suchitra Sen came to sweep the popular audience off its feet to<br />
rule over the market of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema for about two decades is because Suchitra Sen made a<br />
difference, and that difference lay <strong>in</strong> the contradiction, expressed <strong>in</strong> a hysterical form <strong>in</strong> this film,<br />
<strong>in</strong>herent <strong>in</strong> the characters she played. The narrative <strong>in</strong>vited <strong>in</strong>vestment of spectatorial pleasure<br />
through engender<strong>in</strong>g a crisis <strong>in</strong> the hero<strong>in</strong>e by play<strong>in</strong>g upon her contradictions.<br />
However, consider<strong>in</strong>g the element of “melodramatic masochism” 9 <strong>in</strong> Agnipariksha, Bhaskar<br />
Sarkar argues that this film like most other Uttam-Suchitra films, presents a rather limited vision of<br />
the modern woman: her “liberation” is achieved <strong>in</strong> primarily consumerist mass cultural terms,<br />
heavily <strong>in</strong>flected by upper-class tastes (fashionable cloth<strong>in</strong>g, cars, jewelry, houses, pianos and<br />
organs, parties, dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g, Western music). This iconographically modern woman is made to suffer<br />
the contradictions, without much promise of transformation. On the one hand, Tapashi’s<br />
grandmother reiterates that dharma is far more important than one’s desires, that love (priya) is<br />
secondary to what is morally desirable (shreya); on the other hand, her mother constantly harangues<br />
her about the imperative of f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>g an accomplished mate. The title of the film, which translates as<br />
“Trial by Fire”, alludes to an episode <strong>in</strong> the epic Ramayana, which provides a framework for the<br />
subord<strong>in</strong>ation of Indian women: Sita’s subjection to a test of her purity, after her return from<br />
captivity, by enter<strong>in</strong>g a blaz<strong>in</strong>g fire. The reference does not challenge the subjection so much as it<br />
reiterates Sita as a model of Indian womanhood. The name ‘Tapashi’ also refers back to Indian<br />
antiquity, to women who would undertake vows and meditate steadfastly to achieve a goal that,<br />
frequently, would be an ideal husband.<br />
Discourses around the two stars also reveal a certa<strong>in</strong> gendered differentiation. Contemporary<br />
critics commented on the couple’s act<strong>in</strong>g competencies, and on their good looks; while they lauded<br />
Suchitra Sen’s graceful demeanor, sweet speak<strong>in</strong>g style, and felicity of expressions, they po<strong>in</strong>ted to
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Uttam Kumar’s natural flair for broad-m<strong>in</strong>ded, unselfconscious, and lively characters. The focus,<br />
clearly, was on Sen’s fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e grace, and on Uttam’s self-assured mascul<strong>in</strong>ity. Their offscreen<br />
mythologies, elaborated upon on fanz<strong>in</strong>e hagiographic accounts, further strengthened such<br />
impressions. Uttam Kumar became the most <strong>in</strong>fluential persona <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry: for a<br />
major part of the sixties and the seventies, he was a virtual one-man <strong>in</strong>dustry, as the fortunes of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema became crucially dependent on his box-office draw. Meanwhile, Suchitra Sen left<br />
act<strong>in</strong>g after bouts of illness, which apparently affected her looks. Even at the peak of her career, she<br />
was constantly worried about how she would look on-screen, try<strong>in</strong>g to be photographed from her<br />
“better side”, thus bely<strong>in</strong>g popular impressions about her self-possessed nature.<br />
Saptapadi was a film which brought an unparalleled sexuality to the <strong>Bengali</strong> screen, not<br />
least on account of Suchitra Sen’s rendition of the un<strong>in</strong>hibited Anglo-Indian girl, whose<br />
companionship unleashes the greatest charms of the otherwise modest <strong>Bengali</strong> man. R<strong>in</strong>a Brown<br />
was the farthest one could get from the regular conceptions of a <strong>Bengali</strong> hero<strong>in</strong>e. In this film,<br />
Suchitra Sen donned a skirt-blouse ensemble, trimmed her long tresses and changed her hairstyle<br />
from a womanly bun to a girlish ponytail. Her l<strong>in</strong>es are <strong>in</strong>terspersed with English phrases and she<br />
speaks an accented <strong>Bengali</strong> – at least <strong>in</strong> the film’s first part, where she is the haughty Anglo-Indian<br />
‘miss’ who treats <strong>Bengali</strong> Krishnendu (Uttam Kumar) with considerable disda<strong>in</strong> (which <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />
call<strong>in</strong>g him ‘blackie’ and ‘buffoon’). She has men friends, plays tennis and holds dances <strong>in</strong> her<br />
house. Unlike Suchitra Sen’s earlier portrayals, which marked her out as the epitome of the genteel<br />
lady, the <strong>Bengali</strong> ‘bhadramahila’, her R<strong>in</strong>a carries few of the markers of middle-class
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respectability; <strong>in</strong>deed, middle-class <strong>Bengali</strong>s considered Calcutta’s Anglo-Indian society to be fairly<br />
dubious, most evidently on account of the liberated presence of Anglo-Indian women.<br />
Saptapadi’s R<strong>in</strong>a Brown is not only too undomesticated for middle-class comfort, but she<br />
also f<strong>in</strong>ds out that she is her father’s illegitimate daughter by his Indian maid who has been her<br />
‘ayah’. Her ‘mother’ is shot dead dur<strong>in</strong>g her altercation with her father, and by the time Krishnendu<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ds her aga<strong>in</strong>, R<strong>in</strong>a is an alcoholic. She tells him that she has lost everyth<strong>in</strong>g – her faith, love and<br />
convictions. Her angst makes her bitter and derisive – a melancholic figure as opposed to a stoic<br />
Krishnendu, who has learnt to suffer <strong>in</strong> silence. The character of R<strong>in</strong>a Brown affirmed most <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
misgiv<strong>in</strong>gs about the Anglo-Indian ‘other’, and yet she also epitomized the rootlessness and tragic<br />
loss which had become so central to <strong>Bengali</strong> life <strong>in</strong> its experience of a social flux. Simultaneously,<br />
R<strong>in</strong>a’s deviance and derisiveness is mediated by that ethical subtext which is so central to the genre.<br />
R<strong>in</strong>a sacrifices her love for Krishnendu so as not to take him away from an old father (Chhabi<br />
Biswas) who tells her that Krishnendu is all that he has, the dream of his life. Even when they meet<br />
aga<strong>in</strong> some years later – <strong>in</strong> the film’s open<strong>in</strong>g sequence where a drunken and unconscious R<strong>in</strong>a is<br />
brought <strong>in</strong>to the army hospital – she runs away after discover<strong>in</strong>g that Krishnendu is the doctor who<br />
has saved her life. Though she comes back to him the same night, ‘overtaken by momentary<br />
weakness’ she tries to prevail on him to forget her and go back to his old life, even h<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g that she<br />
is now a woman of compromised morality, who is ‘too expensive for him’. The ethical subtext of<br />
R<strong>in</strong>a’s character is validated by an authority figure no other than Krishnendu’s father, who tells him<br />
<strong>in</strong> a letter towards the film’s end that he had been wrong to oppose Krishnendu’s marriage to R<strong>in</strong>a.<br />
For R<strong>in</strong>a, though belong<strong>in</strong>g to another faith, had, through her immense sacrifice and <strong>in</strong>tegrity,<br />
become a ‘devi’ <strong>in</strong> his eyes.<br />
Re-imag<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g the woman to redef<strong>in</strong>e the boundaries of the public and the private, the<br />
domestic and the civil - to serve both functional and affective needs - was <strong>in</strong>deed one of the primary<br />
agendas of the nationalist ideology. But we should not lose sight of the fact that the 19th century
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construction of gender took place primarily with<strong>in</strong> the elite community of Bengal which still lacked<br />
a consolidated middle class. With the turn of the century and <strong>in</strong>tensify<strong>in</strong>g urbanisation and<br />
professionalisation, a rapidly grow<strong>in</strong>g middle class started to form a culture of its own by draw<strong>in</strong>g<br />
upon the pre-exist<strong>in</strong>g elite ideology of nationalism and <strong>in</strong> the process re-work<strong>in</strong>g some of the ideas.<br />
As we have seen, the popular nationalist image of gender <strong>in</strong> Bengal subverts the elite version of it.<br />
Suchitra Sen <strong>in</strong> Agnipariksha is a rework<strong>in</strong>g of the classical hero<strong>in</strong>es of the elites, Arati <strong>in</strong><br />
Mahanagar and Bimala <strong>in</strong> Ghare Baire to provide a resolution to the dilemmas of the new middle<br />
class. Popular films are the best registers of the shifts <strong>in</strong> the cultural imageries for they formulate<br />
and address social imag<strong>in</strong>aries which make social communications possible <strong>in</strong> the highly<br />
heterogeneous and constantly shift<strong>in</strong>g experiential world of an urban existence. “C<strong>in</strong>ematic<br />
experiences”, as Sharon Willis (1989) puts it, “is, <strong>in</strong> many ways, the most em<strong>in</strong>ently social<br />
form of consumption”. It is <strong>in</strong> this sense that these romantic melodramas give us a sense of how a<br />
space of popular urban subaltern culture, autonomous of the elite nationalist discourse of the 19th<br />
century, was gradually form<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Calcutta.<br />
The elite nationalist discourse and later historiographies 10 have produced the “woman” as a<br />
static image at a moment <strong>in</strong> history. But the spectator's gaze <strong>in</strong>troduces a different time <strong>in</strong>to this<br />
historical time – that of the woman's own <strong>in</strong> becom<strong>in</strong>g ‘herself’ by go<strong>in</strong>g through a process of be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> love. Simultaneously, it should be po<strong>in</strong>ted out that my arguments have been <strong>in</strong>tended to track the<br />
evolution of a particular body of generic romantic melodramas over the years, as well as to<br />
demonstrate how a fantasy of plenitude associated with a pair of stars, once <strong>in</strong>voked as an antidote<br />
to Partition blues, is refigured for subsequent critical purposes. Thus the same discursive trope gets<br />
deployed over time for the very divergent purposes of both obfuscat<strong>in</strong>g and <strong>in</strong>terrogat<strong>in</strong>g conflicts.<br />
This shift shows us, once aga<strong>in</strong>, that a genre or a mode does not, by itself, constitute an ideological<br />
cover-up or an act of revelation, that its function changes with the context <strong>in</strong> which it is mobilized.<br />
Nevertheless, it rema<strong>in</strong>s a fact that the Uttam-Suchitra juti became the very embodiment of a
70|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
million amorous fantasies; and theirs was <strong>in</strong>deed an ethereal journey that <strong>Bengali</strong> movie audiences<br />
and critics could never get enough of. Uttam-Suchitra’s <strong>in</strong>candescence lit up <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema once<br />
and forever.<br />
NOTES<br />
1. See Dipesh Chakrabarty, 'Memories of Displacement: The Poetry and Prejudice of<br />
Dwell<strong>in</strong>g', 'The In-Human and the Ethical <strong>in</strong> Communal Violence', <strong>in</strong> Habitations of Modernity:<br />
Essays <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Subaltern Studies (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2002).<br />
2. See Bhaskar Sarkar, Mourn<strong>in</strong>g the Nation: Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Partition<br />
(Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2009), p. 159.<br />
3. Bhanu Bandyopadhyay was a real-life bangal who made an entire career out of his<br />
bangalness, on stage, screen, radio, and comedy record<strong>in</strong>gs. In spite of all the stereotyp<strong>in</strong>g, he<br />
managed to <strong>in</strong>fuse his early comic roles with a certa<strong>in</strong> pathos that confronted audiences with a<br />
sense of the real contradictions of post-partition West Bengal: his characterizations, marked by a<br />
poignant excess, obliged spectators to bear witness to the material and psychic tribulations of the<br />
displaced.<br />
4. See Dipesh Chakrabarty, Prov<strong>in</strong>cializ<strong>in</strong>g Europe: <strong>Post</strong>colonial Thought and Historical<br />
Difference (Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton: Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton University Press, 2001). Adda became very popular <strong>in</strong> 19 th Century<br />
Bengal when the British ruled India, and it would not be an overstatement to argue that its<br />
popularity was both enabled by and a reaction to westernization, because English and world politics<br />
were <strong>always</strong> tied to adda. The <strong>in</strong>troduction of western pr<strong>in</strong>t media had also <strong>in</strong>fluenced the content<br />
of adda. It was <strong>always</strong> <strong>in</strong> the public sphere, and was mostly engaged <strong>in</strong> by men, because they were<br />
the ones first to be exposed to westernization and English language. Many people participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>,
71|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
or comment<strong>in</strong>g on adda have also noted that after 1850 when women started ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g literacy there<br />
were <strong>in</strong>stances of them participat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> adda. The word adda exists <strong>in</strong> many Indian languages, but<br />
<strong>in</strong> Indian public discourse it has become synonymous with <strong>Bengali</strong> identity and culture. In his<br />
celebrated book Prov<strong>in</strong>cializ<strong>in</strong>g Europe: <strong>Post</strong>colonial Thought and Historical Difference, famous<br />
historian Dipesh Chakrabarty (2001: 183) writes:<br />
The tradition of men and women gather<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> social spaces to enjoy company and<br />
conviviality is surely no monopoly of any particular region. Nor is the word only a<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> word; it exists <strong>in</strong> H<strong>in</strong>di and Urdu and means a ‘place of gather<strong>in</strong>g’ (bus<br />
term<strong>in</strong>als <strong>in</strong> north India are called "bus-addas"). What is peculiar, if anyth<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>in</strong><br />
twentieth-century <strong>Bengali</strong> discussions of the practice of adda is the claim that the<br />
practice is peculiarly <strong>Bengali</strong> and that it marks a primary national characteristic of<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> people to such a degree that the ‘<strong>Bengali</strong> character’ could not be thought<br />
without it.<br />
College Street Coffee House is the most famous café associated with the rise and<br />
dissem<strong>in</strong>ation of adda. It was the hub of famous writers, nationalist leaders, politicians, film<br />
makers and still is though not at the same level. Emulat<strong>in</strong>g Coffee House many others<br />
sprang up. In the modern context the practice of adda evokes nostalgia about Bengal’s<br />
illustrious <strong>in</strong>tellectual past, and the dearth of time to <strong>in</strong>dulge <strong>in</strong> adda <strong>in</strong> late modern<br />
capitalism where work is valorized over leisure. About adda, Dipesh Chakrabarty (2001:<br />
181) writes:<br />
… its perceived gradual disappearance from the urban life of Calcutta over the last<br />
three or four decades – related no doubt to the changes <strong>in</strong> the political economy of<br />
the city – has produced an impressive amount of mourn<strong>in</strong>g and nostalgia. It is as if<br />
with the slow death of adda will die the identity of be<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>Bengali</strong>.<br />
Historians like Chakrabarty have commented on the significance of adda for the formation
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of <strong>Bengali</strong> identity, but he has not engaged with the language ideologies perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to it, or<br />
its performative or emergent aspect <strong>in</strong> contemporary society. Also, cf. Ray’s Charulata (The<br />
Lonely Wife, 1964) and Ghare Baire (The Home and the World, 1984) to reference the<br />
historical time when adda was becom<strong>in</strong>g popular <strong>in</strong> Bengal; simultaneously, Ray’s Agantuk<br />
(The Stranger, 1991) <strong>in</strong>cludes a significant scene where this whole topic of ‘Bangalir Adda’<br />
has been taken up elaborately.<br />
5. The rather special position enjoyed by Sananda is due to the fact that it is the first<br />
proclaimed <strong>Bengali</strong> language women's magaz<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> Calcutta. "Proclaimed", because there were<br />
quite a few <strong>Bengali</strong> literary and film magaz<strong>in</strong>es (Ultorath, Proshad, Nabokallol, Boshumoti) which,<br />
though never def<strong>in</strong>ed as women's magaz<strong>in</strong>es, chose their texts with a view to the female readership<br />
– understood to be housewives who read them for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and <strong>in</strong>duc<strong>in</strong>g sleep after their<br />
midday meal. Sananda was the first to break out of this stereotype to announce itself as a magaz<strong>in</strong>e<br />
for "women", thereby openly accommodat<strong>in</strong>g different dimensions and stages of <strong>Bengali</strong> women's<br />
lives <strong>in</strong> Calcutta <strong>in</strong> the late 20th century. The popularity and success of Sananda derive more from<br />
the culturally upwardly mobile aspirations of the stratified <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class than from any<br />
populist position of the magaz<strong>in</strong>e.<br />
6. One should note the strategic use of the word 'jati' here. The word has been used <strong>in</strong> many<br />
different contexts <strong>in</strong> the Indian languages, but <strong>always</strong> to del<strong>in</strong>eate the boundaries of some unified<br />
community. "Nationalism" has been translated as 'jatiyatabad', thereby <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g all Indians under<br />
one umbrella notion of a jati. The orientalist discourse on India reserves the word to refer to the<br />
Indian "caste", where each caste is a different jati. Renaissance period writ<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> language<br />
generally referred to the <strong>Bengali</strong>s as a jati, thereby mak<strong>in</strong>g a cultural-l<strong>in</strong>guistic commonality the<br />
basis for a jati identiy. In this text, this polysemic word has been used to bypass the politicalideological<br />
issues of the unity of an Indian nation presupposed by the newly established nation-state<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1947. The contradiction between a political-evil identity and a cultural-l<strong>in</strong>guistic identity was
73|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
traumatically experienced by the Punjabis and the <strong>Bengali</strong>s, the two communities whose<br />
psychological, social and economic world came apart with the partition of India <strong>in</strong>to two nations.<br />
An <strong>in</strong>vocation of the word jati <strong>in</strong> a <strong>Bengali</strong> context and language thus reactivates, and<br />
simultaneously represses, the deeply pa<strong>in</strong>ful ambivalence built <strong>in</strong>to their identity as a community.<br />
7. 'Fan' is the <strong>Bengali</strong> for the starch of the cooked rice. At the time of the fam<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> 1940, the<br />
starv<strong>in</strong>g beggars, know<strong>in</strong>g that rice was too precious a commodity to ask for would ask for the<br />
starch <strong>in</strong>stead which, conventionally <strong>in</strong> Bengal, is thrown out after the rice is cooked.<br />
8. Ashis Nandy has made a psycho-social analysis of Barua's c<strong>in</strong>ematic oeuvre us<strong>in</strong>g details<br />
from Barua's biography to show how the nationalist agenda was implicit <strong>in</strong> his work. See Nandy<br />
(2006), 'Notes of an Antique Death: Pramathesh Barua and the Orig<strong>in</strong>s of the Terribly Effem<strong>in</strong>ate,<br />
Maudl<strong>in</strong>, Self-destructive Heroes of Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema'.<br />
9. See Bhaskar Sarkar, Mourn<strong>in</strong>g the Nation: Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Partition<br />
(Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2009), p. 154.<br />
10. I have <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d particularly the works of Partha Chatterjee and Dipesh Chakarabarty, from<br />
whose writ<strong>in</strong>gs we <strong>in</strong>deed get some good <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to how a primarily elite <strong>Bengali</strong> community –<br />
which does not exclude the women of the community – of 19th century Calcutta produced certa<strong>in</strong><br />
images of the domestic and the fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e with<strong>in</strong> it that effectively reconstructed <strong>Bengali</strong> fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>ity<br />
as the repository of authentic cultural values as a means of safeguard<strong>in</strong>g the doma<strong>in</strong> of the nation.<br />
See Chatterjee's (1990).<br />
REFERENCES<br />
Bhabha, Homi. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994.<br />
Broomfield, John. Elite Conflict <strong>in</strong> a Plural Society: Twentieth-Century Bengal. (Introduction).<br />
Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
74|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Banerjee, Sumanta. The Parlour and the Streets: Elite and Popular Culture <strong>in</strong> N<strong>in</strong>eteenth Century<br />
Calcutta. Calcutta: Seagull Books, 1989.<br />
Chowdhury, Maitreyee. The Magic of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen. Delhi: OM Bookshop, 2010.<br />
Chatterji, Shoma. Suchitra Sen: The Legend <strong>in</strong> her Lifetime. New Delhi: Rupa & Co., 2002.<br />
Chatterji, Joya. Bengal Divided: H<strong>in</strong>du Communalism and Partition 1932-1947. Cambridge:<br />
Cambridge University Press, 1995.<br />
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 'The Difference-Deferral of a <strong>Colonial</strong> Modernity: Public Debates on<br />
Domesticity <strong>in</strong> British Bengal' <strong>in</strong> Arnold and Hardiman (eds), Subaltern Studies VIII. New Delhi:<br />
Oxford University Press, 1994.<br />
--------------------. Habitations of Modernity: Essays <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Subaltern Studies. Chicago:<br />
Chicago University Press, 2002.<br />
--------------------. Prov<strong>in</strong>cializ<strong>in</strong>g Europe: <strong>Post</strong>colonial Thought and Historical Difference.<br />
Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton: Pr<strong>in</strong>ceton University Press, 2001.<br />
Chatterjee, Partha. 'The Nationalist Resolution of the Women's Question' <strong>in</strong> Kumkum Sangari and<br />
Sudesh Vaid (eds), Recast<strong>in</strong>g Women: Essays <strong>in</strong> Indian History. New Delhi: Kali for Women,<br />
1990.<br />
--------------------. The Present History of West Bengal: Essays <strong>in</strong> Political Criticism. Delhi: Oxford<br />
University Press, 1997.<br />
Gledhill, Christ<strong>in</strong>e. (ed), Home is where the Heart is: Studies <strong>in</strong> Melodrama and the Woman's Film.<br />
London: British Rim Institute, 1987.<br />
Mukherjee, S N. Calcutta: Essays <strong>in</strong> Urban History. Calcutta: Subarnarekha, 1993.<br />
Nandy, Ashis. 'Woman versus Womanl<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong> India' <strong>in</strong> At the Edge of Psychology. New Delhi:<br />
Oxford University Press, 1980.<br />
--------------------. Savage Freud. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1995.<br />
--------------------. Popular Cultures of India. (Vol II). New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.
75|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Raha, Kironmoy. <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema. Calcutta: Nandan West Bengal Film Centre, 1991.<br />
Sarkar, Bhaskar. Mourn<strong>in</strong>g the Nation: Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the Wake of Partition. Durham, N.C.:<br />
Duke University Press, 2009.<br />
Willis, Sharon. 'Seductive Spaces: Private Fasc<strong>in</strong>ations and Public Fantasies <strong>in</strong> Popular C<strong>in</strong>ema' <strong>in</strong><br />
Dianne Hunter (ed), Seduction and Theory: Read<strong>in</strong>gs of Gender, Representation and Rhetoric.<br />
Urbana: University of Ill<strong>in</strong>ois Press, 1989.<br />
Kaustav Kundu is a Research Scholar at the Department of English, University of Calcutta.<br />
Academically associated with various national and <strong>in</strong>ternational projects, his <strong>in</strong>terests,<br />
specializations and publications <strong>in</strong>clude the areas of Film Studies and Visual Arts; <strong>Post</strong>colonialism<br />
and Cultural Studies; <strong>Post</strong>modernism, New Literatures and Hispanic Studies.
Adivasi Women <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> Literature and C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Debasree De<br />
Abstract:<br />
History is a portrayal of a mobile life cycle. But <strong>in</strong>spection of archive is not <strong>always</strong> enough to<br />
pursuit the history <strong>in</strong> its entirety, especially when it is the history of human be<strong>in</strong>g. Then we should<br />
have to quest for the knowledge <strong>in</strong> the literature and films. But unfortunately there are neither<br />
many nor <strong>in</strong>-depth literary or c<strong>in</strong>ematic creations of adivasi women of Bengal. History and<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation both have been employed <strong>in</strong> the characterization of the adivasi women <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
literatures and c<strong>in</strong>emas. But these characters have some biases and prejudices when it comes to the<br />
authenticity of the characters and the reality of the tribal societies. The female characters have been<br />
portrayed with unnecessary sexual extravaganza. The only exceptions are Mahasweta Devi and<br />
Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath Tagore, who not only realised the <strong>in</strong>ner feel<strong>in</strong>gs of an adivasi woman but also<br />
portrayed her the way she actually is, with full dignity and honour.<br />
Introduction:<br />
The concept of history, as the story of the traditions and culture of the people, was <strong>in</strong>timately<br />
associated with an ethnographic dimension: that is, there is an <strong>in</strong>digenous <strong>Bengali</strong> view, rooted <strong>in</strong><br />
the culture of Bengal, and was therefore dist<strong>in</strong>ctively different and unique from several other<br />
concepts of history. The celebration of the ‘peoples’ culture’ was an <strong>in</strong>tegral feature of the Swadeshi<br />
movement. But the limitations <strong>in</strong>herent <strong>in</strong> the romantic celebration of ‘peoples’ history’ need to be<br />
kept <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d. The masses were eulogised as the custodians of the region’s history and customs. It<br />
required urban, upper-class, often upper-caste, and educated scholars to speak up for and represent<br />
village traditions <strong>in</strong> a bourgeois public sphere shaped by pr<strong>in</strong>t. It was perhaps <strong>in</strong>evitable too that the<br />
perception of what was considered to be peoples’ culture would be coloured by caste, class and<br />
other cultural considerations unique to the urban <strong>Bengali</strong> literati (Sarkar: 22-24). It automatically
77|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
raises the question that why does the figure of the danc<strong>in</strong>g and s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g tribals, specifically tribal<br />
women, appear so frequently <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> literature and films? Rajnarayan Basu’s Deoghar diary thus<br />
proceeds without any reference to Santhals, except one description of a Santhal dance staged by a<br />
local <strong>Bengali</strong>. This is undoubtedly a k<strong>in</strong>d of cultural silenc<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
One of the big problems of writ<strong>in</strong>g tribal women’s history is that there is not a s<strong>in</strong>gle<br />
account written by the tribal women themselves, which is quite available among the upper caste<br />
women or bhadramahila, dalits and Muslims. The only account that we f<strong>in</strong>d about a Santhal girl is,<br />
Sona. We know Sona’s life better than that of any other convert, s<strong>in</strong>ce P.O. Bodd<strong>in</strong>g wrote her<br />
biography. The book is the most complete biography we have of any Santhal woman dur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
colonial period. Here Sona herself wrote some rem<strong>in</strong>iscences of her childhood (See Bodd<strong>in</strong>g). But<br />
that is completely a personal account.<br />
Adivasi Women <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> Literature:<br />
In the construction of tribal identity as ‘primitive’, there were two attempts on the part of the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> literati that were made dur<strong>in</strong>g colonial and post-colonial period. These were, firstly to<br />
<strong>in</strong>tegrate the tribals <strong>in</strong>to the so-called ma<strong>in</strong>stream caste society which can be regarded as an <strong>in</strong>tegral<br />
part of the nation build<strong>in</strong>g process, and the other tendency was portray<strong>in</strong>g the tribal woman as a<br />
sexual object. Though the literatures are not replete with the life stories of the tribal women, yet it is<br />
based on a very biased view of their sexual objectification.<br />
Let us discuss the first event first. It was with the railways that the <strong>Bengali</strong> bhadralok began<br />
visit<strong>in</strong>g places like Santhal Pargana, us<strong>in</strong>g them as holiday retreats. <strong>Bengali</strong> travel-imperative drew<br />
its competence from the project of the colonial ‘penetration’ of <strong>in</strong>teriors. In this paradigm of travel<br />
as penetration – of <strong>in</strong>terior – spaces as well as of the depths of time – the land and the people of the<br />
land were equated. The penetrative competence staged the first-ever visualisation of the ‘primitive’<br />
as a discovery of a people who appeared not to exist prior to observation. The ‘primitive’ was thus
78|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
denied his/her def<strong>in</strong>itional antecedence, which could dislocate history itself by mak<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
‘primitive’ more orig<strong>in</strong>ary to the nation than the ‘historical’. In Santhal Parganas, for example, the<br />
colonial adm<strong>in</strong>istration denied the right of some <strong>Bengali</strong> settlers precisely on the ground that the<br />
‘primitive’ Santhals were more ‘orig<strong>in</strong>al’ to this land than H<strong>in</strong>dus. And the politics of <strong>Bengali</strong>s <strong>in</strong><br />
Deoghar became that of actively reclaim<strong>in</strong>g the H<strong>in</strong>du’s tenancy rights over that space of the nation,<br />
which colonial adm<strong>in</strong>istrative discourse had classified as purely ‘primitive’ (See Ray). This<br />
discourse of discovery also implied that there were lands with<strong>in</strong> the nation which were as yet<br />
untouched by the stir of pass<strong>in</strong>g events to ma<strong>in</strong>stream Indian society. This undid to an extent the<br />
claim of nationalism itself. If the strategy of spatial gather<strong>in</strong>g was <strong>in</strong>dispensable to the nation so that<br />
the ‘primitive’ could be <strong>in</strong>tegrated without disrupt<strong>in</strong>g the unitary narrative of history, it was this<br />
very strategy which also reproduced the nation <strong>in</strong> the colonial image of a fractured and stratified<br />
terra<strong>in</strong> (Banerjee: 91). The question whether tribes should unconditionally be <strong>in</strong>tegrated to<br />
modernis<strong>in</strong>g ma<strong>in</strong>stream society or should be protectively conf<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> spatialised and bounded<br />
‘culture gardens’, thus, became an irresoluble problem for nationalism and is still rema<strong>in</strong>ed a<br />
disputed one.<br />
Now, the second issued needs to be discussed. As colonial modernity sought to commodify<br />
the tribals by mak<strong>in</strong>g them pure bodies, they seemed to become <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly larger than life,<br />
muscular (tribal men) and sensuous (tribal women) and desirable to the middle-class <strong>Bengali</strong>s, as if<br />
he/she possessed that secret of unabstracted passion, which the bhadralok was <strong>in</strong>capable of enjoy<strong>in</strong>g<br />
unconditionally. This produced the <strong>Bengali</strong> aesthetic imag<strong>in</strong>ation of tribals as sensuous and<br />
un<strong>in</strong>hibited figures – to be pa<strong>in</strong>ted, sculpted, filmed, and desired. For example Sanjivchandra<br />
Chattopadhyay wrote about the Kol women of Palamau <strong>in</strong> his memoires of Palamau, which was<br />
published as a serial between 1880 and 1882 <strong>in</strong> Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay’s Bangadarshan.<br />
He said that the Kol women appeared to him as unbearably beautiful and sensuous. He believed that<br />
even <strong>in</strong> old age, Kol women rema<strong>in</strong>ed young (Chattopadhyay: 381). And that no women could
79|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
laugh and dance as much as a ‘primitive’ Kol woman:<br />
All of the same height, the same black colour of stone, bare-bodied, on their naked breasts<br />
mirrors sparkle <strong>in</strong> the moonlight. Wild flowers <strong>in</strong> their hair and ears, smile on their lips. …<br />
restless with pleasure, like a quiver<strong>in</strong>g, impatient mare, stra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g their bodies aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
re<strong>in</strong>s. … If there can be a clamour of the body, then <strong>in</strong> the bodies of these young women [I<br />
truly saw] an outbreak of tumult (Chattopadhyay: 393).<br />
In contrast to this ‘free’ sensuality of Kol women, the limits of the authors own body became<br />
apparent.<br />
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Aranyak reflects similar k<strong>in</strong>d of romanticisation of a tribal<br />
woman, Bhanumati. We can have a clear notion of a tribal woman imag<strong>in</strong>ed by a bhadralok<br />
<strong>in</strong>telligentsia (Babuji, as Bhanumati used to call Satyacharan) <strong>in</strong> the portrayal of Bhanumati.<br />
Bhanumati was a slim and healthy young girl. Her face was endear<strong>in</strong>g and full of warmth.<br />
However, the garments she wore would not have been considered modest <strong>in</strong> civilised society.<br />
Also, her hair was dry and unruly, and she wore a garland of shells and beads around her<br />
neck. …she had a certa<strong>in</strong> natural poise and an <strong>in</strong>herent sense of dignity (Bhattacharya: 151-<br />
54).<br />
Satyacharan further th<strong>in</strong>ks that,<br />
…noth<strong>in</strong>g could be compared with the experience of Bhanumati sitt<strong>in</strong>g near me and putt<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the pieces of fruit <strong>in</strong>to my hands. For the first time <strong>in</strong> my life, I experienced a great pleasure<br />
– the sweetness of a woman’s frank behaviour. When she is affectionate and lov<strong>in</strong>g, it is as if<br />
the gates of heaven are opened on our earth. The dictates of ref<strong>in</strong>ement and the pressures of<br />
the civilised world had erased <strong>in</strong> her sisters the eternal woman that resided <strong>in</strong> Bhanumati<br />
(Bhattacharya: 181-82).<br />
Aga<strong>in</strong> it is reflected <strong>in</strong> the imag<strong>in</strong>ations of Satyacharan,<br />
If I could have lived here … married Bhanumati … <strong>in</strong> the moonlit verandah of this very mud
80|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
house, the <strong>in</strong>nocent forest maid would tell me her childish tales as she cooked, and I would<br />
sit and listen to her. … Bhanumati was dark, but <strong>in</strong> all of Bengal, you would not f<strong>in</strong>d such a<br />
healthy lissom slip of a girl or such a vibrant <strong>in</strong>nocent be<strong>in</strong>g. She was compassionate, k<strong>in</strong>d<br />
and affectionate – how many times had I proof of it… Even th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g about it gave me<br />
pleasure. A beautiful vision! What was the po<strong>in</strong>t <strong>in</strong> progress? ... Once more, we took the<br />
path through the dark forest. By the side of the road Pr<strong>in</strong>cess Bhanumati seemed to be<br />
stand<strong>in</strong>g – not a girl, but a youthful Bhanumati – one I had never seen before.<br />
(Bhattacharya: 251-52).<br />
In the above mentioned descriptions of Bhanumati we f<strong>in</strong>d a stereotypical picture of a tribal<br />
woman replete with an unbound sexuality and passion. Though tribal history <strong>in</strong> British India was<br />
<strong>always</strong> a history of violent movements and protests, yet there are no such reflections found <strong>in</strong> the<br />
mentality or imag<strong>in</strong>ation of <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>telligentsia and their writ<strong>in</strong>g. They rather preferred to conf<strong>in</strong>e<br />
the valour and courage of the tribal women either <strong>in</strong>to eroticism or <strong>in</strong>to festivals.<br />
But with the appearance of the landmark character of Draupadi (Dopdi) the imag<strong>in</strong>ation of a<br />
tribal woman achieved a new horizon. In Draupadi, Mahasweta Devi <strong>in</strong>vites us to beg<strong>in</strong> effac<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
image <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>extricably m<strong>in</strong>gl<strong>in</strong>g historico-political specificity with the sexual differential <strong>in</strong> a<br />
literary discourse. ‘Draupadi’ first appeared <strong>in</strong> Agnigarbha (Womb of Fire), a collection of loosely<br />
connected, short political narratives. Here she beg<strong>in</strong>s putt<strong>in</strong>g together a prose that is a college of<br />
literary <strong>Bengali</strong>, Bureaucratic <strong>Bengali</strong>, tribal <strong>Bengali</strong>, and the languages of the tribals. The Naxalite<br />
movement and the severe state repression are the background of the story and it is the kill<strong>in</strong>g of this<br />
mistress’s husband that sets go<strong>in</strong>g the events of the story. Dopdi was first apprehended and then<br />
brutally tormented by the police s<strong>in</strong>ce she denied reveal<strong>in</strong>g the whereabouts of her comrades.<br />
Slowly the bloodied nailheads shift from her bra<strong>in</strong>. Try<strong>in</strong>g to move, she feels her arms and<br />
legs still tied to four posts. Someth<strong>in</strong>g sticky under her ass and waist. Her own blood. Only
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the gag has been removed. Incredible thirst. In case she says ‘water’ she catches her lower<br />
lip <strong>in</strong> her teeth. She senses that her vag<strong>in</strong>a is bleed<strong>in</strong>g. How many came to make her?<br />
Sham<strong>in</strong>g her, a tear trickles out of the corner of her eye. In the muddy moonlight she lowers<br />
her lightless eye, sees her breasts, and understands that, <strong>in</strong>deed, she’s made up right. Her<br />
breasts are bitten raw, the nipples torn. How many? Four-five-six-seven – then Draupadi<br />
had passed out (Spivak: 34-35).<br />
Draupadi of Mahabharata provides the only example of polyandry and thereby exceptional.<br />
But Mahasweta Devi’s Dopdi got also exceptional when she was placed first <strong>in</strong> a comradely,<br />
activist, guerrilla warrior, monogamous marriage and then <strong>in</strong> a situation of multiple rape.<br />
The strongest characterisation of a tribal woman, Draupadi, comes out through the way she<br />
protested aga<strong>in</strong>st the army officer who captured and degraded her.<br />
… Draupadi, naked, walk<strong>in</strong>g toward him <strong>in</strong> the bright sunlight with her head high. The<br />
nervous guards trail beh<strong>in</strong>d. … Draupadi stands before him, naked. Thigh and pubic hair<br />
matted with dry blood. Two breasts, two wounds. … Draupadi comes closer. Stands with her<br />
hand on her hip, laughs and says, The object of your search, Dopdi Mejhen. You asked them<br />
to make me up, don’t you want to see how they made me? ... Draupadi’s black body comes<br />
even closer. Draupadi shakes with an <strong>in</strong>domitable laughter that Senanayak simply cannot<br />
understand. Her ravaged lips bleed as she beg<strong>in</strong>s laugh<strong>in</strong>g. Draupadi wipes the blood on<br />
her palm and says <strong>in</strong> a voice that is as terrify<strong>in</strong>g, sky splitt<strong>in</strong>g, and sharp as her ululation,<br />
What’s the use of clothes? You can strip me, but how can you clothe me aga<strong>in</strong>? Are you a<br />
man?<br />
She looks around and chooses the front of Senanayak’s white bush shirt to spit a bloody gob<br />
at and says, There isn’t a man here that I should be ashamed. I will not let you put my cloth<br />
on me. What more can you do? Come on, kounter me – come on, kounter me –?
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Draupadi pushes Senanayak with her two mangled breasts, and for the first time Senanayak<br />
is afraid to stand before an unarmed target, terribly afraid (Spivak: 36-37).<br />
Thus, Dopdi crosses the sexual differential <strong>in</strong>to the field of what could only happen to a<br />
woman that she emerges as the most powerful ‘subject’, who, still us<strong>in</strong>g the language of sexual<br />
honour, can derisively call herself ‘the object of your search’, whom the author can describe as a<br />
terrify<strong>in</strong>g superobject – ‘an unarmed target’. But the most important th<strong>in</strong>g that should be borne <strong>in</strong><br />
m<strong>in</strong>d is, be<strong>in</strong>g a tribal woman Dopdi is not romanticised by Mahasweta Devi. There is a long<br />
tradition of writ<strong>in</strong>g on tribals as is evident from the work of famous writers such as Tarashankar<br />
Bandyopadhyay and Sat<strong>in</strong>ath Bhaduri. But there is a remarkable difference <strong>in</strong> their outlook and that<br />
of Mahasweta Devi. In an <strong>in</strong>terview with Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, she tells:<br />
The tribals and the ma<strong>in</strong>stream have <strong>always</strong> been parallel. … The ma<strong>in</strong>stream simply<br />
doesn’t understand the parallel. … They can’t keep their land; there is no education for<br />
them, no health facilities … they are denied everyth<strong>in</strong>g. … That is why I started writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
about the tribal movements and the tribal world. … I repay them their honour<br />
(Satyanarayana: 19).<br />
Regard<strong>in</strong>g the gendered politics, Col<strong>in</strong> Mac Cabe’s comment appears to be closer to the heart of the<br />
matter, when he says:<br />
The force of Mahasweta Devi’s text resides <strong>in</strong> its ground<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the gendered subaltern’s<br />
body, <strong>in</strong> that female body which is never questioned and only exploited. The bodies of<br />
Jashoda and Dopdi figure forth the unutterable ugl<strong>in</strong>ess and cruelty which cooks <strong>in</strong> Third<br />
World kitchen to produce the First World feast that we daily enjoy (Cabe: xvi)<br />
Adivasi Women <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema:<br />
New histories have been popularised as a way of demystify<strong>in</strong>g the world of appearances, where
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media plays a very crucial part. In <strong>in</strong>dependent India, the major thrust of cultural policy is<br />
documentation and dissem<strong>in</strong>ation. Documentation of communities and process of change and<br />
transformation calls for a serious th<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g and meticulous plann<strong>in</strong>g. Such an approach also calls for<br />
the rejection of certa<strong>in</strong> stereotypes. But unfortunately media itself is stereotyp<strong>in</strong>g the gender<br />
dimensions of the tribal society and it can rightly be called as the poverty of empiricism, because<br />
the read<strong>in</strong>g or decipher<strong>in</strong>g myth regard<strong>in</strong>g tribal way of life is a new way of legitimis<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
bourgeois readership and bourgeois conceptualization.<br />
Photography may show perhaps the orig<strong>in</strong>al of what is today the faster grow<strong>in</strong>g area of<br />
‘alternative’ critical practice of cultural studies. If properly used, it may create a space, too, for the<br />
study of the tribal society. But here also the role of the photography and audio-visual media is not<br />
satisfactory at all <strong>in</strong> uphold<strong>in</strong>g their worldview. The movies made on tribal life portray a wrong<br />
image of its womenfolk. For example, the tribals have been portrayed as exploited people, as<br />
militants, as simple, gullible folk <strong>in</strong> the film Mrigaya (The Royal Hunt) of 1976 directed by Mr<strong>in</strong>al<br />
Sen. In this award-w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g film the central female character is Dungri. She happens to be abducted<br />
by a local money lender <strong>in</strong> lieu for the debt of ten rupees owed by her father to the Mahajan.<br />
Santhal women have been shown danc<strong>in</strong>g and s<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g. Portray<strong>in</strong>g a hunter-gatherer tribal society<br />
somewhere <strong>in</strong> the Santhal Pargana, the character of Dungri fails to recognise the courage and the<br />
freedom <strong>in</strong>herent to a tribal woman. Her character suffers from vulnerability and a relatively<br />
mascul<strong>in</strong>e bias.<br />
The film Aranyer D<strong>in</strong> Ratri (Days and Nights <strong>in</strong> the Forest) of 1970 directed by Satyajit<br />
Ray, which is based upon the <strong>Bengali</strong> novel of the same name by Sunil Gangopadhyay, describes<br />
the escapades of four urban young men <strong>in</strong> tribal areas of Palamau and their attitude to Santhal<br />
women, which is deplorable. The entire sequence is <strong>in</strong>terspersed with shots of tribal women danc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to primitive rhythm as the central characters are engaged <strong>in</strong> their primitive pursuits. The four young<br />
men from the city are not unlikable, but their treatment of the local tribal people reveals an
84|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
unth<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g arrogance that at times verges on brutality. One of them, Hari, gets close to a Santhal girl<br />
Duli when she approaches the group for extra dr<strong>in</strong>k. When Hari sees the rustic and attractive Duli,<br />
the tribal key to rev up his self-esteem, he jumps at it. He does not like when Shekhar pays the tribal<br />
women money for sweep<strong>in</strong>g and swabb<strong>in</strong>g for them. Duli has an untamed quality that enhances her<br />
appeal. Hari takes her <strong>in</strong>to the forest and makes love with her. Though the film masterly juxtaposes<br />
the urban and tribal, yet the character of Duli gives a very negative idea about a tribal woman.<br />
There is a constant physical tension between Hari and Duli.<br />
Tagore on Adivasi Women:<br />
As suggested by these divergent visual and textual accounts the bourgeois objectification of the<br />
tribal women <strong>in</strong>dicates dehumanization <strong>in</strong> captur<strong>in</strong>g the ethnic identities. Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath Tagore,<br />
however, realised that the Indian <strong>in</strong>telligentsia needed to destabilize social prejudices, to allow India<br />
to flourish as a pluralistic postcolonial democracy (Rycroft: 150-74). He wrote,<br />
The Santal woman hurries up and down the graveled path under<br />
The shimool tree<br />
A course grey sari closely tw<strong>in</strong>ed her slender limbs, dark and<br />
compact<br />
… Some absent-m<strong>in</strong>ded div<strong>in</strong>e designer<br />
…must have improvised unawares this woman’s form<br />
… I sit on my terrace watch<strong>in</strong>g the young woman toil<strong>in</strong>g at her<br />
task [of build<strong>in</strong>g Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath’s mud house: Shymali] hour after<br />
hour.<br />
My heart is touched with shame when I feel that the woman’s<br />
service,
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sacredly orda<strong>in</strong>ed for her loved ones, its dignity soiled by the<br />
market price,<br />
Should have been robbed by me with the help of a few pieces of<br />
copper (Tagore: 71-72).<br />
At Visva-Bharati, Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath <strong>in</strong>stituted a new perception vis-à-vis India’s <strong>in</strong>digenous<br />
peoples, which attempted, through hegemonic <strong>in</strong>ter-cultural relations, to subvert the colonial<br />
separation of ‘aborig<strong>in</strong>als’ from ma<strong>in</strong>stream H<strong>in</strong>du India. As is evident <strong>in</strong> his poem, ‘The Santal’,<br />
comprehended both as a malleable concept and as a community, became a primary focus for this<br />
cultural <strong>in</strong>tervention. In this poem, unlike the ‘progressive’ <strong>in</strong>telligentsia who have engendered a<br />
vibrant <strong>in</strong>tellectual legacy and thus tended to take representations of the adivasis, the agency of the<br />
subaltern is less easy to identify because Tagore positions adivasis and modernists on an equal<br />
foot<strong>in</strong>g, produc<strong>in</strong>g a new dynamic between ‘real’ and ‘positional’ subalterns.<br />
Conclusion:<br />
In all these accounts the uniqueness of tribes, of their social structure and their world view, their<br />
sense of harmony with nature and with one another, does not come through either. The tribes are not<br />
doomed to suffer for eternity. They have lost out to, but have not been totally destroyed by, the<br />
forces of exploitation. There is someth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> their society and their culture that has survived and<br />
endured and held them together <strong>in</strong> many parts of India. This story is also needed to be told. The<br />
study on tribal women, who constitute the most major portion of the tribal culture, is a relatively<br />
neglected area of historical study and should be brought to the fore.
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Bibliography<br />
Banerjee, Prathama. Politics of Time: ‘Primitives’ and History-writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a <strong>Colonial</strong> Society. New<br />
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2006.<br />
Bhattacharya, Rimli. Aranyak of the Forest – Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay: Translated from the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>, Calcutta: Seagull Books, 2002.<br />
Bodd<strong>in</strong>g, P.O. Sona: En Kristen Santalkv<strong>in</strong>des liv oggjern<strong>in</strong>g. Copenhagen: Den Nordiske<br />
Santalmisjon, 1919.<br />
Cabe, Col<strong>in</strong> Mac. Foreword. In Other Worlds: Essays <strong>in</strong> Cultural Politics by Gayatri Chakravorty<br />
Spivak. New York: Methuen, 1987.<br />
Chattopadhyay, Sanjivchandra. “Palamau” <strong>in</strong> Sanjiv Rachanabali, Calcutta, 1970.<br />
Ray, Shashibhushan. Santal Pargana, Past and Present. Deoghar, 1926.<br />
Rycroft, Daniel J. “Santalism: Reconfigur<strong>in</strong>g ‘The Santal’ <strong>in</strong> Indian Art and Politics”, <strong>in</strong> The Indian<br />
Historical Review, Vol- XXXIII, No- 1, 2006.<br />
Sarkar, Sumit. “The Many Worlds of Indian History”, <strong>in</strong> Writ<strong>in</strong>g Social History. Delhi: Oxford<br />
University Press, 1997.<br />
Satyanarayana, E. The Plays of Mahasweta Devi, A Critical <strong>Study</strong>. New Delhi: Prestige, 2010.<br />
Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. Mahasweta Devi Breast Stories. Calcutta: Seagull, 1997.<br />
Tagore, Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath. “The Santal Woman”, <strong>in</strong> K.R. Kripalani (ed.) Visva-Bharati Quarterly, New<br />
Series, Vol- I, Part- I, (translated from <strong>Bengali</strong> by Rab<strong>in</strong>dranath on 2 April, 1935), 1935.<br />
Debasree De is a UGC Junior Research Fellow at the Department of History, Jadavpur University,<br />
Kolkata. The author is currently pursu<strong>in</strong>g PhD on Adivasi Women <strong>in</strong> <strong>Post</strong>-<strong>Colonial</strong> Eastern India<br />
and also authored a book entitled as Purba Bharater Adibasi Nari Brittanta (1947-2010). She has<br />
also publications <strong>in</strong> journals like Economic & Political Weekly, Man And Life, and so on.
Writ<strong>in</strong>g a Biography of <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Publicity: the Logic of<br />
Differentiation, and a Journey of Desire<br />
Spandan Bhattacharya<br />
Abstract:<br />
This article aims to travel around the publicity scenario of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema and attempts to write a<br />
cultural biography of it. The film-related bullet<strong>in</strong>s, publicity booklets, news paper advertisements,<br />
studio publications, posters and lobby cards of <strong>Bengali</strong> films provide me an entry po<strong>in</strong>t to this<br />
cultural biography of <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity start<strong>in</strong>g from the silent era towards the changes <strong>in</strong> later<br />
decades. My narrative starts with the literary trait of early years followed by its logic of<br />
transformation with the emergence of new technology and newer production system and here I’ve<br />
tried to explore how the idea of bhadralok self and the pleasure of bhadralok world <strong>in</strong> its appeal<br />
and denial played a significant role <strong>in</strong> this fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g journey. In relation to that I’ve attempted to<br />
trace the moral economy beh<strong>in</strong>d it that determ<strong>in</strong>es the cultural logic of that transformation.<br />
* * * * * * * * *<br />
The narrative of film publicity and film promotion run a fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g journey <strong>in</strong> the history of c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
across the world. The world history of film publicity not only tells a tale of evolution of a new<br />
medium called C<strong>in</strong>ema but also reflects on this medium’s numerous aspects beyond its narrative<br />
economy and its visual regime. In the early film advertisements first the movies were a novelty that<br />
promoted themselves and the actual content of the films mattered little. Early c<strong>in</strong>ema researchers<br />
have shown that the film <strong>in</strong>dustry did not advertise its movies directly to the general public until<br />
around 1913. When films first emerged as a scientific <strong>in</strong>novation <strong>in</strong> the late n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century,<br />
pioneer<strong>in</strong>g companies like Edison, Biograph, Lumière and Pathé were more <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> sell<strong>in</strong>g<br />
mach<strong>in</strong>es that produced films. The earliest posters advertised the act of moviego<strong>in</strong>g itself. For
88|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance <strong>in</strong> France, the Lumière Brothers advertised their “C<strong>in</strong>ématographe Lumière,” while <strong>in</strong> the<br />
United States, posters promoted “Edison’s Greatest Marvel: The Vitascope.” The emergence of the<br />
nickelodeon around 1905 <strong>in</strong> the west changed the film <strong>in</strong>dustry and its advertis<strong>in</strong>g strategies to a<br />
great extent. Dur<strong>in</strong>g the nickelodeon boom around 1905–1908, exhibitors started advertis<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
films, used homemade posters outside their theater facades, hired people to shout about their show,<br />
distributed homemade flyers, and borrowed publicity stunts. From about 1908, exhibitors produced<br />
their own weekly or monthly bullet<strong>in</strong>s, list<strong>in</strong>g forthcom<strong>in</strong>g movies and provid<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation about<br />
their theaters, films, and promotions, alongside some other local news and advertisements.<br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema came to Bengal and all over the India as a mass enterta<strong>in</strong>ment medium from the<br />
west and <strong>in</strong> the early period it were the foreign film companies either European or American that<br />
used to exhibit films <strong>in</strong> cities like Bombay, Madras or Calcutta. When the <strong>in</strong>digenous film<br />
production began <strong>in</strong> India the biggest challenge was perhaps to make a dist<strong>in</strong>ct “Indian” film <strong>in</strong><br />
contents, sets, and stylizations. And it was equally important to promote these films as “made <strong>in</strong><br />
India” and hence different from the regular foreign releases. In this context this article attempts to<br />
time travel <strong>in</strong> the film publicity scenario of Bengal and aims to write a cultural biography of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity. 1 But discuss<strong>in</strong>g the entire publicity network of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, its narrative<br />
of ‘evolution’ and its material significance would have been too ambitious an attempt for this<br />
article. Primarily because of the difficulties <strong>in</strong> access<strong>in</strong>g all the material, and secondly s<strong>in</strong>ce this<br />
article is not a survey of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema’s publicity discourse, I’ll limit myself to some observations<br />
that I would like to make and the materiality of its procedures and will try to comment on them<br />
relationally. The film-related bullet<strong>in</strong>, publicity booklets, news paper advertisements, studio<br />
publications and lobby cards of early <strong>Bengali</strong> films may provide me an entry po<strong>in</strong>t to this cultural<br />
biography. In my article I will attempt to trace the process of transformation <strong>in</strong> publicity pattern,<br />
and its economy of desire that determ<strong>in</strong>es the cultural logic of <strong>Bengali</strong> film promotion.
89|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
If we look at the early period of <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity the lierary ness of the publicity<br />
discourse was a significant aspect of it. 2 The advertisement rhetoric followed generally the Sadhu<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> or English to generate a sensation <strong>in</strong> the targeted mass of these films. The publicity<br />
booklets of these films almost narrated a scene by scene plot development synopsis, used still<br />
photographs and provided captions with them. In each of these booklets the name of the theaters<br />
and the logos of the production houses (especially if it’s a renowned name) were mentioned. The<br />
first page <strong>in</strong>troduced the cast and crew of the film and the brief synopsis of the film plot were<br />
provided <strong>in</strong> rest of the pages. After the emergence of talkie the publicity booklets started add<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
lyrics of the film songs used <strong>in</strong> those films. For example publicity booklets of films like Chandidas<br />
(1932), Sita (1933), Bidyapati (1938) and many others had the list of songs and their lyrics <strong>in</strong> it.<br />
Sometimes the booklets used hand drawn images of some motives from the films or images of the<br />
writer like Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay or Rab<strong>in</strong>tranath Tagore if the film is an adaptation of their<br />
literary works. Here I would like to quote from a film advertisement of a silent film Aparadhi<br />
(Pramathesh Chandra Barua, 1931 )<br />
Night <strong>in</strong> the lonely laboratory- the experiment has given every promise of successthe<br />
professor is jubilant- but his assistant seems pensive. Jamuna, the maid servant enter<strong>in</strong>g<br />
with d<strong>in</strong>ner- ….. Niranjan (the assistant) departs, promis<strong>in</strong>g to be back soon. 10.30 p.m. the<br />
professor is quite alone.<br />
It is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to observe how the advertisement mode used to generate a literary feel and pleasure<br />
and use literary tropes <strong>in</strong> their publicity stylizations. It is important to note when the literary ness of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema yet to flourish <strong>in</strong> its full fledged form and <strong>Bengali</strong>s has just started to call movies<br />
affectionately ‘boi’ (‘book’) , the publicity mode utilized this fasc<strong>in</strong>ation and appeal of literature to<br />
that extent. While the latter half of early c<strong>in</strong>ema of Bengal would channelize and idealize itself<br />
towards the ‘boi’ mode of c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> becom<strong>in</strong>g an alternative pleasure of read<strong>in</strong>g literature, the
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publicity approach signaled this desire much before. And from the publicity narrative the idea of<br />
motivat<strong>in</strong>g class’ self differentiation is also quite evident <strong>in</strong> these examples. The literary trait which<br />
later would become one of the important aspects of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema made its entry as early as <strong>in</strong> this<br />
period.<br />
The bhadralok self and the economy of bhadralok pleasure that would emerge on the<br />
centre stage of <strong>Bengali</strong> narrative c<strong>in</strong>ema also signaled its arrival <strong>in</strong> the publicity narrative of early<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films.<br />
In the later period of black and white era of the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema this tradition of film publicity<br />
more or less cont<strong>in</strong>ues <strong>in</strong> the same manner with occasional changes <strong>in</strong> the advertisement rhetoric<br />
and photographic stylizations. In the <strong>Bengali</strong> film posters and lobby cards of this period we can see<br />
the use of still photographs from film stills on show cards or hand drawn banner size two sheet<br />
posters of those film stills as <strong>in</strong> films like Basu Paribar ( 1952), Sare Chuattor (1953), Abhayer<br />
Biye (1957) , Chaoa Paoa (1959) etc. Most of the publicity for these films used a scene from an<br />
important film sequence that matched with the mood of the film, for <strong>in</strong>stance if it was a comedy like<br />
Sare Chuattor the film still used conveyed the light, comic mood of the film, or if it was a social<br />
drama like Kankabatir Ghaat (1957) the poster captured <strong>in</strong>tense moments featur<strong>in</strong>g Anubha Gupta<br />
and Uttam Kumar <strong>in</strong> sentimental postures and with their anxiety ridden faces. Some film show<br />
cards like those of Ekti Raat (1956) or Khelaghar (1959) added colors on black and white stills to<br />
make them attractive , the curta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> the background, the hero<strong>in</strong>e’s sari or sometimes the faces of<br />
the hero-hero<strong>in</strong>es were hand pa<strong>in</strong>ted. Sometimes along with still photographs of a particular film<br />
scene, additional hand drawn motifs or pictures were used, like <strong>in</strong> the Haat Baralei Bandhu poster a<br />
hand drawn picture of a hand hold<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Bengali</strong> word “Bandhu” (/friend) was used. Satyajit Ray’s<br />
hand designed film posters are famous for their <strong>in</strong>novative use of fonts and the punn<strong>in</strong>g. And it was<br />
Ray’s own ideas and styles that were materialized <strong>in</strong> his film posters and publicities. Apart from<br />
Ray, there are films like Chouranghee (1978) or Sanyasi Raja (1975) that used stylized fonts <strong>in</strong>
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accordance with the film plot and its theme. The Chouranghee poster fonts stylistically<br />
foregrounded the mood of Chouranghee’s locational and thematic significances- the letters<br />
organized as if four roads were <strong>in</strong>tersect<strong>in</strong>g each other evok<strong>in</strong>g chaos and hurry and Sanyasi Raja<br />
poster fonts were shaped and organized like a crown situated just above Uttam Kumar’s large figure<br />
dressed accord<strong>in</strong>g to his attire <strong>in</strong> this film. The <strong>in</strong>formations conveyed <strong>in</strong> most posters are names of<br />
the director, producer and actor-actress, and if it’s a literary adaptation, also the name of the orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
literary source; writers were also highlighted <strong>in</strong> the posters, as <strong>in</strong> the cases of Tarashankar<br />
Bandyopadhyay’s Saptapadi (1961), or Sharad<strong>in</strong>du Bandyopadhyay’s Jh<strong>in</strong>der Bandi (1961).<br />
After the arrival of color, for some years black and white still photographs cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be<br />
used for film publicity. For example, <strong>in</strong> film posters of Pratishodh or Ogo Badhu Sundari black and<br />
white star images were used <strong>in</strong> colored backgrounds and the term ‘colored film’ was highlighted.<br />
This tradition changed after colored film posters became the dom<strong>in</strong>ant mode of publicity primarily<br />
from the late 1970s. Another major change that happened later <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity was the<br />
change <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g technology: a shift from silk screen pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g to offset pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g. 3 In silk screen<br />
posters, colors were applied to l<strong>in</strong>e draw<strong>in</strong>g and half tones did not develop properly, whereas <strong>in</strong><br />
offset pr<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g this problem is not there. There were other changes as well, as for example, a shift<br />
from hand drawn method to PTS (photo typesett<strong>in</strong>g) and from PTS to digital sett<strong>in</strong>g. Along with<br />
technological changes a professional approach to film publicity also came about. In earlier years<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividual designers like Dhiren Mallik, Shree Panchanan, Nirmal Roy, Shishir Karmakar worked<br />
on poster design and producers directly gave them contracts. Then the film publicity firm “A<br />
Square” was formed by Shailen Sur and Samaresh Basu for <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity for different<br />
sectors. Then <strong>in</strong> the mid 1970s “C<strong>in</strong>e Media” entered the <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity scenario. Uttam<br />
Kumar Basu, the present PRO of the firm claims “C<strong>in</strong>e Media” to be the first complete<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment firm <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. Swapan Kumar Ghosh and Chanchal Brahma created this
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firm and it has cont<strong>in</strong>ued its significant presence work<strong>in</strong>g for diverse genres of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema until<br />
now <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity.<br />
The late 1970s is also a period when with technological advancement, poster design<strong>in</strong>g went<br />
through an overall transformation with a stylization of fonts and changes <strong>in</strong> the patterns <strong>in</strong> which<br />
the star images were used. And along with it the language of film publicity and posters <strong>in</strong> terms of<br />
its nature and usage experienced a new phase <strong>in</strong> the 1980s to address a class that the <strong>Bengali</strong> film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry had just recognized as its target audience. Film posters went through a transformation that<br />
was manifested <strong>in</strong> the use of loud colors, the emphasis of hyper (melo) dramatic moments, <strong>in</strong> the<br />
very nam<strong>in</strong>g of the films and the fonts used. It’s <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to observe the k<strong>in</strong>d of titles and the way<br />
they were written <strong>in</strong> posters and publicity materials with clear resemblances to the jatra pala<br />
posters popular <strong>in</strong> suburban and rural Bengal. 4 In many cases the names of the films were <strong>in</strong><br />
curved bright yellow fonts represent<strong>in</strong>g jatra poster aesthetics quite directly. More importantly they<br />
were published <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> newspaper pages used for theater and jatra advertisement. Pr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong><br />
adjacent columns, these film posters resonated directly with the jatra posters <strong>in</strong> the stylization of the<br />
titles and the general aesthetics of the representation. Usually the image of the star figure was used<br />
to cover the entire surface of the poster; for example the use of the images of the hero Ranjit Mallik,<br />
Chiranjeet or <strong>in</strong> later years <strong>in</strong> most of the cases, the star Prasenjeet <strong>in</strong> his moments of action<br />
emphasiz<strong>in</strong>g high drama <strong>in</strong> his facial expression and action <strong>in</strong> his aggressive postures. Sometimes<br />
the poster also used faces of the antagonists and female leads, and sometimes a scene from the film<br />
promis<strong>in</strong>g a song and dance sequence. Often if the represented figures and the frozen images were<br />
not enough to convey the sense of moral drama of the film, the posters would literally use words<br />
like Anugatya (Obedience), Tyag (Sacrifice), Samman (Respect), Kartabya (Responsibility) etc as<br />
<strong>in</strong> case of Dadathakur (Haranath Chakraborty, December, 2001). Additionally references to H<strong>in</strong>du<br />
religious figures and their bless<strong>in</strong>gs were used <strong>in</strong> posters that had largely been absent <strong>in</strong> earlier
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decades. The posters and newspaper publicity <strong>in</strong> many cases started with l<strong>in</strong>es like “Ma Tarar<br />
kripay” or “Ma Kaalir Kripay” (with the bless<strong>in</strong>gs from Goddess Tara or Goddess Kali).<br />
In this way the 1980s film publicity of ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema brought a k<strong>in</strong>d of<br />
‘<strong>in</strong>terruption’ <strong>in</strong> the history of <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity. This is also a period when <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong><br />
the hands of a new group of film maker-producer cha<strong>in</strong>, witnessed the emergence of a new film<br />
aesthetics <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry. These alleged copies of southern or H<strong>in</strong>di film hits or remakes<br />
of Bangladeshi films had a strong negative impact on the <strong>Bengali</strong> bhadralok public sphere and one<br />
of the primary reasons that this sphere could not ‘bear’ with the popular narrative scheme of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films was their use of dialogue, and the way they spoke <strong>Bengali</strong> language <strong>in</strong> those ‘jatra<br />
marka chhobi’(/jatra typed film). They spoke a language that the bhadra sphere clearly understood,<br />
but one that they could not, or to be precise, were not ready to ‘identify’ with. Noted film journalists<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> and English newspapers did not hide their feel<strong>in</strong>gs of discomfort while listen<strong>in</strong>g to this<br />
unidentifiable, ‘rowdy’ <strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong> their review columns. This is possibly the reason why many film<br />
journalists of this period did not consider these films as <strong>Bengali</strong> films at all and described the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film star Prasenjeet who has acted <strong>in</strong> many of these films as a H<strong>in</strong>di film star. This specific<br />
use of the <strong>Bengali</strong> language whether scripted <strong>in</strong>tentionally or unknow<strong>in</strong>gly is a different issue to<br />
discuss here. If on the one hand filmmaker Haranath Chakraborty sees it as a part of their project to<br />
speak <strong>in</strong> a simple, colloquial Bangla dialogue address<strong>in</strong>g the common <strong>Bengali</strong> mass and that there<br />
was noth<strong>in</strong>g ‘unconventional’ or ‘unusual’ <strong>in</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g that language, on the other hand journalists <strong>in</strong><br />
their columns felt that this language was a conscious ‘rejection’ of the bhadra cultural code. For<br />
<strong>in</strong>stance <strong>in</strong> a personal <strong>in</strong>terview with a film journalist of a reputed English daily she discussed<br />
nam<strong>in</strong>g strategies of these films and sites an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g example of this particular film Baba keno<br />
chakor. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to her <strong>in</strong>stead of this direct and crude approach, the film could go for some title<br />
like “pitar asamman” (Disrespect to the father) that would not hamper the sense of the theme that<br />
the film wanted to convey and the film would also have a ‘presentable’ name that was suitable for
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the bhadra tongue. But the makers did not use that name deliberately because they wanted to<br />
express that rejection of bhadra cultural code and any k<strong>in</strong>d of bhadrata <strong>in</strong> their populist strategy.<br />
An imag<strong>in</strong>ation of a new class of audience became important <strong>in</strong> their publicity approach and if we<br />
carefully observe the poster aesthetics of this period we can sense that break, that rupture, and the<br />
appeal of rejection of bhadralok cultural hegemony. Perhaps this new film culture offered not just a<br />
new k<strong>in</strong>d of folk enterta<strong>in</strong>ment and celebration of Jatra aesthetics <strong>in</strong> films which were<br />
unconventional compared to earlier <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, but also these films constructed the pleasure<br />
through a strong denial of the conventional ‘bhadralok pleasure’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. This was a<br />
denial of what was considered to be gentle, decent (literally the bhadra part of bhadralok culture)<br />
and sensible and targeted towards a ‘better’ c<strong>in</strong>ema go<strong>in</strong>g class, and on the whole a denial of the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> literary and cultural tradition and the importance of education for the c<strong>in</strong>ema go<strong>in</strong>g class.<br />
This model of ‘rejection’ needs to be understood <strong>in</strong> terms of a newly privileged class which<br />
is obvious when we consider the appeal and also the politics of these films that often goes beyond<br />
the language used with<strong>in</strong> the film texts to the publicity logic <strong>in</strong> the language of circulation of these<br />
films. As historians who have worked on the social and cultural history of late twentieth century<br />
Bengal po<strong>in</strong>ted out a shift <strong>in</strong> the profile of Calcutta as a city s<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>in</strong> this period a new section of the<br />
rural population <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly started visit<strong>in</strong>g the city as a source of work and created a new doma<strong>in</strong><br />
of urbanity. This historical narrative of this new city based emergent class might be useful <strong>in</strong> the<br />
narrative of the significant path break<strong>in</strong>g changes of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema. Along with the ‘emergence’<br />
of a lower middle labour<strong>in</strong>g class <strong>in</strong> the expanded city, a rural and suburban population also became<br />
important <strong>in</strong> the imag<strong>in</strong>ation of the target film audience of <strong>Bengali</strong> ‘ma<strong>in</strong>stream’ films. Even <strong>in</strong> their<br />
press <strong>in</strong>terviews ma<strong>in</strong>stream filmmakers acknowledged the presence of this class as the ideal target<br />
audience of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema from the mid 1980s. And the posters signaled that presence prior to<br />
these films release and mobilized that appeal. This newly ga<strong>in</strong>ed access to the city and city bred<br />
culture by an emergent lower middle class which <strong>in</strong> turn generated new cultural needs of this class
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was seen as a serious threat <strong>in</strong> the bhadralok media and by the urban educated public sphere.<br />
Furthermore, this resulted <strong>in</strong> a serious engagement with the ‘crisis narrative’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and<br />
a need to (re)claim the ‘better class’ of c<strong>in</strong>ema go<strong>in</strong>g crowd through an ‘alternative’ c<strong>in</strong>ematic<br />
practice. This ‘alternative’/ ‘parallel’ filmic practice constructed its worlds of pleasure <strong>in</strong> its attempt<br />
to reclaim the ‘golden era’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
In an <strong>in</strong>terview film director Subrata Sen speaks of how the urban audiences of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema became tired of the titles of contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> films, that accord<strong>in</strong>g to him for years had<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ued us<strong>in</strong>g moral b<strong>in</strong>aries like Nyay Anyay/ Virtue and vice, Sadhu Shaytan /the pure and the<br />
evil etc. So when he as a film maker worked on films that have titles like Ek Je Achhe Kanya/<br />
Swapner Feriwala/ Nil Nirjane perhaps he had this equation <strong>in</strong> his m<strong>in</strong>d. For example the very<br />
name Unishe April that signified the emergence of Rituparno Ghosh and also a new genre of<br />
bhadralok relationship film, <strong>in</strong> its title carried the idea of a ‘different film’ and generated an <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
before its release. Along with the nam<strong>in</strong>g, the representation style of this film poster (of Unishe<br />
April) attracted a crowd that was reluctant to watch a ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> film; it used the <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
numerical one and n<strong>in</strong>e and put images of Debashree Roy and Aparna Sen <strong>in</strong> two corners <strong>in</strong>dicat<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the distance between them via the use of the space <strong>in</strong> between. In the newspaper advertisements,<br />
us<strong>in</strong>g phrase like “ma o meyer jatil samparko niye ek asadharon paribarik chhabi” (/“an<br />
extraord<strong>in</strong>ary family film explor<strong>in</strong>g relationship complexity between a mother and a daughter”), the<br />
poster promised someth<strong>in</strong>g other than what the usual family melodrama of a Swapan Saha or a<br />
Haranath Chakraborty film could provide. Firstly the ‘realist’ nature of the characters’ photographs<br />
differentiated it from the usual family melodramas of that time. Darkly lit spaces, characters’ faces<br />
with restra<strong>in</strong>ed emotion tried to convey that ‘difference’ and it went well with the sense of the<br />
reality of relationships <strong>in</strong> the middle class belief system. And the poster highlighted the film’s<br />
national award recognition, especially Debashree Roy as a national award w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g actress for this<br />
film. Additional <strong>in</strong>formation that the newspaper advertisements of Unishe April provided, was that
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the night show would be over by 10.30 pm. Though this simple <strong>in</strong>formation might sound like just a<br />
necessary detail, it had its significance beyond just <strong>in</strong>formation. An <strong>in</strong>terview with Uttam Kr. Basu<br />
who was <strong>in</strong> charge of publicity for Unishe April on behalf of the publicity organization C<strong>in</strong>e Media,<br />
reveals that this detail about the show tim<strong>in</strong>g had been provided out of safety concerns so that the<br />
middle class bhadralok could go to the film theater without worry<strong>in</strong>g about transport. It’s important<br />
to note the manner <strong>in</strong> which this film imag<strong>in</strong>ed a class who might be bothered about their security<br />
and available transport facilities <strong>in</strong> order to watch this film.<br />
Rituparno Ghosh’s Titli <strong>in</strong> a similar ve<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> its publicity brought up a comparison between<br />
Aparna Sen and Konkona Sensharma <strong>in</strong> different registers. The film magaz<strong>in</strong>e columns and press<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment news section dur<strong>in</strong>g that period focused on the comparison between the two actresses<br />
deal<strong>in</strong>g with the question of who is a better actress, who is more beautiful etc.<br />
Both Titli and<br />
Kokona’s first feature film Ek Je Achhe Kanya used a star discourse about Konokona Sensharma <strong>in</strong><br />
their respective publicity programmes. When Subrata Sen and Sandip Sen the director and the<br />
producer of this film respectively planned Ek Je Achhe Kanya as the first <strong>Bengali</strong> “urban youth<br />
film” they felt it was necessary to establish Konkona Sensharma as the face of urban <strong>Bengali</strong> youth.<br />
And the subsidiary discourse on Konkona Sensharma highlighted this factor dur<strong>in</strong>g this period<br />
when the actor debuted as the central character of the film. Press columns highlighted her college<br />
life spent <strong>in</strong> Delhi as a St. Stephen’s College English honors graduate, her preference for English<br />
Television serials on Star World etc. Similar publicity was done for Subrata Sen’s next film<br />
Swapner Feriwala (the hawker of dreams) <strong>in</strong> which Nilanjana Bhoumik, the daughter of another<br />
early <strong>Bengali</strong> film hero<strong>in</strong>e Anjana Bhoumik, debuted.<br />
Contrary to the flat, bright title fonts of the ‘ma<strong>in</strong>stream’ model, these film posters used<br />
fonts of a ‘different’ style. In many cases go<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st uniform typed words they consciously used<br />
fonts of the asymmetrical hand writ<strong>in</strong>g style. The fonts of Ek Je Ache Kanya, Titli, Utsab, Iti<br />
Shrikanta, Shubho Mahurat or Hothat Nirar Janye were <strong>in</strong> this mode. Apart from that, the names of
97|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the films themselves were closer to the literary use of <strong>Bengali</strong> names as opposed to the names<br />
resembl<strong>in</strong>g popular jatra titles of the ‘ma<strong>in</strong>stream’ model. There are <strong>in</strong>stances when professional<br />
pa<strong>in</strong>ters worked for the publicity or font design of ‘parallel’ films, for example, the artist Anup Roy<br />
designed the letter type and overall style of the title for Titli, the hand written red colored word and<br />
an idle butterfly sitt<strong>in</strong>g on it visually signify<strong>in</strong>g the mean<strong>in</strong>g of Titli. On the other hand, the films<br />
that were based on direct literary adaptations created a literary flavor <strong>in</strong> the use of their fonts as that<br />
of films like Chokher Bali or Antarmahal. Along with font style there are strategic uses of captions<br />
that also helped to differentiate these films from the ma<strong>in</strong>stream model. In Subrata Sen’s Hothat<br />
Nirar Janye (Suddenly for Nira, 2004) l<strong>in</strong>es from Sunil Gangopadhyay’s poetry were used for<br />
publicity. This film had a one week delayed release on censorship grounds with reference to one<br />
scene, and this ‘news’ had already been leaked to the public to generate curiosity. And when the<br />
publicity l<strong>in</strong>es used a sentence like “Sharir jakhan maner kotha bole” (/when the body speaks of<br />
m<strong>in</strong>d’s words) it <strong>in</strong>creased an <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the film quite effectively. Moreover, the Hothat Nirar<br />
Janye publicity poster used a m<strong>in</strong>imalist style, unique to the <strong>Bengali</strong> film poster tradition: it just had<br />
a close up of Jaya Seal who played the title role of Nira aga<strong>in</strong>st a white background with Sunil<br />
Gangopadhyay’s l<strong>in</strong>es used above. With her face and that l<strong>in</strong>e, the capital ‘A’ <strong>in</strong> a circle connotative<br />
of its adult certification was highlighted. The film is an adaptation of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s short<br />
story Rani o Ab<strong>in</strong>ash (Rani and Ab<strong>in</strong>ash), but it <strong>in</strong>tentionally uses the name Nira <strong>in</strong> its title. Nira is<br />
an imag<strong>in</strong>ed muse that Sunil Gangopadhyay had written about <strong>in</strong> a number of poems and thus the<br />
figure had already been <strong>in</strong> bhadralok popular parlance and the cultural imag<strong>in</strong>ation from much<br />
earlier. Sen <strong>in</strong> this way generated an <strong>in</strong>terest regard<strong>in</strong>g his film us<strong>in</strong>g a name from a bhadralok<br />
literary imag<strong>in</strong>ation that had a wide appeal.<br />
Rituparno Ghosh’s Titli used two <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g captions: the first one “pahare premer galpo” (/<br />
love story <strong>in</strong> hillside) sounded like the title of a travelogue, and the second one “jibane kauke<br />
valobese hariyechhen? Titli dekhun” (/have you lost someone <strong>in</strong> your life whom you loved? Titli is
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a must watch) seemed to evoke a personal resonance with the pleasure of memory and nostalgia . In<br />
Abhijit Dasgupta’s Dwitiyo Basanto poster a l<strong>in</strong>e that is used is “There are lots of secrets. In this life<br />
noth<strong>in</strong>g would be spoken of”. Kausik Ganguly’s l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> Warish is “Valobasa kakhano abaidha noi” (/<br />
love is never illegitimate), and Bratya Basu’s Teesta’s caption uses “Amar kona Shabda nei, shudhui<br />
naishabda….” (/ I don’t have any words, only silence). These sentences on the one hand capture the<br />
theme of the film and <strong>in</strong> a l<strong>in</strong>e give an idea of what the film is all about; on the other hand they<br />
establish their closeness to certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d of <strong>Bengali</strong> bhadralok rhetoric and culture, a k<strong>in</strong>d of<br />
literar<strong>in</strong>ess of the bhadra cultural code. It is because a body of films reject<strong>in</strong>g the bhadra code and<br />
belief system used a different language pattern unauthorized and criticized by the ‘better’ c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
go<strong>in</strong>g class that Subrata Sen, Rituparno Ghosh or Anjan Das as also some other directors’ films<br />
claimed that ‘lost’ taste discourse <strong>in</strong> their publicity strategy and <strong>in</strong> this reclaim<strong>in</strong>g developed a taste<br />
discourse attached to their films and their closeness to <strong>Bengali</strong> literary practice.<br />
Along with literary closeness and the mobilization of materials relat<strong>in</strong>g to the star, the<br />
market<strong>in</strong>g logic of post 1990s bhadralok c<strong>in</strong>ema resulted <strong>in</strong> giv<strong>in</strong>g shape to its wider appeal by<br />
subsidiary media and brand endorsements. Large scale advertisements of Chokher Bali brought<br />
brand association to a new dimension hitherto unexplored <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. Venkatesh Films until<br />
Chokher Bali happened was known as a big budget producer of <strong>Bengali</strong> commercial films. With<br />
Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali they started associat<strong>in</strong>g themselves with ‘quality’ <strong>Bengali</strong> films,<br />
and this film on the other hand started a new pattern of film publicity <strong>in</strong> poster aesthetics and the<br />
logic of circulation. The sponsorship logic made the primary banners of this film advertisement<br />
look like brand endorsements of a Jewelery house. The ma<strong>in</strong> posters, pr<strong>in</strong>t advertisements and<br />
kiosks presented Aisharya Rai dressed up <strong>in</strong> jewelry. The poster focused on Rai’s stardom, her<br />
jewelry and used a caption that went as “biyer saje B<strong>in</strong>od<strong>in</strong>i” (/B<strong>in</strong>od<strong>in</strong>i <strong>in</strong> Bridal wear) or “Anjalir<br />
Alankare Aparupa B<strong>in</strong>od<strong>in</strong>i” (/Beautiful B<strong>in</strong>od<strong>in</strong>i <strong>in</strong> Anjali’s Ornaments). <strong>Post</strong> Chokher Bali this<br />
jewelry brand and some other brands as well saw a new phase <strong>in</strong> their association with a number of
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<strong>Bengali</strong> films. Start<strong>in</strong>g from Raja Sen’s Krishnakanter Will, to Suman Mukhopadhyay’s<br />
Mahanagar @ Kolkata or Sandip Ray’s Kailashe Kelenkari, this trend of plac<strong>in</strong>g jewelry houses’<br />
advertisement with<strong>in</strong> the films was established and jewelry houses used these films as a platform<br />
for brand endorsement. The use of Peerless brand <strong>in</strong> Ek Je Achhe Kanya can also be mentioned <strong>in</strong><br />
this regard.<br />
The use of subsidiary media is another significant <strong>in</strong>tervention <strong>in</strong> the press based publicity<br />
of <strong>Bengali</strong> films. When Titli was planned as a big budget film with star casts like Aparna Sen,<br />
Mithun Chakraborty and Konkona Sensharma, The producer thought of its publicity on a large<br />
scale and they planned to shoot a ‘mak<strong>in</strong>g of Titli’. They proposed to a <strong>Bengali</strong> television channel to<br />
telecast this video before the film’s release and they agreed. Of course, nowadays this is a part of<br />
regular publicity for almost all big banner <strong>Bengali</strong> films; however, at that po<strong>in</strong>t, the telecast<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the ‘Mak<strong>in</strong>g of Titli’ was the first attempt of this k<strong>in</strong>d <strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity scenario. If the<br />
‘Mak<strong>in</strong>g of Titli’ started a new phase <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>volvement of new media <strong>in</strong> film publicity, Anjan Das’<br />
Shanjhbatir Roopkathara extended it to a new scale altogether. The Shanjhbatir Roopkathara team<br />
organized a TV show prior to its release, the Shanjhbatir Roopkathara quiz from 4 th November to 8 th<br />
November between 6.45 p.m. and 7 p.m. and offered “excit<strong>in</strong>g prizes”. A radio station also<br />
organized a Shanjhbati debate competition and offered prizes for the w<strong>in</strong>ner. Apart from that, the<br />
film organized another competition “pujar Shanjhbati” with a local organization and announced a<br />
prize money of Rs. 11,000 /- . Along with this “Shanjhbati letter writ<strong>in</strong>g contest” was also<br />
announced. There was another announcement that if one bought a block ticket of ten the ‘lucky<br />
number’ could w<strong>in</strong> a family tour of Darjeel<strong>in</strong>g. In this manner, the Shanjhbatir Roopkathara<br />
publicity worked to promote <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> the film to new levels through lucky draws, the fm debate<br />
and the letter writ<strong>in</strong>g competition <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g mediums like radio, television etc. Thus with the help<br />
of subsidiary media and brand sponsorship these body of films attempted to highlight their<br />
‘difference’ from the ma<strong>in</strong>stream. But utilizations of this wide range of media and brand<strong>in</strong>g also
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gives rise to complex scenario of the contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity.<br />
In post-liberalization period television became a major site to publicize and promote <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
films. In this period <strong>Bengali</strong> films even acknowledged the importance of television not just as a<br />
publicity medium but also as a strong connection to the ‘majority’ of the audience. Rituparno<br />
Ghosh’s Khela (2008) is an <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g case <strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t. The publicity caption for this film prior to<br />
release on kiosks and two sheet and six sheet banners read “baro parda r “Khela” (“Khela” of the<br />
big screen) . Khela was a popular television serial around that time period directed by Ravi Ojha.<br />
And this film by Ghosh, though it did not have any k<strong>in</strong>d of similarity <strong>in</strong> terms of narrative or star<br />
cast logic with this mega soap, mentioned its title to use its popularity to generate an <strong>in</strong>terest<br />
regard<strong>in</strong>g the film. At the same time the so called ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity <strong>in</strong> the last<br />
four/five years has also became largely dependent on television and TV ness. Especially after the<br />
shows like “Film Star” on Star Ananda and others, television has become a crucial medium to<br />
circulate the ‘filmi khabar’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
Newer publicity mediums like film websites, Orkut communities or Face book pages also<br />
jo<strong>in</strong>ed to publicize and promote <strong>Bengali</strong> films. And what is more important <strong>in</strong> new media publicity<br />
is that, these advertisements are equally enthusiastic about giv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>formation and personal reviews<br />
about a Haranath Chakraborty film and a Rituparno Ghosh film. The question of the new media<br />
public is important here. For <strong>in</strong>stance, when I asked Haranath Chakraborty what he thought about<br />
the media’s changed approach towards <strong>Bengali</strong> popular c<strong>in</strong>ema, that they did not even recognize<br />
him as a film director fifteen years ago, and now the media is so concerned about his films, he<br />
po<strong>in</strong>ted to the ‘truthful’ quality of electronic media of the contemporary that was miss<strong>in</strong>g earlier for<br />
the attitude of the press was faulty with a partial vision. He said now the press cannot fool an<br />
audience if they have the awareness. However, here the question I th<strong>in</strong>k is not so much about ‘truth’<br />
or of the audience be<strong>in</strong>g fooled, but what we believe to be appropriate for the audience and how we<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k of the nature of the audience. The electronic media cannot function accord<strong>in</strong>g to the exclusive
101|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation of an ideal educated middleclass public as its consumer. It has to target or imag<strong>in</strong>e a<br />
wider base. And Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali’s Jewelry house endorsement or the TV ness of<br />
Khela publicity is no exception <strong>in</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g that logic. On the one hand, the electronic media blurs<br />
the differentiat<strong>in</strong>g l<strong>in</strong>e between the <strong>Bengali</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream and the parallel c<strong>in</strong>ema. On the other hand,<br />
this change <strong>in</strong> approach also raises some questions on chang<strong>in</strong>g class hierarchy, social system,<br />
imag<strong>in</strong>ation of class desire and how they reflect on our publicity medium and our c<strong>in</strong>ema. Perhaps<br />
the politics of differentiation that was crucial to publicize any cultural objects of the past and<br />
especially our c<strong>in</strong>ema also moulds itself accord<strong>in</strong>gly to the journey of new media and pleasure of<br />
(<strong>Bengali</strong>) c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
Igor Kopytoff <strong>in</strong> his essay “The cultural biography of th<strong>in</strong>gs” looks at “the moral economy<br />
that stands beh<strong>in</strong>d the objective economy of visible transactions” of cultural objects and their<br />
biographies. 5 In this article I have attempted to explore that moral economy act<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity narrative and its process of transformations. The objective economy of<br />
change of publicity scenario of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema might po<strong>in</strong>t towards a number of issues like the<br />
technological advancement, emergence of publicity farm, proliferation of new media and other<br />
transformations but the moral economy that stands beh<strong>in</strong>d tells us a story of social changes, labor,<br />
<strong>in</strong>tellect, creativity, class politics, chang<strong>in</strong>g belief system of Bengal’s cultural psyche and a journey<br />
of desire. Sometimes the transformation is not directly determ<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> the structure of change.<br />
Instead, the aesthetics or the morality beh<strong>in</strong>d that transformation played the role of justify<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
particular value order of that change or a desire for that change. This narrative of change I believe<br />
revealed the belief system and collective understand<strong>in</strong>g of c<strong>in</strong>ema and its existence <strong>in</strong> West Bengal.<br />
Kopytoff rem<strong>in</strong>ds us that <strong>in</strong> complex biographies of th<strong>in</strong>gs an object’s cultural values are<br />
determ<strong>in</strong>ed on numerous planes and sometimes even the hierarchy between them is not clear. Time<br />
travel <strong>in</strong> the film publicity scenario of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema reveals that <strong>in</strong>ner drama of numerous<br />
determ<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g spheres of control and reflects the simultaneous construction of society and objects and
102|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
their <strong>in</strong>tersect<strong>in</strong>g planes of selfhood, autonomy and desire.<br />
End notes<br />
1. This method of observ<strong>in</strong>g the narrative of <strong>Bengali</strong> film publicity is deeply <strong>in</strong>spired by<br />
Ranjani Mazumdar’s study of the Bombay film poster. See “The Bombay Film <strong>Post</strong>er”<br />
Sem<strong>in</strong>ar 525: Unsettl<strong>in</strong>g C<strong>in</strong>ema, May 2003, 33-41.<br />
2. Most of the research for this article was done at the Jawaharlal Nehru University library,<br />
New Delhi, National Library, Kolkata and Nandan Library and Archive, Kolkata. I<br />
appreciate the support I received from the staff there.<br />
3. I am <strong>in</strong>debted to Mr. Abhijit Goswami and Mr. Ashis Banerjee for their help <strong>in</strong> provid<strong>in</strong>g<br />
contacts of <strong>in</strong>dustry persons and publicity materials. Thanks are due to those who took out<br />
their valuable time, talked to me and enriched my article: Mr. Subrata Sen, Mr. Swapan<br />
Saha, Mr. Haranath Chakraborty, Mr. Tapan Biswas, Mr. Sandip Sen, Mrs. Ratnottoma<br />
Sengupta, Dr. Parimal Ghosh, and Mr. Uttam Kumar Basu,<br />
4. The term ‘jatra marka chhobi” was used <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t media <strong>in</strong> 1980s and 1990s to refer<br />
to some <strong>Bengali</strong> films’ closeness to popular jatra form <strong>in</strong>stead of a ‘true’ c<strong>in</strong>ematic form.<br />
5. In his essay “The Cultural Biography of Th<strong>in</strong>gs” Igor Kopytoff studies goods and cultural<br />
objects <strong>in</strong> a process of exchange that commoditizes with<strong>in</strong> a logic of cultural value as well<br />
as <strong>in</strong>dividual value. This essay traces the shifts that a commodity undergoes <strong>in</strong> both<br />
uncommercialized and complex societies and reveals how anomalies and contradictions<br />
appear <strong>in</strong> this framework. For detail see Igor Kopytoff, “The Cultural Biography of Th<strong>in</strong>gs:<br />
Commoditization as a Process” <strong>in</strong> Arjun Appadurai ed. The Social Life of Th<strong>in</strong>gs:<br />
Commodities <strong>in</strong> Cultural Perspectives, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
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Bibliography<br />
Abel, Richard ed. Encyclopedia of Early C<strong>in</strong>ema, Routledge, 2005.<br />
Bhoumik, Someshwar. “Sattar Dashaker Bangla Chhabi” <strong>in</strong> Anil Acharya ed. Sattar Dashak (The<br />
Decade of Seventies) Kolkata: Anushtup Publication,1981<br />
Chatterjee, Partha. The Present History of West Bengal: Essays <strong>in</strong> Political Criticism. New Delhi:<br />
Oxford University Press, 1997.<br />
Ghosh, Parimal. “Where Have All the ‘Bhadraloks’ Gone?” Economic and Political Weekly. January<br />
27, 2004.<br />
Ghosh, Somen. Bangla C<strong>in</strong>emar Paalabadal (The Chang<strong>in</strong>g Phases of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema). Calcutta:<br />
Shyamali Prakashani, 1990.<br />
Kopytoff, Igor. “The Cultural Biography of Th<strong>in</strong>gs: Commoditization as a Process” <strong>in</strong> Arjun<br />
Appadurai ed. The Social Life of Th<strong>in</strong>gs: Commodities <strong>in</strong> Cultural Perspectives. Cambridge, UK:<br />
Cambridge University Press, 1986.<br />
Mazumdar, Ranjani. “The Bombay Film <strong>Post</strong>er” Sem<strong>in</strong>ar 525: Unsettl<strong>in</strong>g C<strong>in</strong>ema, May 2003.<br />
Moore, Paul S. “Advance Newspaper Publicity for the Vitascope and the Mass Address of C<strong>in</strong>ema’s<br />
Read<strong>in</strong>g Public” <strong>in</strong> Andre Gaudreault, Nicolas Dulac and Santiago Hidalgo ed. A Companion to<br />
Early C<strong>in</strong>ema. Willey-Balackwell, 2012.<br />
Sur, Ansu ed. The <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Directory. Calcutta: Nandan, 1999.<br />
Spandan Bhattacharya completed his MPhil <strong>in</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2011. He holds a first class masters <strong>in</strong> Film Studies from Jadavpur University (2009). He is<br />
currently a lecturer <strong>in</strong> Film Studies at Pailan College of International Studies s<strong>in</strong>ce September,<br />
2011. His research <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong>cludes <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and Indian Television.
Adaptation of Films from Plays: A <strong>Selective</strong> <strong>Study</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Post</strong>-<strong>Colonial</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Sourav Gupta<br />
Introduction:<br />
Right from the moment ancient man learned to express his hunt<strong>in</strong>g endeavor to his fellows, mime<br />
was born. Language had not developed and he had to express through body language and the<br />
language of silence. With the advent of language a wide range of communication opened up. Poetry,<br />
prose, songs and of course, theatre was born to give expression to words. The silent expression of<br />
mime, value added with dialogues, music and dance developed <strong>in</strong>to theatre. With the advancement<br />
of technology, theatre was idiomized from the theatre stage onto a big silver screen and c<strong>in</strong>ema was<br />
born.<br />
In its <strong>in</strong>ception stage, c<strong>in</strong>ema did not have any sound and was basically ‘silent movie’. It<br />
sounded f<strong>in</strong>ally and became a ‘talkie’. Sounds familiar? Yes, the same open<strong>in</strong>g that theatre had. It is<br />
a strange relationship this, theatre and c<strong>in</strong>ema, so different yet so similar! Though c<strong>in</strong>ema is a<br />
purely technological media, content wise it has resorted time & aga<strong>in</strong> to theatre. Films have been<br />
made from plays but the shift is not an easy task. There are technical and aesthetic tasks that have to<br />
be performed. The present discussion highlights the transformation of a subject from the stage to the<br />
screen trac<strong>in</strong>g its history and a special focus on post colonial <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema as case study.<br />
International Perspective: Shakespeare-Eisenste<strong>in</strong>-Kurosawa<br />
Both <strong>in</strong> Europe and the Soviet, two of the most important hubs of world c<strong>in</strong>ema, film makers were<br />
heavily <strong>in</strong>fluenced by theatre, both <strong>in</strong> terms of content as well as form. Their essential skills,<br />
conceptual framework of the medium developed from the experience of theatre. It may be kept <strong>in</strong><br />
m<strong>in</strong>d here, that for c<strong>in</strong>ema to develop, the closest reference po<strong>in</strong>t had to be theatre. The famous
105|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Sergei Eisenste<strong>in</strong> himself had a theatrical background before he went on to become one of the<br />
f<strong>in</strong>est exponents of c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
In 1915 Eisenste<strong>in</strong> entered the Institute for Civil Eng<strong>in</strong>eer<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Petrograd, where he saw his<br />
first Meyerhold productions <strong>in</strong> the theatre. After the Revolution he abandoned his courses and<br />
jo<strong>in</strong>ed the Red Army. He was assigned to a theatrical troupe, where he worked as a director,<br />
designer, and actor. In 1920 he was demobilized to Moscow and rapidly became head of design at<br />
the First Proletkult Workers Theatre. His first sets were for a production of The Mexican , written<br />
by Jack London, Len<strong>in</strong>'s favourite writer. In 1921 he jo<strong>in</strong>ed Meyerhold's theatre workshop (he was<br />
later to describe Meyerhold as his "spiritual father") and worked on designs for Puss <strong>in</strong> Boots.<br />
Eisenste<strong>in</strong>'s first stage production, a version of Ostrovsky's Enough Simplicity for Every Wise Man<br />
<strong>in</strong> 1923, <strong>in</strong>cluded his first venture <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema, Glumov's Diary. This was <strong>in</strong>spired by the use of a<br />
short film <strong>in</strong> the Koz<strong>in</strong>tsev and Trauberg production of Gogol's The Wedd<strong>in</strong>g , which he had seen<br />
the year before. His production of Tretyakov's Gas Masks <strong>in</strong> 1924 staged <strong>in</strong> the Moscow gasworks<br />
was an attempt to bridge the gap between stage "realism" and the reality of everyday life. It failed<br />
and, as Eisenste<strong>in</strong> himself put it, he "fell <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema."<br />
And probably, later <strong>in</strong> his career, when Eisenste<strong>in</strong> felt the need to record his thought on the<br />
medium, he had to acknowledge how theatre had <strong>in</strong>fluenced him <strong>in</strong> film<strong>in</strong>g. He deftly expla<strong>in</strong>ed the<br />
<strong>in</strong>terrelation between the two <strong>in</strong> his 1939 book, Through Theatre To C<strong>in</strong>ema, and there revealed<br />
the source of his much discussed concept of mise-en-cadre:-<br />
The technique of genu<strong>in</strong>e mise-en-scene composition was be<strong>in</strong>g mastered and approach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
its limits. It was already threatened <strong>in</strong> becom<strong>in</strong>g the Knight’s move <strong>in</strong> chess, the shift of<br />
purely plastic contours <strong>in</strong> the already non theatrical outl<strong>in</strong>es of detailed draw<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
Sculptural details seen through the frame of the cadre, or shot, transitions from shot
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to shot, appeared to be the logical way out for the threatened hypertrophy of the mise-enscene.<br />
Theoretically it established our dependence on mise-en-scene and montage.<br />
Pedagogically, it determ<strong>in</strong>ed, for the future, the approaches to montage and c<strong>in</strong>ema, arrived<br />
at through the master<strong>in</strong>g of theatrical construction and through the art of mise-en-scene.<br />
Thus was born the concept of mise-en-cadre. As the mise-en-scene is an <strong>in</strong>terrelation of<br />
people <strong>in</strong> action so the mise-en-cadre is the pictorial composition of mutually dependant<br />
cadres(shots) <strong>in</strong> a montage sequence.<br />
This much for technique but even <strong>in</strong> terms of content, right from its <strong>in</strong>ception till date, Hollywood<br />
movies have been prolific <strong>in</strong> turn<strong>in</strong>g plays to films, specially that of William Shakespeare’s. There<br />
have been many and varied versions of William Shakespeare's plays. Some set <strong>in</strong> the correct period,<br />
some present day. Some use the orig<strong>in</strong>al dialogue, others modernize the language. Some succeed.<br />
Some fail.<br />
Film adaptations of Shakespeare span a variety of periods. In Kenneth Branagh's 'Henry<br />
V', the film is set precisely dur<strong>in</strong>g the reign of K<strong>in</strong>g Henry V. This is an example of one of the<br />
greatest translations of Shakespeare to film. The play itself is possibly one of the least accessible<br />
for today's audiences. However, Branagh masterfully gives it the passion, action and humour that<br />
was orig<strong>in</strong>ally <strong>in</strong>tended. Henry V is one of the most beautifully shot pieces of c<strong>in</strong>ema. The long<br />
track<strong>in</strong>g shot after the battle of Ag<strong>in</strong>court is, <strong>in</strong> my op<strong>in</strong>ion, the best s<strong>in</strong>gle shot <strong>in</strong> film history. So<br />
much has to be synchronized perfectly as K<strong>in</strong>g Henry walks the devastated battlefield, littered with<br />
the dead and dy<strong>in</strong>g. I do not envy Branagh hav<strong>in</strong>g to set up that shot for however many times he<br />
had to do it. Branagh's direction is exemplary but, his lead performance is equally as impressive. I<br />
don't care how much of a pacifist you are, when he says "Once more unto the breach, dear friends",<br />
you want to go with him.
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The best example of Shakespeare brought <strong>in</strong>to modern times is Baz Luhrmann's 'Romeo +<br />
Juliet'. The use of orig<strong>in</strong>al dialogue <strong>in</strong> a modern sett<strong>in</strong>g, also us<strong>in</strong>g Shakespearean language to fill<br />
billboards and signs was a masterstroke. The leads: Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, perfectly<br />
cast, brilliantly performed. The support<strong>in</strong>g cast: Particularly Harold Perr<strong>in</strong>eau's cross-dress<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Mercutio; heartbreak<strong>in</strong>g, frighten<strong>in</strong>g and completely compell<strong>in</strong>g. F<strong>in</strong>ally, the <strong>in</strong>credible production<br />
design: Quite possibly the best look<strong>in</strong>g, most creative look of any film.<br />
There are other notable films like Roman Polanski's 'Macbeth' that completely captured the<br />
spirit of the play while appeal<strong>in</strong>g to audiences of its own time. Branagh's 'Much Ado About<br />
Noth<strong>in</strong>g' was funny, sensual, mov<strong>in</strong>g and full of fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g characters played by brilliant actors like<br />
Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Wash<strong>in</strong>gton and Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio. Ian<br />
McKellan as 'Richard III' was a performance of true genius.<br />
Mov<strong>in</strong>g onto Asia <strong>in</strong> this context, the Japanese film titled "Ran" (1985) written by Akira<br />
Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni, directed by Akira Kurosawa is an adaptation of the play Macbeth<br />
written by William Shakespeare. The film won an Oscar and won twenty-five other awards and was<br />
nom<strong>in</strong>ated for fifteen others <strong>in</strong> both the U.S. and <strong>in</strong> Japan. It is not a literal translation of the<br />
orig<strong>in</strong>al script and yet manages handily to stay true the orig<strong>in</strong>al scripts theme and <strong>in</strong>tent. It is both<br />
stunn<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> it's direction and beautiful to the eye while at the same time it is packed with an<br />
amaz<strong>in</strong>g amount script justified violence and gore. It succeeds <strong>in</strong> cover<strong>in</strong>g every c<strong>in</strong>ematic and<br />
literary base with aplomb. It is, by far, the best film made to date of Shakespeare's work.<br />
The film has at it's helm an extremely accomplished director and writer <strong>in</strong> the person of Mr.<br />
Kurosawa. He cast the film perfectly with very talented actors and actresses and he achieved<br />
excellent performances from each of them. At every level of the film be it art direction, costume<br />
design, set construction or cont<strong>in</strong>uity Mr. Kurosawa hits a home run.
108|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
What is most fasc<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g about what Ran offers to it's audience is the seamless mix of<br />
samurai legends and the work of Shakespeare. It not only mixes cultures but manages to do so <strong>in</strong> a<br />
way that is highly enterta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and easy to comprehend albeit the film relies exclusively on English<br />
subtitles as the orig<strong>in</strong>al dialog is totally <strong>in</strong> Japanese. Add<strong>in</strong>g to the fantastic achievements of Ran is<br />
the fact that Mr. Kurosawa was nearly bl<strong>in</strong>d at the time he made the film and he relied heavily on<br />
his staff to frame shots based on his storyboards. As though that wasn't handicap enough to work<br />
under, Mr. Kurosawa lost his wife dur<strong>in</strong>g production of Ran and took only one day away from<br />
film<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> order to attend her funeral before return<strong>in</strong>g to the set.<br />
The word "Ran" <strong>in</strong> Japanese roughly translates to the English word "chaos". How perfectly does the<br />
title of this gem sum up what William Shakespeare had <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d when writ<strong>in</strong>g Macbeth? How<br />
perfect is the title for the subject matter of avarice, war, deception and murder?<br />
F<strong>in</strong>ally, it is quite the accomplishment <strong>in</strong>deed that Mr. Kurosawa and Hideo Oguni manage to stay<br />
true to the play and the theme while us<strong>in</strong>g virtually none of the orig<strong>in</strong>al words. The script is not<br />
written <strong>in</strong> iambic pentameter yet still uses language as an art form.<br />
The theatre connection of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema-A spar<strong>in</strong>g trend:<br />
No discussion on the historical perspective of Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema is possible without mention<strong>in</strong>g Hiralal<br />
Sen, who <strong>in</strong> 1898 set up the Royal Bioscope Company and shot all by himself with a camera. He<br />
had imported a c<strong>in</strong>ematograph from London and started a show <strong>in</strong> Classic Theatre on 9 th February<br />
1901 under the <strong>in</strong>spiration of Amarendra Nath Dutta, the famous theatrician of the time. Apart from<br />
scenes taken from real life like Ganges, Cock fight, roads etc. he showed scenes from plays like<br />
‘Bhramar’, ‘Alibaba’, ’Dolyatra’, ‘Sarala’, ‘Buddha’, ‘Sitaram’. Though these were not feature<br />
films <strong>in</strong> its true sense but it was made <strong>in</strong> India, by an Indian and for the first time <strong>in</strong> the country. He<br />
was followed up by Debi Ghosh who shot scenes from the play ‘Bishabrikkha’ <strong>in</strong> 1915.
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It is a pity that Hiralal Sen did not get the credit for be<strong>in</strong>g the pioneer he was <strong>in</strong> Indian<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema. He himself destroyed all his creations out of despair and frustration and consequently lost<br />
<strong>in</strong>to obscurity. This gave way to Dhundiraj Gov<strong>in</strong>d Phalke’s “Raja Harishchandra”(1913) claim<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fame to be the first Indian film.<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce <strong>in</strong>ception, C<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> India grew with major developments <strong>in</strong> Bengal and Maharashtra.<br />
In both the states the content of films hovered around three categories-religious, mythological and<br />
adaptation from social novels. The last one became the dom<strong>in</strong>ant trend <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong><br />
subsequent years.As the medium developed and became more & more popular <strong>in</strong> India, famous<br />
actor-director Sisir Kumar Bhaduri filmed his highly acclaimed play ’Sita’.<br />
Transformation of plays <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema cont<strong>in</strong>ued but as a one off and spar<strong>in</strong>g trend. Pre<strong>in</strong>dependence,<br />
directors work<strong>in</strong>g under studio system like Debaki Kumar Basu, Nit<strong>in</strong> Basu, Madhu<br />
Basu preferred mythology or popular novels to be filmed for sure commerecial success. <strong>Post</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong>dependence, directors with new thoughts at par with <strong>in</strong>ternational trends expressed their<br />
<strong>in</strong>dividuality <strong>in</strong> a completely different way. While Satyajit Ray chose novels by Bibhutibhusan or<br />
Tarashankar , Ritwik Ghatak expressed pangs of partition and <strong>in</strong>dividual crisis <strong>in</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
screenplays like Nagarik or Komal Gandhar.<br />
It may be mentioned here that partition of India and refugee problem, which has off late<br />
become a much addressed topic <strong>in</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema was treated very early <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g with ‘Ch<strong>in</strong>namul’(1951). Among other notable efforts, rema<strong>in</strong> ‘Natun<br />
Ihudi’(1953), directed by Salil Sen who transcreated his own play by the same name <strong>in</strong>to a film.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, all <strong>Bengali</strong> directors who dwelled <strong>in</strong> the subject, Nemai Ghosh, Ritwik Ghatak, Salil<br />
Sen hailed from theatre background. They were associated with the communist cultural w<strong>in</strong>g Indian<br />
People’s Theatre Association.
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Technicalities of transformation from a play to film- A study of ‘Banchharamer Bagan’:<br />
Banchharamer Bagan, a play written and directed by Manoj Mitra was produced on stage by<br />
Kolkata based theatre group, ‘Sundaram’ <strong>in</strong> the year 1977. Film director Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha transcreated<br />
the play <strong>in</strong>to an award w<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g film.<br />
The plot centers round Banchharam, an old haggard, basically a poor farmer who has spent<br />
his entire life <strong>in</strong> develop<strong>in</strong>g a piece of garden which yields good crop. With a wrecked sp<strong>in</strong>e and <strong>in</strong><br />
the doors of death the old man cannot but stop long<strong>in</strong>g to live and serve his garden. The evil<br />
Zam<strong>in</strong>dar or the landlord tries to capture Banchha’s little garden through various crooked means but<br />
fails to do so. Subsequent to his death, his son too, tries the same and strikes a deal with Banchha<br />
that he would give up the garden as soon as he dies. But the old Banchha cannot die to be separated<br />
from his beloved garden and <strong>in</strong>spite of the conspiracies of the Zam<strong>in</strong>dar he manages to live on. The<br />
story highlights the fact that Banchha as an entity may be marg<strong>in</strong>al but his struggle for existence is<br />
not.<br />
The film, released <strong>in</strong> 1980, went on to be both popularly and critically acclaimed. Manoj<br />
Mitra, who played the part of the ma<strong>in</strong> protagonist, Banchharam, accounted his experience <strong>in</strong> the<br />
book ‘Banchharam:Theatre-e C<strong>in</strong>emai’ (2000) where the transformation of a play to a film, its<br />
technicalities, challenges was discussed.<br />
Act<strong>in</strong>g:<br />
Mitra, who was experienced <strong>in</strong> stage act<strong>in</strong>g was relatively novice <strong>in</strong> films. But shoot<strong>in</strong>g for the<br />
same role which he had already played on stage helped him to draw comparative analysis between<br />
stage act<strong>in</strong>g and film act<strong>in</strong>g. He draws <strong>in</strong>ferences from conversations with his director Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha<br />
and other co-actors and technicians. In his words, Mitra op<strong>in</strong>es about act<strong>in</strong>g -<br />
I have never felt that there are two types of act<strong>in</strong>g, one for theatre and the other for films.
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Neither do I th<strong>in</strong>k that act<strong>in</strong>g changes for the change <strong>in</strong> medium. As an actor my duty is to<br />
make the character conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g and for that I shall leave no stone unturned…………..theatre,<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema, radio, Yatra-different media imposes conditions on the actor but they are negligible.<br />
They cannot trouble an alert actor. Its like petty mathematical exercise. Any one can tackle<br />
them if he has his senses wide open. Tapanda had assured me to replicate my stage act…….<br />
(Mitra, 2000)<br />
Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha had assured Mitra that he would add to and subtract from his act<strong>in</strong>g the requisite output<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>terest of c<strong>in</strong>ema. This may be exemplified by the <strong>in</strong>cident with cameraman Bimal Mukherjee.<br />
After a shot as S<strong>in</strong>ha shouted ‘Excellent!’, Mukherjee <strong>in</strong>formed him that the shot has to be re taken<br />
as Mitra had given the entire shot outside the camera zone. It was a tight frame of 70 lense and<br />
Mitra’s head fell outside it. S<strong>in</strong>ha, the veteran that he was atonce <strong>in</strong>structed Mukherjee to widen the<br />
lense with the <strong>in</strong>formation that Mitra was basically a theatre artist who is habituated to have space<br />
around him while act<strong>in</strong>g. Mukherjee oblidged but ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed that Mitra should learn to act <strong>in</strong><br />
accordance with the camera position<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Screenplay:<br />
There are a lot of similarities as well as dissimilarities between the script of a play and that of a<br />
film. It is largely due to the fact that c<strong>in</strong>ema is a technical medium largely dependent on camera<br />
lights and location where a plot is laid out <strong>in</strong> terms of endless frames <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>utes details and at<br />
length. Whereas a play is unified and compact <strong>in</strong> terms of location and happen<strong>in</strong>gs.<br />
Characteristically, film is more real <strong>in</strong>terms of flesh and blood whereas drama is a journey <strong>in</strong>to a<br />
world of flashy surprises.<br />
This is precisely what Satyajit Ray had said to Mitra while expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g why he backed out<br />
from film<strong>in</strong>g Mitra’s play “Chaak Bhanga Madhu”. Ray felt that the conclud<strong>in</strong>g part of the play
112|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
where the moneylender, after be<strong>in</strong>g given life by the snake charmer, salivates to satiate his physical<br />
desires with the girl of the latter, is a dramatic element for the play but an improbable event for the<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema. The sheer speed, with which events turn may add to the strength of the drama but is not<br />
practical for a film. In Ray’s words, “implication of space and time is different for theatre and<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema. The truth and beauty of theatre lies <strong>in</strong> the unique use of its space and time. ”(Mitra,<br />
page127)<br />
It is , therefore more challeng<strong>in</strong>g for a writer to prepare a screenplay from a play. As S<strong>in</strong>ha<br />
observed <strong>in</strong> his <strong>in</strong>teraction with Mitra before the shoot<strong>in</strong>g of Banchharam er Bagan started that, “it<br />
is <strong>in</strong>deed a problem, you know, to make a screenplay from a play as easily it can be from a story or<br />
a novel. The layout of scenes and entry exit of characters is so well organized and attributed, it is<br />
difficult to break that discipl<strong>in</strong>e…………another major problem is the dialogue. In the play it is<br />
written with a specific rhythm and magic, aimed to hypnotize the gallery of audience. The same<br />
dialogues , if kept unchanged <strong>in</strong> the film shall sound artificial.”<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, <strong>in</strong> the same piece of conversation, S<strong>in</strong>ha commented that there had been very few<br />
good fims based on plays <strong>in</strong> India as well as world. In this context, he mentioned two plays of<br />
Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, ‘Kal<strong>in</strong>di’ & ‘Dui Purush’, both of which did not turn out to be good<br />
films. While mak<strong>in</strong>g the screenplay of ‘Banchharamer Bagaan’, S<strong>in</strong>ha had understandably made<br />
several big and small changes to the sequence and layout of the orig<strong>in</strong>al play of Mitra’s. Notable<br />
among that is the time period. The orig<strong>in</strong>al play shows a nanogenerian haggard Banchharam from<br />
start to f<strong>in</strong>ish but the film starts with an age<strong>in</strong>g Banchharam <strong>in</strong> his middle age and cont<strong>in</strong>ues upto<br />
his senility. The senior zam<strong>in</strong>dar is already dead when the play starts but <strong>in</strong> the film he dies <strong>in</strong> mid<br />
way.
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Make up:<br />
The importance of make up <strong>in</strong> both c<strong>in</strong>ema and theatre is extreme, albeit <strong>in</strong> a different way. While<br />
shoot<strong>in</strong>g for ‘Banchharamer Bagan’, it once so happened that Mitra had to rush onto the stage right<br />
from the shoot<strong>in</strong>g floor and he did not get time to change his makeup. The makeup artist <strong>in</strong> stage<br />
expressed dissent which was sort of an eye opener for him. The conversation between Mitra and<br />
Ajai Ghosh subtly br<strong>in</strong>gs out a comparative analysis of the role of make up <strong>in</strong> theatre and c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
which are different as their respective media is different and their demands from makeup are also<br />
different.<br />
In theatre everyth<strong>in</strong>g is larger than life style. The stage magnifies life for the audience. The<br />
degree of naturalness is also different for stage and films.the audience of theatre watch from a<br />
distance and actually misses many details unlike film audience whose eyes are served with m<strong>in</strong>ute<br />
details by the all powerful camera lense.<br />
The wig used <strong>in</strong> the play was a bigger one and mede of strong fibre. It was out of proportion<br />
unlike the one used <strong>in</strong> the film which was more <strong>in</strong> shape and made of hair. It seemed more orig<strong>in</strong>al<br />
than the one used <strong>in</strong> theatre. But Ajai Ghosh rightly argued that the filmy wig shall not be able to<br />
capture the sight of the audience of the last row which his <strong>in</strong>flated unnatural fibre wig would.<br />
Even for the face, to produce wr<strong>in</strong>kles of a death approach<strong>in</strong>g haggard, Shakti Sen, the makeup man<br />
of the film needed about 150 pencil marks and a couple of hours. The same effect, as per the<br />
requirement of the play, was brought about by Ghosh <strong>in</strong> 10 blott<strong>in</strong>g rays on the face. The f<strong>in</strong>eness of<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema has its roots <strong>in</strong> the all powerful mach<strong>in</strong>e called camera. As Mitra observes, “there is not a<br />
worse fault f<strong>in</strong>der and eye-opener than the camera. It can expose your false and dishonest act<strong>in</strong>g. It<br />
is possible to portray sadness on stage by pretend<strong>in</strong>g to cry without cry<strong>in</strong>g or without be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
actually sad. But the camera will start scream<strong>in</strong>g that the actor is not at all sad and is pretend<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
cry!” It is therefore that Sen took such a long period of time to ensure that the efforts of makeup
114|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> concealed to the camera.<br />
How to adapt a play?A study of Satyajit Ray’s ‘Ganashatru’:<br />
The film is an adaptation of a play by Henrik Ibsen: An Enemy of the People.It is set <strong>in</strong> a small<br />
town <strong>in</strong> Bengal. Dr. Ashoke Gupta (Soumitra Chatterjee) is the head of a town hospital. Gupta's<br />
younger brother, Nisith (Dhritiman Chatterjee), is the head of the committees runn<strong>in</strong>g the hospital<br />
and a temple. Both were built by a local Industrialist. The temple is also a big tourist attraction.<br />
Dr. Gupta is conv<strong>in</strong>ced that the holy water of the temple is contam<strong>in</strong>ated due to faulty pipe-lay<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
It is caus<strong>in</strong>g an epidemic <strong>in</strong> the town. He warns his brother Nisith. But he along with the<br />
Industrialist and other town officials reject the idea that holy water might be the cause of the<br />
epidemic. They refuse to close the temple to carry out the repairs.<br />
Dr. Gupta wants to write an article <strong>in</strong> the newspaper to warn people, but giv<strong>in</strong>g-<strong>in</strong> to the pressure<br />
from the powerful people, the editor refuses to publish it. Left with no alternative, Dr. Gupta<br />
organises a public meet<strong>in</strong>g that is also sabotaged. And Dr. Gupta is proclaimed an enemy of the<br />
people.<br />
Due to his medical condition after a heart-attack dur<strong>in</strong>g mak<strong>in</strong>g of Ghare-Baire, Satyajit Ray<br />
was told by the doctors not to do any location work. He was forced make a film totally <strong>in</strong> studio.<br />
For this, he thought a play would be more suitable rather than a story or a novel. Unfortunately, this<br />
constra<strong>in</strong>t of shoot<strong>in</strong>g only <strong>in</strong> studio does mar the film as a whole. Ironically, when he began<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g films, Ray himself had said that he wanted to remove "the last trace of theatricality" from<br />
his work. In fact, Pather Panchali was so refresh<strong>in</strong>gly fresh due to its location sequences.<br />
Hav<strong>in</strong>g said that, Ganashatru has its merits. As Ray commented <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>terview with Andrew<br />
Rob<strong>in</strong>son, his biographer:"I found that for once one could play with human faces and human<br />
reactions, rather than landscapes, Nature <strong>in</strong> its moods, which I have done a lot <strong>in</strong> my films. Here I<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k it is the human face, the human character which is predom<strong>in</strong>ant."
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When it came to adapt<strong>in</strong>g a play for a film, Ray was rather conservative. While he was<br />
respectful of theatre actors <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong>, many of whom he used <strong>in</strong> his films, start<strong>in</strong>g from Kanu<br />
Bandyopadhyay to Chhabi Biswas and of course his favourite, Soumitra Chattopadhyay, Ray was<br />
not quite sure about the possibilities of an <strong>in</strong>ter-media activity of transcreat<strong>in</strong>g a play <strong>in</strong>to a film.<br />
In an <strong>in</strong>terview given to Bert Cardullo for Bright Lights Film Journal , Ray expressed <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g<br />
nottions about the relation of films and theatre. Relevant excerpts from the <strong>in</strong>terview is cited as<br />
follows:<br />
“…………….<br />
Q. To get back to the subject of writ<strong>in</strong>g dialogue, may I ask you if you have ever thought of writ<strong>in</strong>g<br />
or direct<strong>in</strong>g a play? You used to read a lot of plays, I know, and you still do; you also are an avid<br />
theatergoer, I've learned. I ask this question as someone who himself received much of his formal<br />
college education <strong>in</strong> drama.<br />
A. Well, there are so many wonderfully talented people work<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the theater today, so what's the<br />
use of swell<strong>in</strong>g the crowd? In the c<strong>in</strong>ema, I must say, there isn't so much artistic talent — perhaps<br />
because it's such a technological medium. In any event, I felt quite early on that film was my<br />
prov<strong>in</strong>ce, not theater. Maybe because the c<strong>in</strong>ema was <strong>in</strong> such a backward state <strong>in</strong> India, but<br />
perhaps I shouldn't put the matter so negatively. I've just never thought of writ<strong>in</strong>g or direct<strong>in</strong>g a<br />
play; it's the writ<strong>in</strong>g of screenplays that comes to me straightaway, and then of course the film<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
them.<br />
Q. Hadn't you ever thought of mak<strong>in</strong>g a film out of a play?<br />
A. Until Ganashatru , not really, because then the film depends too much on speech — and I am not<br />
<strong>in</strong>terested. To me the peak moments of a film should be wordless, whereas <strong>in</strong> a play the words are of<br />
primary importance. At times the situation <strong>in</strong> a play can be film-like or adaptable to the screen, but<br />
there also one should see exactly how far one can go without words — as I trust I have done <strong>in</strong><br />
Ganashatru. The best source for an adaptation, however, is not a play and not even a novel, but
116|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
rather a long short story. For a film of two hours or so, the long short story is the most suitable<br />
form. You simply cannot do justice to a novel that conta<strong>in</strong>s 400 to 500 pages with a film that is less<br />
than four or five hours, even if you run it <strong>in</strong> two or three parts.<br />
Q. What do you th<strong>in</strong>k of the filmed plays of Shakespeare?<br />
A. Whatever else Laurence Olivier may have achieved <strong>in</strong> his adaptations, his Shakespeare films<br />
were never filmic. Grigori Koz<strong>in</strong>tsev is the only director who has ever brought a different k<strong>in</strong>d of<br />
vitality to a Shakespeare film with his use of backgrounds, peasants, etc. But apart from him, I don't<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k anyone else has been able to do this; it's very difficult, you know.<br />
Q. I f<strong>in</strong>d it <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g that, time and aga<strong>in</strong>, you draw from the non-professional or<br />
amateur theater for your actors. Do you f<strong>in</strong>d any extra advantage <strong>in</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g such performers?<br />
A. Not really, because those who act <strong>in</strong> the theater, be they professional or non-professional,<br />
sometimes don't feel comfortable act<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> films, where they don't get <strong>in</strong>stant feedback or<br />
appreciation from a live audience. Theater actors also dislike the discont<strong>in</strong>uity of film act<strong>in</strong>g; they<br />
have to do a role <strong>in</strong> small parts, over a relatively long period of time, with the cont<strong>in</strong>uity between<br />
shots left to the edit<strong>in</strong>g table.<br />
……………….”<br />
Prior to the release of Ganashatru <strong>in</strong> 1989, Ray gave another detailed <strong>in</strong>terview to his<br />
biographer Andrew Rob<strong>in</strong>son where he dwelled at length about his experiences <strong>in</strong> transform<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Ibsen’s ‘Enemy of the people’ <strong>in</strong>to a film. Mention<strong>in</strong>g the plays earlier adaptation by <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
theatre group ‘Bahurupi’ , he made it clear that he wanted to <strong>in</strong>corporate his own ideas <strong>in</strong>to the<br />
script rather than just follow<strong>in</strong>g what Ibsen had written. As he had not seen the play anywhere<br />
before he had no po<strong>in</strong>t of reference except the <strong>in</strong>formation that Ibsen himself had expressed the<br />
desire to Arthur Miller that the Doctor should be the elder brother of the Mayor and not younger, as<br />
is written <strong>in</strong> the play. Ray also did not completely conform to the idea of democracy that Ibsen<br />
op<strong>in</strong>ed through the dialogue of the doctor. However, his tryst with Ibsen was <strong>in</strong>deed a challeng<strong>in</strong>g
117|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
task specially <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g the screenplay which he candidly confesses <strong>in</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g excerpts from<br />
the said <strong>in</strong>terview with Rob<strong>in</strong>son:<br />
Q. Do you recall a questionnaire to film directors <strong>in</strong> the 1950s which you answered by say<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
your aim as a film director was to ‘banish the last trace of theatricality’ from your work?<br />
A. Yes. I’m not do<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>in</strong> the present case (laughs)….those are youthful remarks.<br />
Q. So how did it differ-adapt<strong>in</strong>g your first play <strong>in</strong>stead of a short story or a novel?<br />
A. One problem which cropped up aga<strong>in</strong> & aga<strong>in</strong> was the entry of characters.for <strong>in</strong>stance, <strong>in</strong> the<br />
first act, five different people enter at five different po<strong>in</strong>ts. There’s a door bell and somebody goes<br />
and opens it, and <strong>in</strong> comes a character. That is a very theatrical device. It is not a filmic device at<br />
all. So, I have done someth<strong>in</strong>g to remove that impression: the sound of bell comes <strong>in</strong> the middle of<br />
the conversation and we have a glimpse of the servant go<strong>in</strong>g to open the door. The conversation<br />
goes on and at one po<strong>in</strong>t it stops because the person has already come <strong>in</strong>-so that it’s not a theatrical<br />
entrance.<br />
Q. But did the fact that a play is all dialogue help you, or h<strong>in</strong>der you, or neither?<br />
A. I thought the dialogue was very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. It became more & more <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g as I was do<strong>in</strong>g<br />
my treatment. I found that for once one could play with human faces and human reactions, rather<br />
than landscapes, Nature <strong>in</strong> its various moods which I have done a lot <strong>in</strong> my films. Here I th<strong>in</strong>k it is<br />
the human face, the human character which is predom<strong>in</strong>ant.<br />
Q. So, would you say the play was easier to adapt than, say, Days & Nights or Charulata?<br />
A. It was easier to start with, because I <strong>always</strong> had a structure which was fairly strong one. That’s<br />
why the film is <strong>in</strong> 5 acts, <strong>in</strong>stead of my usual 10 sequences-because the structure of the play was so<br />
tight. The difficulty came <strong>in</strong> transplant<strong>in</strong>g it to Bengal. But it became easy the moment I thought of<br />
the temple. That helped enormously and gave it a completely new aspect. I felt I had it.<br />
……………………….”
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Conclusion-A difficult proposition & further research scopes:<br />
Both Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha and Satyajit Ray did experiment with plays and converted them to films but it is<br />
clear from their accounts that it is <strong>in</strong>deed a difficult proposition. They would prefer adapt<strong>in</strong>g a novel<br />
or story anyday. The reason for that may be attributed to the scene arrangement and entry-exit of<br />
characters which is so <strong>in</strong>tegral to the grammar of a theatre performance that it becomes difficult for<br />
a creative director to improvise and experiment. The dialogues which are asset of a play may<br />
actually turn out to be liability for a filmmaker!<br />
It would have been <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to study such trends <strong>in</strong> Bangladesh as it rema<strong>in</strong>s a parallel<br />
and potent <strong>Bengali</strong> language <strong>in</strong>dustry post colonization. It would also be <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to study<br />
adaptation of plays to films <strong>in</strong> recent times, <strong>in</strong> post globalization India with quality efforts like<br />
Rituparna Ghosh’s ‘The Last Lear’ (adapted from Utpal Dutt’s play, ‘Aajker Shajahan’)and Feroz<br />
Abbas Khan’s ‘Gandhi, My Father’ adapted from his own written play. And a food for thought-why<br />
not go the reverse way and f<strong>in</strong>d out the technicalities of plays be<strong>in</strong>g made out of films?<br />
References<br />
Eisenste<strong>in</strong>,Sergei-‘Film Form’(1969;Harcourt;UK;ISBN-13: 978-0156309202)<br />
Mitra,Manoj-‘Banchharam:Theatre-e C<strong>in</strong>emai’(2000;Mitra &<br />
Ghosh;Kolkata,India;ISBN:81-7293-617-6)<br />
Biswas, Pranab Kumar-‘Bangla Chalachitrer Itihas’(1977;Samakal<br />
Prakashani;Kolkata,India)<br />
Bandyopadhyay,Parthapratim Ed.-‘Bharatiya Chalachitrer<br />
Ruparekha’(1997;Banishilpa;Kolkata,India)<br />
Roy,Rajat-‘Banglar Chalachitra o Sanskriti’(2001;Srishti Prakashan;Kolkata,India;ISBN:01-
119|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
7870-026-3)<br />
Raha,Partha-‘C<strong>in</strong>emar Itibrittanto’(2000;Dey’s Publish<strong>in</strong>g;Kolkata,India;ISBN:81-7612-<br />
665-9)<br />
Islam, Ahmed Am<strong>in</strong>ul-‘Bangladesher Chalachitra:Arthasamajik Patabhumi’(2008;Bangla<br />
Academy;Dhaka,Bangladesh;ISBN:984-07-4700-2)<br />
Ghosh, Jayanta Kumar-‘Bratyojoner Bioscope’(2008;Dey’s<br />
Publish<strong>in</strong>g;Kolkata,India;ISBN:978-81-295-0821-8)<br />
Roberge,Gausto-‘C<strong>in</strong>emar Kotha’(1995;Banishilpa;Kolkata,India)<br />
Cardullo, Bert-‘Revisit<strong>in</strong>g Satyajit Ray-An <strong>in</strong>terview with the c<strong>in</strong>ema master’; Published <strong>in</strong><br />
‘Bright Lights Film Journal’(November 2005;Issue 50)<br />
www.satyajitray.ucsc.edu<br />
Rob<strong>in</strong>son,Andrew-‘Satyajit Ray:The Inner Eye’(1992;University of California Press; USA;<br />
ISBN 0520069463 )<br />
Sourav Gupta is an Assistant Professor of Journalism & Mass Communication at the Central<br />
University of Orissa. Apart from academics, Sourav Gupta is also a prolific scriptwriter, actor and<br />
director of the <strong>Bengali</strong> stage, television and radio. In 2005, he was conferred “Satya Banyopadhyay<br />
Smriti Samman” by theatre magaz<strong>in</strong>e ‘Natyapanjika’ for his play,”Shabdagaon”. He is the<br />
Associate Editor of the Sangeet Natak Academy sponsored English f<strong>in</strong>e arts magaz<strong>in</strong>e ‘Mime’ s<strong>in</strong>ce<br />
2004. Prior to jo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g CUO, he has served Gurudas College, Kolkata and Central University of<br />
Bihar, Patna. He is one of the assistant editors of Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies.
From Tollygunge to Tollywood 1 : The Transformation of <strong>Bengali</strong> Film<br />
Industry between 1980 and the Present<br />
Anugyan Nag<br />
Background<br />
The <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> the 1980s was perhaps the most complex <strong>in</strong> terms of its composition<br />
and identity. The period was marked by a transformation that categorically changed the c<strong>in</strong>ematic<br />
practices and traditions of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, mak<strong>in</strong>g way for the emergence of a ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
that rema<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> prom<strong>in</strong>ence for a long period of time. This transition was marked by a change <strong>in</strong><br />
the style and content of films commonly referred to as the <strong>in</strong>corporation of ‘masala’ or ‘formula’<br />
elements borrowed from Bombay c<strong>in</strong>ema, such as racy dialogues, stereotypical villa<strong>in</strong>ous<br />
characters, stylized fights and song-and-dance sequences. The 60s and 70s were a period when West<br />
Bengal’s social and political scenario underwent drastic changes, with a shift <strong>in</strong> political power<br />
from the Left to the Congress. <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema alongside <strong>Bengali</strong> society experienced a loss <strong>in</strong> its<br />
idealism and adapted to new ideologies and paradigms. The 1980s seemed marked by the event that<br />
<strong>in</strong>augurated the decade - the death of mat<strong>in</strong>ee idol Uttam Kumar - that triggered the overall<br />
metamorphosis of the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry, and the filmic imag<strong>in</strong>ary of the bhadralok or ‘a<br />
cultured Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess’ that seemed to give way to a crass and unimag<strong>in</strong>able imitation of Bombay<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
1 Madhava Prasad says: “The orig<strong>in</strong> of the term be<strong>in</strong>g obscure, there have been many claimants to the credit for co<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
it, and many theories as to its first usage. But now we may actually be <strong>in</strong> a position to settle this issue, at the risk of<br />
offend<strong>in</strong>g some claimants. In 1932, Wilford E. Dem<strong>in</strong>g, an American eng<strong>in</strong>eer who claims that ‘under my supervision<br />
was produced India’s first sound and talk<strong>in</strong>g picture’, writ<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> American C<strong>in</strong>ematographer (12.11, March 1932),<br />
mentions a telegram he received as he was leav<strong>in</strong>g India after his assignment: Tollywood sends best wishes happy new<br />
year to Lubill film do<strong>in</strong>g wonderfully records broken. In explanation, he adds, ‘In pass<strong>in</strong>g it might be expla<strong>in</strong>ed that our<br />
Calcutta studio was located <strong>in</strong> the suburb of Tollygunge… Tolly be<strong>in</strong>g a proper name and Gunge- mean<strong>in</strong>g locality.<br />
After study<strong>in</strong>g the advantages of Hollygunge we decided on Tollywood. There be<strong>in</strong>g two studios at present <strong>in</strong> that<br />
locality, and several more projected, the name seems appropriate.’ Thus it was Hollywood itself, <strong>in</strong> a manner of<br />
speak<strong>in</strong>g that, with the confidence that comes from global supremacy, renamed a concentration of production facilities<br />
to make it look like its own baby. Dem<strong>in</strong>g is renam<strong>in</strong>g the locality, but there is no suggestion here that the name will<br />
also serve as an adjective to describe Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> general (although Calcutta <strong>in</strong> those days was still a strong centre<br />
of production). This gells very well with what I seem to remember from occasionally glanc<strong>in</strong>g at a Kolkata based youth<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>e called JS (or Junior Statesman, a publication of The Statesman group which, long before satellite television<br />
and MTV, was addressed to what must have been a very small elite Indian youth segment) which referred to the <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
film <strong>in</strong>dustry as Tollywood. - “This Th<strong>in</strong>g called Bollywood” <strong>in</strong> sem<strong>in</strong>ar 525: Unsettl<strong>in</strong>g C<strong>in</strong>ema, May 2003, 18.
121|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Another factor for the shift <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ematic practices was the entry of television <strong>in</strong>to middleclass<br />
homes <strong>in</strong> Bengal. Until the mid 1970s <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema was identified by its close association<br />
with <strong>Bengali</strong> literature, with an idea of realism, naturalistic act<strong>in</strong>g styles and be<strong>in</strong>g driven by the<br />
notion of a world view that was deeply ‘<strong>Bengali</strong>’ (Gooptu, 2008: 150-51). The late 70s brought <strong>in</strong> a<br />
severe economic crisis <strong>in</strong> the film <strong>in</strong>dustry that was caused by several factors, the primary reason<br />
be<strong>in</strong>g the shift of <strong>Bengali</strong> audiences towards television, due to the persistently unsatisfactory<br />
experience of watch<strong>in</strong>g films <strong>in</strong> deteriorat<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>in</strong>ema halls, furthered by the proliferation of H<strong>in</strong>di<br />
films <strong>in</strong>to <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class homes via television and VCRs, and also the audiences’ preferential<br />
lean<strong>in</strong>g towards H<strong>in</strong>di films for their superior visual quality and novelty factors, <strong>in</strong> comparison to<br />
their counterparts <strong>in</strong> Bengal. <strong>Post</strong> 1970s and the death of super star Uttam Kumar, <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
underwent changes. The f<strong>in</strong>ancial crisis reduced the number of films made <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge to a<br />
handful of twenty to twenty five a year. The films of this period (1980s-1990s) that were made<br />
mostly by Anjan Chowdhury, Swapan Saha and Haranath Chakraborty gradually began to lose their<br />
city or bhadralok audiences to television. S<strong>in</strong>gle screen theatres began to pull down their shutters <strong>in</strong><br />
and around Calcutta due to heavy f<strong>in</strong>ancial losses, with films be<strong>in</strong>g released mostly <strong>in</strong> mofussil<br />
areas. Thus, <strong>in</strong> this chapter I attempt to lay out <strong>in</strong> detail, the complex journey of the Tollygunge film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry from the 1980s lead<strong>in</strong>g to the post liberalization period of resurgence of the <strong>in</strong>dustry and<br />
the formation of a more organized enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong>dustry now popularly known as Tollywood. I<br />
shall map the changes chronologically follow<strong>in</strong>g the demise of super star Uttam Kumar and analyze<br />
how a complex c<strong>in</strong>ematic practice emerged even <strong>in</strong> the lowest period of Tollygunge c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
Films directed by Anjan Chowdhury, Swapan Saha and Haranath Chakraborty were made on<br />
extremely low budgets. The camera and edit<strong>in</strong>g techniques were shoddy without an awareness of<br />
the aesthetics of filmmak<strong>in</strong>g. Market<strong>in</strong>g was conspicuous by its absence; stories and plot l<strong>in</strong>es<br />
revolved around family issues and domesticity. Dur<strong>in</strong>g this phase, the <strong>in</strong>dustry reached out to the
122|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
lesser sectors of the film market and targeted the rural h<strong>in</strong>terlands. Film releases <strong>in</strong> Calcutta began<br />
to shr<strong>in</strong>k whereas districts around West Bengal had more releases br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g back the much needed<br />
revenues for the producers. The directors either produced the films themselves or got non-<strong>Bengali</strong><br />
producers to back their projects who had other bus<strong>in</strong>ess <strong>in</strong>terests away from the <strong>in</strong>dustry. This<br />
resulted <strong>in</strong> a qualitative decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the films that was traced back to producers who could not grasp<br />
the m<strong>in</strong>dset of the <strong>Bengali</strong> audience and chose to copy from H<strong>in</strong>di masala films.<br />
The study of directors like Anjan Chowdhury, Swapan Saha, Haranath Chakraborty is<br />
relevant here for the k<strong>in</strong>d of films they made, cater<strong>in</strong>g to a different segment of the audience and<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g way for a re-organization of the film <strong>in</strong>dustry post liberalization, lead<strong>in</strong>g to the formation of<br />
Shree Venkatesh Films Pvt. Ltd., one of the most formalized and powerful production houses of the<br />
Tollywood <strong>in</strong>dustry at present that dom<strong>in</strong>ates the new c<strong>in</strong>ematic idioms of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
The Chang<strong>in</strong>g Contexts:<br />
Another dull year for the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema is over. However, 1984 may not be termed a bad year as<br />
such. Because at least four films made <strong>in</strong> Kolkata has proved that <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema can still be<br />
successful and there is a viewership for present day <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema (Reporter 1985)<br />
Comments and views like the above were common <strong>in</strong> newspaper headl<strong>in</strong>es <strong>in</strong> the 1980s.<br />
The research <strong>in</strong>to English and <strong>Bengali</strong> newspapers that I did at the National Library, Kolkata<br />
revealed that there was a constant lament voiced by the press and the <strong>in</strong>dustry. The press repeatedly<br />
reiterated the vacuum that Uttam Kumar’s demise had created <strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Studios had almost stopped function<strong>in</strong>g hav<strong>in</strong>g failed to earn the m<strong>in</strong>imum revenue required to pay<br />
salaries to the permanent staff. Established filmmakers like Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha and Mr<strong>in</strong>al Sen did not<br />
make films that could have absorbed the idle labour force of the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong>
123|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Tollygunge. Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the press raised some relevant questions as follows:<br />
(a) Was the death of Uttam Kumar the sole reason for the <strong>in</strong>dustry’s downfall?<br />
(b) What was the socio-economic and political scenario that susta<strong>in</strong>ed West Bengal dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the late 1970s and early 1980s?<br />
However, around 1984-85 there was a ray of hope that filtered <strong>in</strong>to the darkness with the release of<br />
Anjan Choudhury’s Shatru that proved to be a big hit.<br />
The decades spann<strong>in</strong>g the 1980s and 1990s brought <strong>in</strong> changes through the cont<strong>in</strong>uous<br />
negotiation and struggle the <strong>in</strong>dustry people went through to cope with and resolve the reasons of its<br />
successes and failures. In this chapter, I will study the usher<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> of a film tradition by a handful of<br />
new directors who survived severe criticism from the ‘bhadralok 2 ’ class while at the same time that<br />
they consolidated the tremendous popularity of their films amongst semi-urban and rural audiences.<br />
The end of the 1990s saw new developments <strong>in</strong> terms of production, distribution and film<br />
aesthetics, possibly mak<strong>in</strong>g way for a new beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
By the late 1970s, the golden era of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema was almost over; the Uttam-Suchitra 3<br />
pair was still a rage, but unfortunately, failed to generate colossal hits, as they used to earlier. Other<br />
actors, namely, Supriya Chowdhury, Sabitri Chatterjee and Basanta Chowdhury were seen <strong>in</strong><br />
2<br />
See Sharmistha Gooptu, <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema: An Other Nation (New Delhi: Roli Books, 2010) where she expla<strong>in</strong>s<br />
“bhadralok to <strong>in</strong>dicate those social classes among the <strong>Bengali</strong>s who, s<strong>in</strong>ce the n<strong>in</strong>eteenth century, had been the<br />
recipients of some k<strong>in</strong>d of English/western education, were ma<strong>in</strong>ly engaged <strong>in</strong> the professions and services, and found<br />
<strong>in</strong> the c<strong>in</strong>ema a ‘modern’ form which could encapsulate the movement of their lives…..This bhadralok middle class, a<br />
varied social group, was the <strong>Bengali</strong> Film <strong>in</strong>dustry’s ma<strong>in</strong>stay for the greater part of the period …”, 14-16.<br />
3<br />
“The era of ‘Uttam-Suchitra’, the mid 1950s through the ‘60s, is commonly designated as the ‘golden period’ of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, and has been written and rem<strong>in</strong>isced about pervasively. Dur<strong>in</strong>g these years <strong>Bengali</strong> directors were able<br />
to produce a genre of film melodrama that became <strong>in</strong>tegral to a <strong>Bengali</strong> sense of self. Identification was rooted <strong>in</strong> the<br />
figures of an idealized female and an idealistic and ethical male, embodied respectively by Suchitra Sen and Uttam<br />
Kumar, and their romantic love became the stuff of <strong>in</strong>tense emotional identification among <strong>Bengali</strong>s of the post<strong>in</strong>dependence<br />
generation. The same prototypes were common <strong>in</strong> films of that era which did not actually feature Uttam<br />
Kumar and Suchitra Sen together, and it has been suggested that ‘Uttam-Suchitra…be used as a sign’. See Mo<strong>in</strong>ak<br />
Biswas, ‘The Couple and Their Spaces: Harono sur as Melodrama Now’ <strong>in</strong> Mak<strong>in</strong>g Mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema, ed. Ravi<br />
S. Vasudevan (New Delhi: OUP, 2000). p.122 for the broader genre of the 1950s and ‘60s popular melodrama. Also see<br />
Sharmishtha Gooptu, "<strong>Bengali</strong> Love-Stories: Uttam-Suchitra And The Golden Era of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema," 2010, 157.
124|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
selective films while Uttam Kumar was try<strong>in</strong>g his luck <strong>in</strong> Bombay. It was Shakti Samanta, who<br />
made a few bil<strong>in</strong>gual films with Uttam Kumar <strong>in</strong> the lead. In fact, Samanta’s films <strong>in</strong>troduced <strong>in</strong>to<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema -action, romance and fantasy, so far identified qu<strong>in</strong>tessentially with Bombay<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema. The Bombay films, target<strong>in</strong>g a pan-Indian audience, were a remarkable departure from the<br />
k<strong>in</strong>d of c<strong>in</strong>ema that the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry had produced till date. The trend of mak<strong>in</strong>g films like<br />
the ones <strong>in</strong> Bombay that were popular with audiences robbed <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of its uniqueness.<br />
Films such as Anusandhan (Sakti Samanta, 1981), (the <strong>Bengali</strong> version of Barsaat Ki Raat), and<br />
later Teen Murti (Pramod Chakraborty, 1984) (starr<strong>in</strong>g a host of Bombay stars) set the box-office<br />
bell r<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g quite pierc<strong>in</strong>gly, but the <strong>in</strong>dustry barely benefited from these few films, <strong>in</strong> terms of<br />
benefit<strong>in</strong>g the overall condition of the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry. This was also the time when<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema had gradually begun to lose its urban bhadralok audiences. Although film<br />
production <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge was <strong>in</strong> a disappo<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g state, <strong>in</strong> 1979 around thirty two films 4 were<br />
produced and released; but the biggest challenge that emerged was not related to scripts, actors,<br />
stars or budget− it was “where to watch films?” The state desperately required good c<strong>in</strong>ema halls.<br />
Problems of Distribution and Exhibition:<br />
In 1979, while the number of films released was thirty two, the biggest challenge that threatened the<br />
Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry was the lack of adequate number of c<strong>in</strong>ema halls where these films could be<br />
exhibited. It wasn’t enough to have good films, the state most urgently required good c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
theaters. The then f<strong>in</strong>ance m<strong>in</strong>ister had called for a press meet along with the Information and<br />
Broadcast<strong>in</strong>g M<strong>in</strong>ister of State-Buddhadev Bhattacharya, to announce a package that would<br />
encourage more entrepreneurs to build / create c<strong>in</strong>ema halls. The government was ready to help the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g ways:<br />
4<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> Film Directory, Nandan, West Bengal Film Centre – 185-89.
125|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
a) It was will<strong>in</strong>g to giv<strong>in</strong>g loans at m<strong>in</strong>imum rates of <strong>in</strong>terest, along with <strong>in</strong>centives, subsidies<br />
and tax rebates. Theatre owners who screened a <strong>Bengali</strong> film produced and f<strong>in</strong>anced by the<br />
West Bengal Film F<strong>in</strong>ance Corporation for more than 75% of their total show-time were to<br />
be fully exempted from any tax.<br />
b) If they devoted 25% to 50% of their total screen<strong>in</strong>g time to <strong>Bengali</strong> films, the government would<br />
provide 25 to 40 thousand rupees for the purchase of projection equipments and accessories.<br />
c) The government’s plan was to <strong>in</strong>crease the number of c<strong>in</strong>ema halls to a total of 1000 <strong>in</strong> the state<br />
(Bureau 1981, 41).<br />
d) In the city of Calcutta, c<strong>in</strong>ema halls ran <strong>in</strong> ‘cha<strong>in</strong>s’; the five popular cha<strong>in</strong>s were: Uttara-Purabi-<br />
Ujjwala, M<strong>in</strong>ar-Bijolee-Chobighar, Rupobani-Aruna-Bharati, Sree-Indira-Prachi, Radha-Purna-<br />
Prachi.<br />
e) Earlier even halls like Basushree-B<strong>in</strong>a-Mitra would screen <strong>Bengali</strong> films, but due to the audiences’<br />
preferences shift<strong>in</strong>g towards Bombay c<strong>in</strong>ema, they began screen<strong>in</strong>g H<strong>in</strong>di films.<br />
The government failed to understand that though thirty two films were produced <strong>in</strong> 1979,<br />
only five <strong>Bengali</strong> films could be screened simultaneously <strong>in</strong> Calcutta <strong>in</strong> the five cha<strong>in</strong>s that were<br />
function<strong>in</strong>g. Many films rema<strong>in</strong>ed unreleased due to a lack of exhibition halls. Reputed film<br />
distributors of that period like Chandimata films had five films, Piyali films and RB films had three<br />
films each kept <strong>in</strong> cold storage for lack of c<strong>in</strong>ema halls that could screen these films (Bureau 1981,<br />
43).<br />
The fact that films also flopped one after another dur<strong>in</strong>g this period forced the distributors to<br />
advance the release dates of many films which resulted <strong>in</strong> huge losses for the c<strong>in</strong>ema hall owners. A<br />
lead<strong>in</strong>g distributor (who <strong>in</strong>sists on rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g unnamed) of that period says that there were more<br />
than thirty films that were stopped <strong>in</strong> the middle of production, due to reasons like lack of halls, no
126|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
advance money from hall owners, and non-availability of cha<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Calcutta. The only way out for a<br />
few distributors was to enter the rural territory where they did not have to depend on the cha<strong>in</strong>s. At<br />
least two more such cha<strong>in</strong>s were needed <strong>in</strong> the city target<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Bengali</strong> speak<strong>in</strong>g areas. But even<br />
with the government’s announcement of <strong>in</strong>centives and <strong>in</strong>terest free loans, no one wished to enter<br />
<strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema exhibition. The possible reasons were: (i) Land rates <strong>in</strong> and around Calcutta had<br />
reached unimag<strong>in</strong>able heights; (ii) Huge amounts had to be paid as Enterta<strong>in</strong>ment tax to the<br />
government, which <strong>in</strong> turn impacted the prices of tickets that were valid factors that discouraged<br />
entrepreneurs; (iii) The ‘black market<strong>in</strong>g’ of tickets was another reason that drew less crowds to the<br />
halls specially on week-ends; (iv) S<strong>in</strong>ce tickets were never available across the counter and all<br />
tickets were sold to ‘blackers’ who sold a rupees three ticket for rupees ten, sometimes even fifteen,<br />
families avoided visit<strong>in</strong>g c<strong>in</strong>ema halls on weekends; (v) It was impossible to construct halls with<strong>in</strong><br />
the estimated budget bracket of Rs.12 lakhs that the government had provided; (vi) Even after more<br />
than a week of ‘housefull’ shows, the hall owners did not make enough profit to pay their<br />
employees and manage the ma<strong>in</strong>tenance cost of the hall (Chatterjee, 1979: 25).<br />
The demise of Uttam Kumar: The Lowest period of the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry and the ‘crisis<br />
narrative’:<br />
In a situation of crisis ma<strong>in</strong>ly provoked by the lack of proper distribution and exhibition,<br />
Tollygunge was grappl<strong>in</strong>g with issues of improv<strong>in</strong>g the bus<strong>in</strong>ess and overall condition of the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry, when the sudden demise of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema’s most coveted super star-Uttam<br />
Kumar brought <strong>in</strong> one of the biggest set backs that could have happened. He passed away <strong>in</strong> July<br />
1980 leav<strong>in</strong>g more than six films <strong>in</strong>complete and lakhs of rupees at stake, s<strong>in</strong>ce it was Uttam Kumar<br />
whose films for the longest period of time had s<strong>in</strong>gle-handedly ensured that Tollygunge studios<br />
survived and cont<strong>in</strong>ued bus<strong>in</strong>ess.
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Even today, when I personally <strong>in</strong>terviewed people from the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry who<br />
were work<strong>in</strong>g dur<strong>in</strong>g the 70s and 80s, they spoke with great emotion and sentiment about how not a<br />
s<strong>in</strong>gle film was produced after Uttam Kumar’s death and the <strong>in</strong>dustry had almost collapsed. I<br />
wondered if this was true and not a mere sentimental lament. My search became <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g when I<br />
found a detailed article <strong>in</strong> the monthly periodical ‘Parivartan’ dated 15 th July, 1981 by Bhaskar<br />
Chowdhury titled “Uttam Kumar er obhab tallyganj para ekhono bisesh ter pa<strong>in</strong>i” (Tollygunge area<br />
has not been able to realize the loss of Uttam Kumar yet - my translation). Chowdhury elaborates on<br />
how more than one year had passed post the demise of Uttam Kumar when many c<strong>in</strong>e-goers<br />
constantly exclaimed while watch<strong>in</strong>g films without their favourite star that the actor on screen had<br />
been Uttam Kumar, forgett<strong>in</strong>g that all the films released after his death had begun their production<br />
while he was alive and much before his death. So Kumar was perhaps not the obvious choice for the<br />
films <strong>in</strong> which he was not cast.<br />
Uttam Kumar had been act<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> films that extended to a varied range of subjects s<strong>in</strong>ce the<br />
mid 70s. He hardly rejected scripts <strong>in</strong> the last five years before his demise. If people lamented his<br />
absence to such an extent, and traced every reason for the downfall of the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
to his death, it was probably an emotional response generated out of excessive love and respect for<br />
him. There was a strong collective voice of loss and despair from the ‘Studio Supply Co-operative’,<br />
for they had been earlier supported and advised by Kumar at various <strong>in</strong>stances. One such <strong>in</strong>stance<br />
was when it received a closure notice before Kumar’s death. The studio employees and staff had<br />
made an appeal to the government and had plans to rope <strong>in</strong> Uttam Kumar to stand by them and<br />
support their cause, for <strong>in</strong> the past whenever he had associated himself with such causes, they had<br />
turned <strong>in</strong> favour of the staff and employees.<br />
In the year after his death till about 15 th July 1981, twenty eight films were released, fifteen<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g 1980 and the rema<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> 1981. Of these twenty eight, Uttam Kumar was <strong>in</strong> three, of which
128|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
two collapsed at the box-office. Ogo Bodhu Shundari (Salil Dutta, 1981) however was a record hit.<br />
Many commented that the success of Ogo Bodhu Shundari was due to the publicity stills of Uttam<br />
Kumar <strong>in</strong> a shav<strong>in</strong>g sequence, widely circulated <strong>in</strong> newspapers and magaz<strong>in</strong>es. S<strong>in</strong>ce it was the last<br />
film he shot for, it was felt that people had an emotional connection with that film, and their<br />
sentiments were <strong>in</strong>volved. But if that were true, why was Rajashaheb (Palash Banerjee, 1980) a<br />
disaster at the box-office? Or Khana Baraha (Bijoy Bose, 1981), where Uttam Kumar played a<br />
mythological character that he had never done before, thus foreground<strong>in</strong>g the question - if the star is<br />
bigger than the story and script of the film? Moreover, on the contrary what was the reason for the<br />
phenomenal success of Tarun Majumdar’s Dadar Kirti (1981) which, despite a cast compris<strong>in</strong>g<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ly of newcomers, was a huge success at the box-office. Press reports suggest that the audience<br />
appreciated the work of the film. In Rajashaheb Uttam Kumar played a merciless corrupt landlord,<br />
whose character goes through a transformation at the end. He had earlier played similar roles <strong>in</strong><br />
films like Rajnand<strong>in</strong>i and Stree. But Rajashaheb had faulty production values and a shoddy look,<br />
which probably deterred its success. In Khana Baraha, Uttam Kumar played the role of Baraha,<br />
depict<strong>in</strong>g deep anguish, pa<strong>in</strong> and sorrow that were his strengths as an actor. Yet, the film did not<br />
appeal to the audience.<br />
In Ogo Bodhu Shundari, loosely adapted from Pygmalion, Uttam played a happy-go-lucky<br />
and a lost academic professor, someth<strong>in</strong>g he had played before. The film appealed to the audience<br />
for its production value, music and story, though Uttam Kumar could not complete the shoot<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the period of 1980-81, twenty five films were released without Uttam Kumar featur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
any of them and only n<strong>in</strong>eteen of them were average grossers (Chowdhury, 1981). Chowdhury also<br />
po<strong>in</strong>ts out that the State Government’s reduced ticket price of one rupee did attract a section of the<br />
audience, but at the same time there was no guarantee that if these n<strong>in</strong>eteen films had featured<br />
Uttam Kumar they would have been successful, because they were most certa<strong>in</strong>ly not good films
129|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
and hence the failure.<br />
At the time of his death, Uttam Kumar had left eleven films unf<strong>in</strong>ished. The producers and<br />
directors of these eleven films were paranoid. Some even used dummies to f<strong>in</strong>ish their films; some<br />
changed scripts and managed to f<strong>in</strong>ish five of them out of which only two were released. The rest of<br />
the films rema<strong>in</strong>ed unf<strong>in</strong>ished and got shelved. In the last one year Uttam had also acted <strong>in</strong> two<br />
H<strong>in</strong>di films, which released after his demise. These were Dooriyaan (Bhimsa<strong>in</strong> Khurana, 1979) and<br />
Plot number 5(Yogesh Saxena, 1981). Both flopped though his work <strong>in</strong> both films was appreciated<br />
and discussed <strong>in</strong> the press reviews. In this context the film Bancharamer Bagan (Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha,<br />
1980) is worthy of note. Uttam Kumar had been <strong>in</strong>itially signed to play the role of a zam<strong>in</strong>dar, but<br />
due to his ill health he could not do the film and a comparatively new actor Dipankar Dey was cast<br />
<strong>in</strong> his place. This <strong>in</strong>furiated the star and he had even filed a case <strong>in</strong> the court. But before it could<br />
come up <strong>in</strong> court, he passed away. Follow<strong>in</strong>g this, several newspapers and magaz<strong>in</strong>es reported this<br />
<strong>in</strong>cident annoy<strong>in</strong>g Uttam Kumar fans. Surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, the film did very well at the box-office. No one<br />
raised objections about Dipankar Dey (Chowdhury, 1981).<br />
With the success of Bancharamer Bagan Dipankar Dey became a busy actor with the<br />
maximum number of films signed dur<strong>in</strong>g that and the follow<strong>in</strong>g year. Others like Samit Bhanja,<br />
Ranjit Mallik and Shantu Mukherjee became popular and had a respectable number of films as well.<br />
Certa<strong>in</strong> directors and producers who did not have to work hard with Uttam Kumar as the star <strong>in</strong><br />
their film were now <strong>in</strong> great difficulty. They had not announced any film for more than a year after<br />
his death.<br />
It is <strong>in</strong> this situation that the audience and many c<strong>in</strong>ema hall owners along with the<br />
government perceived that film production had decl<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge. But actually the number of<br />
films be<strong>in</strong>g produced had <strong>in</strong>creased. Government fund<strong>in</strong>g was one of the prime reasons for this rise.
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This was also the time when numerous new technicians entered the studios alongside established<br />
directors. New directors were mak<strong>in</strong>g more films; many cast new actors and experimented along the<br />
l<strong>in</strong>es of the ‘art’ or ‘parallel’ filmmak<strong>in</strong>g practice <strong>in</strong> keep<strong>in</strong>g with the impulse of the ‘New Wave’<br />
movement that had emerged dur<strong>in</strong>g the ‘70s. The ‘Indian New Wave’ movement-a realist project,<br />
spearheaded by the likes of Mr<strong>in</strong>al Sen, Shyam Benegal et al. was a response to the socio-political<br />
issues of the time and a counter movement to the dom<strong>in</strong>ant c<strong>in</strong>ematic characteristics of ma<strong>in</strong>stream<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema that “privileged enterta<strong>in</strong>ment values, spectacular display, song and dance and melodrama” 5 .<br />
As Mira Reym B<strong>in</strong>ford has observed the ‘new wave’ aligned itself with a “serious <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
artistic enterprise” (B<strong>in</strong>ford. 1987: 148). The aspects that dist<strong>in</strong>guished the c<strong>in</strong>ematic treatment of<br />
the new wave films from the ma<strong>in</strong>stream were their excessive emphasis on realism and<br />
experimentation with technical form and content. The content of new wave films dealt with subjects<br />
like class conflicts, caste <strong>in</strong>equalities, social <strong>in</strong>justice, and patriarchal repression 6 . In Bengal this<br />
form of c<strong>in</strong>ema found a new facet with the establishment of the state sponsored West Bengal Film<br />
Development Corporation that extended its patronage to certa<strong>in</strong> directors who could carry forward<br />
the legacy of the ‘literary’ and c<strong>in</strong>ematic traditions of Bengal. The press, the state <strong>in</strong>stitutions and<br />
the bhadralok section of audience also conformed to this new form of c<strong>in</strong>ema for its strong<br />
association with ideology, especially leftist <strong>in</strong> the case of Bengal.<br />
Directors like Utpalendu Chakraborty, Buddhadev Dasgupta, Nabyendu Chatterjee, Aparna<br />
Sen and Goutam Ghosh entered the Tollygunge brigade of film production with their orientation<br />
towards the New Wave c<strong>in</strong>ema movement. They <strong>in</strong>troduced new actors and kept up the workflow <strong>in</strong><br />
the studios. But the biggest challenge that the government and the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry had to<br />
confront was the issue of earn<strong>in</strong>g revenue from the New Wave directors’ films. The Calcutta city<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema theatres were already experienc<strong>in</strong>g losses and repeatedly devot<strong>in</strong>g more screen<strong>in</strong>g time to<br />
5<br />
See Ira Bhaskar .”The Indian New Wave” <strong>in</strong> Moti Gokuls<strong>in</strong>gh and Wimal Dissanayake. Eds. Handbook of Indian<br />
c<strong>in</strong>emas. London: Routledge, 2013 (Forthcom<strong>in</strong>g).<br />
6<br />
Ibid
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H<strong>in</strong>di ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema. The situation was grimmer <strong>in</strong> small towns and rural areas, where halls<br />
had limited number of seats and ticket prices were less. The tax benefit and rebate that the<br />
government provided for films produced and f<strong>in</strong>anced by the West Bengal film F<strong>in</strong>ance Corporation<br />
was also not lucrative as these films barely attracted audiences <strong>in</strong> smaller towns and rural areas, or<br />
for that matter <strong>in</strong> Calcutta ma<strong>in</strong>ly due to the lack of proper distribution and exhibition. The<br />
competition from the commercial or ma<strong>in</strong>stream Bombay c<strong>in</strong>ema be<strong>in</strong>g relatively high, there were<br />
lesser chances of risks be<strong>in</strong>g taken by the distributors, and hence the small and <strong>in</strong>dependent films<br />
that lacked the elements and attractions of popular c<strong>in</strong>ema were generally avoided by them, mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
it extremely difficult for state funded films to f<strong>in</strong>d screens for exhibition. The government took a<br />
step to f<strong>in</strong>ance several issue driven film projects, but failed to wake up to the issue of distribution<br />
and exhibition centres that could possibly cater to this k<strong>in</strong>d of c<strong>in</strong>ema exclusively. The New Wave<br />
or ‘parallel’ c<strong>in</strong>ema directors like Buddhadev Dasgupta, Goutam Ghosh, Nabyendu Chatterjee and<br />
Utpalendu Chakraborty were consistently supported by the West Bengal Film Development<br />
Corporation(WBFDC) and later the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to make films<br />
that were ‘different’ from the ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema. As Spandan Bhattacharya mentions quot<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Aruna Vasudev <strong>in</strong> his unpublished M.Phil dissertation this k<strong>in</strong>d of c<strong>in</strong>ema was born out of<br />
‘governmental decision’ and not merely from ‘the impetus of filmmakers rebell<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
exist<strong>in</strong>g popular c<strong>in</strong>ema (2011: 13). Bhattacharya also cites critics like Iqbal Masud who wrote<br />
critically aga<strong>in</strong>st this k<strong>in</strong>d of c<strong>in</strong>ema for be<strong>in</strong>g ‘orthodox’ and ‘detached’ from the average viewers<br />
(ibid). Also the class of audience (ma<strong>in</strong>ly the bourgeois –middle-class bhadralok) at whom these<br />
films were targeted perhaps preferred to sit at home and enjoy television. Films like Buddhadev<br />
Dasgupta’s Charachar, Grihayuddha (1982), Utpalendu Chakraborty’s Chokh (1983). Goutam<br />
Ghosh’s Paar (1984) Saroj Dey’s Koni (1986) failed to reach audiences for the lack of distribution<br />
and probably because they were too ‘ideological’ <strong>in</strong> their form and content. As Kiranmoy Raha
132|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
mentioned <strong>in</strong> his book <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema criticiz<strong>in</strong>g the press reports that excessively hailed the<br />
‘parallel’ or ‘good c<strong>in</strong>ema’ movement:<br />
…this resurgence, if so it can be called, seen <strong>in</strong> the eighties has been feeble compared to that of the<br />
fifties and the sixties. For one th<strong>in</strong>g many of the films the new generation of filmmakers have made or<br />
are mak<strong>in</strong>g are <strong>in</strong> H<strong>in</strong>di. For another, except for Aparna Sen they appear to be overtly concerned with<br />
economic and social issues rather than with human ones (Raha, 1991: 81)<br />
While Raha criticized the concerns of these films <strong>in</strong> terms of their form and content, Someshwar<br />
Bhoumik also expressed his views about the failure of these films when he wrote quot<strong>in</strong>g filmmaker<br />
Goutam Ghosh that the films produced by the state (WBFDC and NFDC) hardly reached the<br />
audience outside the circuits of film festivals and film societies (Bhoumik, 1996: 125-26).<br />
The regular c<strong>in</strong>ema halls that otherwise mostly screened ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema were also not<br />
ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed qualitatively, and the situation deteriorated beyond repair, thus forc<strong>in</strong>g many producers<br />
and distributors to quit the film <strong>in</strong>dustry, severely affect<strong>in</strong>g film bus<strong>in</strong>ess opportunities <strong>in</strong><br />
Tollygunge and film production budgets (Chatterjee, 1979: 26). At the same time, directors and<br />
producers used to mak<strong>in</strong>g ‘hero’ or more specifically ‘star’ centric films were also <strong>in</strong> trouble, even<br />
those who were used to produc<strong>in</strong>g star-centric films with Uttam Kumar, who was known to carry a<br />
film solely on his shoulders which had led to scripts and characters be<strong>in</strong>g written around him. But<br />
this began fad<strong>in</strong>g after his pass<strong>in</strong>g away. It was no longer clear what k<strong>in</strong>d of films could be made<br />
without Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar’s strongest rival Soumitra Chatterjee was not seen <strong>in</strong> the type<br />
of films that Uttam Kumar acted <strong>in</strong> or would have acted <strong>in</strong>. Besides, he cont<strong>in</strong>ued to do a maximum<br />
of three to four films a year, reject<strong>in</strong>g several offers earlier written for Uttam Kumar (Chowdhury,<br />
1981: 44). Many distributors successful dur<strong>in</strong>g the Uttam Kumar phase now took time to<br />
understand the shift<strong>in</strong>g trends <strong>in</strong> filmmak<strong>in</strong>g practices. They could no longer enjoy profits. It was<br />
time for the survivors to survey the market seriously and understand the art and bus<strong>in</strong>ess of
133|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
filmmak<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>utely. A large number of filmmakers realized that they had to work hard on the<br />
script and screenplay of a film, which earlier was not an important issue, especially when Uttam<br />
Kumar was roped <strong>in</strong> for a film. This change was crucial, for now the <strong>in</strong>dustry people had to work<br />
harder, and had to come to terms with this huge shift from an era that was so strongly dom<strong>in</strong>ated<br />
and controlled by one man- a star. This <strong>in</strong>dustrial shift would be a witness to who would survive<br />
and what would be the fate of Tollygunge.<br />
Thus, while the <strong>in</strong>dustry was try<strong>in</strong>g to tackle the void created by Uttam Kumar and<br />
witnessed the shift <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ematic practices to a more thought-provok<strong>in</strong>g narrative story tell<strong>in</strong>g, the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry was gett<strong>in</strong>g fractured <strong>in</strong>to the b<strong>in</strong>aries of ‘parallel’ and ‘ma<strong>in</strong>stream’ c<strong>in</strong>ema. Perhaps this<br />
scenario was also responsible for the audience bifurcation and segmentation that drastically affected<br />
the overall condition of the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry. The <strong>Bengali</strong> middle-class bhadralok section<br />
gradually distanced themselves from the ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema that was to cont<strong>in</strong>ue throughout the<br />
‘80s, and endorsed television as a medium that provided them with an opportunity to watch films<br />
from the ‘Uttam-Suchitra’ era, along with the ones made by ‘parallel’ c<strong>in</strong>ema directors of the ‘70s<br />
and ‘80s. The press too was very critical about the ma<strong>in</strong>stream films that were be<strong>in</strong>g released dur<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the post Uttam Kumar phase. There was concern from the bhadralok community too, voic<strong>in</strong>g their<br />
vehement criticism aga<strong>in</strong>st the ma<strong>in</strong>stream filmmakers and the films they made. Their primary<br />
concern was that the <strong>Bengali</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream was excessively imitat<strong>in</strong>g popular H<strong>in</strong>di c<strong>in</strong>ema aesthetics<br />
and form blatantly. The element of ‘masala’ was not someth<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema has been<br />
associated with, and thus a serious disconnect developed between the ma<strong>in</strong>stream Tollygunge<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema and its otherwise most loyal audience base till the ‘70s. This period and phenomenon is also<br />
termed the lowest period of the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry and referred to as the ‘crisis period’ or ‘crisis<br />
narrative’ of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. Therefore, with the <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong>siders struggl<strong>in</strong>g to address the crisis,<br />
the state government also took various steps and <strong>in</strong>itiatives to alter this plummet<strong>in</strong>g state of affairs
134|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
<strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry, which I will be explor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g section.<br />
State Government Policies and Initiatives:<br />
The state government came up with a law for the resurgence of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and the <strong>in</strong>dustry. On<br />
25 th June 1981, The Calcutta Information Centre organized a meet<strong>in</strong>g for the first time with the reestablished<br />
Film Development Board that was attended by twenty-seven of the forty registered<br />
members. Some of the attendees were Mrigankoshekar Roy, Ramananda Sengupta, Subrata<br />
Sensharma, Samarendra Sengupta, Anil Chatterjee, Pantu Nag, Mohit Chatterjee, A.K.Dey,<br />
Purnendu Patri, Basanta Choudhury, Hari Dasgupta, Swapan Dutta, Mr<strong>in</strong>al Gupta,<br />
A.N.Bhattacharya, Sishir Sen, Habul Das, D.Majumdar, M.A. Saiyad, Salil Choudhury,<br />
D.Mukherjee, Satyen Chatterjee, Soumendu Roy, Bijoy Chatterjee, Indranath Banerjee,<br />
Parthasarathi Choudhury, Shibnath Chatterjee and representatives of the Eastern India Motion<br />
Pictures Association. The Vice chairman Buddhadev Bhattacharya mentioned <strong>in</strong> his speech that<br />
….. the State Government has been try<strong>in</strong>g to obta<strong>in</strong> prior consent of the President of India to a bill<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g for compulsory screen<strong>in</strong>g of West Bengal films <strong>in</strong> the c<strong>in</strong>ema houses of this state for a<br />
period of 12 weeks a year. The Law M<strong>in</strong>istry of the Government of India has raised certa<strong>in</strong><br />
constitutional and legal po<strong>in</strong>ts and the State Government is work<strong>in</strong>g on these po<strong>in</strong>ts for obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
necessary clearance (Bureau 1981, 41).<br />
In response, Subrata Sensharma po<strong>in</strong>ted out that the State Government could easily impose<br />
this law and call for a renewal of Licence, without any further delay. The Board had not known this<br />
before, and the f<strong>in</strong>al draft of the proposal <strong>in</strong> that meet<strong>in</strong>g was:<br />
The Board approved the State Government’s stand regard<strong>in</strong>g compulsory screen<strong>in</strong>g of West Bengal<br />
Films <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema houses with<strong>in</strong> West Bengal for a period of 12 weeks <strong>in</strong> a year. The Board has further
135|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
requested the state Government to explore if such compulsory screen<strong>in</strong>g can be made a condition of<br />
licence granted to the show houses (Bureau 1981, 41).<br />
The law had to be drafted <strong>in</strong> a way that none of the c<strong>in</strong>ema halls could deviate from the terms and<br />
conditions. Hence a section from page 588 of the C<strong>in</strong>ematograph Code was <strong>in</strong>corporated <strong>in</strong> to the<br />
draft, which mentioned,<br />
The State Government may from time to time, issue directions to licensees generally or, if <strong>in</strong> the<br />
op<strong>in</strong>ion of the State Government circumstances so justify, to any licensee <strong>in</strong> particular, for the purpose<br />
of regulat<strong>in</strong>g the exhibition of any film or class of films and <strong>in</strong> particular the exhibition of scientific<br />
films, films <strong>in</strong>tended for educational purposes, films deal<strong>in</strong>g with news and current events,<br />
documentary films or films produced <strong>in</strong> India and where any such directions have been issued, these<br />
directions shall be deemed to be additional conditions and restriction subject to which the licence has<br />
been granted (Bureau, 1981: 41,42)<br />
Follow<strong>in</strong>g this, on 10 th July the same year, the Left-ruled government issued a letter with the<br />
above-mentioned clauses and the mandate of 12 weeks of compulsory <strong>Bengali</strong> film screen<strong>in</strong>g to the<br />
Home Department Secretary, to all district offices, Calcutta Police Commissioner, and c<strong>in</strong>ema hall<br />
owners.<br />
However, this was a shock to most hall owners. The news created a tremor <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge<br />
studios, the Dharmtala area of distributors’ offices and especially among c<strong>in</strong>ema house owners who<br />
ran H<strong>in</strong>di or English films 365 days <strong>in</strong> a year. Simultaneously, several c<strong>in</strong>ema halls were short listed<br />
by the Calcutta Municipal Corporation and a notice was issued to them to immediately amend the<br />
hall <strong>in</strong> order to keep their licence <strong>in</strong>tact, as the ma<strong>in</strong>tenance standards of these halls were below the<br />
quality mark. C<strong>in</strong>ema theatre owners had earlier avoided the compulsory conversion to aircondition<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on grounds of frequent power cuts, and frequent <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> rent<strong>in</strong>g, hir<strong>in</strong>g or book<strong>in</strong>g<br />
charges (Bureau, 1981: 43).
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Dur<strong>in</strong>g Congress rule <strong>in</strong> the 1970s, the Information M<strong>in</strong>ister Subrata Mukherjee had raised<br />
considerable debate <strong>in</strong> the Legislative Assembly <strong>in</strong> favor of mandatory screen<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>Bengali</strong> films <strong>in</strong><br />
the state’s c<strong>in</strong>ema houses. But due to various oppositions and the delay <strong>in</strong> the formation of policies,<br />
the mandate was withdrawn. After the victory of the Left front <strong>in</strong> West Bengal, a Bill was passed <strong>in</strong><br />
the Bidhan Sabha for the imposition of this law, but the f<strong>in</strong>al rule had to be passed by the Centre.<br />
The bill was nevertheless rejected after a period of two years with the logic that it would disrupt<br />
national <strong>in</strong>tegration (Bureau, 1981: 42,43). The government was not sure about the repercussions of<br />
this Law as there was only one year left for the state assembly elections, and if forced, c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
houses could go to Court to challenge this rule.<br />
Basically the Left government had lost huge sums when they had <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> thirteen feature<br />
films, along with n<strong>in</strong>e children’s films and another thirty-seven feature films were already under<br />
production. The films so far produced by the government had not only <strong>in</strong>curred losses, but some<br />
had also not been released <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema houses for a s<strong>in</strong>gle week’s run. Most of the government<br />
f<strong>in</strong>anced films had not been bought by private distributors. C<strong>in</strong>ema hall owners refused to screen<br />
any of these films. Most hall owners earned more profits from the ‘black market’ by screen<strong>in</strong>g<br />
H<strong>in</strong>di films, so the repeated notices and requests from the government did not affect them. A strong<br />
reason for this was that none of the government-funded films were box-office earners. A very<br />
limited group came to watch these films. The government was left with no option but to implement<br />
the law of compulsory screen<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>Bengali</strong> films. The larger and more pert<strong>in</strong>ent question was -<br />
would producers and distributors be able to meet this sudden <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> demand for <strong>Bengali</strong> films<br />
to be run for twelve weeks by all the c<strong>in</strong>ema houses <strong>in</strong> the state. Only thirty films were be<strong>in</strong>g<br />
released per year on an average count dur<strong>in</strong>g the early 1980s. This somehow met the demands of<br />
the five prom<strong>in</strong>ent cha<strong>in</strong>s (c<strong>in</strong>ema houses) <strong>in</strong> Calcutta (Bureau, 1981: 44).<br />
On an average, these five cha<strong>in</strong>s would run new H<strong>in</strong>di films for n<strong>in</strong>e months <strong>in</strong> a year, and
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for the rest of the year they would show old <strong>Bengali</strong> films. Though the number of new films<br />
released <strong>in</strong> a year was thirty, there would <strong>always</strong> be at least more than ten films at a time that had<br />
been certified, but were not eligible for theatrical release due to a lack of c<strong>in</strong>ema halls. One ma<strong>in</strong><br />
reason for <strong>Bengali</strong> films not gett<strong>in</strong>g enough halls was the large number of H<strong>in</strong>di films that were<br />
released and those distributors exclusively distribut<strong>in</strong>g H<strong>in</strong>di films would book c<strong>in</strong>ema houses and<br />
cha<strong>in</strong>s pay<strong>in</strong>g hefty advance amounts to hall owners, who were then contract-bound to show only<br />
H<strong>in</strong>di films. For <strong>in</strong>stance, halls like Basushree-B<strong>in</strong>a-Darpana and Priya would earlier show more<br />
number of <strong>Bengali</strong> films. But they chose to stick to only H<strong>in</strong>di films for the years 1981 to 83.<br />
Several others followed the trend. This was a matter of concern because the law the government<br />
wanted to impose demanded at least seventy five feature films to be produced <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge<br />
(Bureau, 1981: 44). In 1981 West Bengal had a total number of 350 c<strong>in</strong>ema halls that were<br />
permanent and roughly another 210 exhibition sites that were temporary. In order to meet the<br />
demands of the c<strong>in</strong>ema halls, more number of films needed to be released. The state Tollygunge was<br />
<strong>in</strong> at the time did not permit the production of so many films. The lack of actors, technicians,<br />
efficient producers and committed directors were a major drawback, alongside the poor and<br />
deteriorat<strong>in</strong>g condition of the studios. Though the prices of tickets had been reduced to one rupee,<br />
only hall owners who had a hit <strong>Bengali</strong> film runn<strong>in</strong>g would make a profit (ibid).<br />
The reduced ticket price policy also disturbed the bus<strong>in</strong>ess for new releases, because even<br />
old films were be<strong>in</strong>g run simultaneously for a one rupee ticket; this was another source of<br />
competition for newly released <strong>Bengali</strong> films. The films that had already earned huge profits, were<br />
aga<strong>in</strong> giv<strong>in</strong>g extra returns to the hall owners. But <strong>in</strong> this extra profit, producers or distributors had<br />
no share. Distributors made good use of this loss by ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g greater control over the rural sector.<br />
They took a major portion of profit from small hall owners <strong>in</strong> rural areas, and <strong>in</strong> return gave them<br />
new releases (Bureau, 1981: 43).
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On the other hand, the issues that perturbed distributors and hall owners was how they<br />
would run <strong>Bengali</strong> films <strong>in</strong> areas where the audience was majorly non-<strong>Bengali</strong>. They would <strong>in</strong>cur<br />
huge losses if they had to run <strong>Bengali</strong> films for twelve weeks <strong>in</strong> such areas. In such a situation, the<br />
government’s <strong>in</strong>tervention with the compulsory rule of screen<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> films for twelve weeks<br />
complicated the situation further. S<strong>in</strong>ce the government had <strong>in</strong>curred huge losses by br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g down<br />
the ticket price to one rupee and f<strong>in</strong>anc<strong>in</strong>g several feature films that both audience and exhibitors<br />
refused to acknowledge, the scenario for <strong>Bengali</strong> filmmakers, distributors, producers and hall<br />
owners became acutely tricky and challeng<strong>in</strong>g (Bureau, 1981: 43,44).<br />
1980 was also a turbulent year for the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry triggered by a prolonged strike<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g September and October by the Bengal Motion Pictures’ Employees Union demand<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> the payment structure and bonus benefits, and the subsequent lock-out declared by the<br />
Eastern India Motion Pictures Association. Out of the 400–and-odd c<strong>in</strong>ema halls <strong>in</strong> West Bengal<br />
almost all the halls were shut down except for four or five. Hall owners could not meet the demand<br />
for a hike <strong>in</strong> the bonus and salaries of employees. They argued that they had to pay 125% of the<br />
ticket price as Enterta<strong>in</strong>ment Tax to the Government so they barely earned enough to pay their<br />
employees. The strike and lock-out caused an estimated loss of Rs. 10 to 12 lakhs per day to the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry and Rs. 15 lakhs to the Government. This deeply affected the regular c<strong>in</strong>e goers, especially<br />
the audiences for <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. The death of super-star Uttam Kumar and the more or less<br />
weaken<strong>in</strong>g condition of the overall <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong>dustry created a detachment <strong>in</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
the audiences of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema mak<strong>in</strong>g the scenario very dismal.<br />
Calcutta as a metropolitan city was also chang<strong>in</strong>g - culturally, socially and politically - <strong>in</strong> the<br />
mid 80s when the bhadralok <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class was familiariz<strong>in</strong>g itself with television sets at<br />
home, giv<strong>in</strong>g it the privilege of watch<strong>in</strong>g films <strong>in</strong> the comfort of their households. The VCR (Video<br />
Cassette Recorder) was also mak<strong>in</strong>g its entry <strong>in</strong> the city dwellers’ rooms that enabled them to watch
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films of their choice at their discretion, conveniently avoid<strong>in</strong>g the drawbacks of the overall<br />
experience of go<strong>in</strong>g to the c<strong>in</strong>ema theatres.<br />
Producers and distributors especially from the seventies were anxiously search<strong>in</strong>g for a<br />
formula that could reclaim the praise and dedicated viewership they had enjoyed <strong>in</strong> the past. Actordirector<br />
Sukhen Das started mak<strong>in</strong>g films that made way for the new genre and aesthetic that Anjan<br />
Chowdhury’s Shatru robustly embodied. Some box-office hits of Sukhen Das were Nayan (1977),<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ghaduar (1978), Maan Abhima (1978), Jibon Maran (1983), Milantithi (1985), Achena Atithi<br />
(1973) Shunoy<strong>in</strong>ee (1979) Rajnand<strong>in</strong>i (1980) Pratishodh (1981) A popular actor of the 80s and 90s,<br />
Tapas Pal who acted <strong>in</strong> several films directed by Sukhen Das, says <strong>in</strong> an <strong>in</strong>terview to Anandalok<br />
magaz<strong>in</strong>e that Sukhen Das was like a Gharana, as <strong>in</strong> a school unto himself. Pal adds that the k<strong>in</strong>d of<br />
films that became popular <strong>in</strong> the 80s and 90s made by directors like Anjan Chowdhury was actually<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiated by Sukhen Das. His films also dealt with social and contemporary issues. Most of his films<br />
had very successful music tracks and songs. He was a pioneer <strong>in</strong> br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g talent from Bombay<br />
whenever the film needed it. Pal further mentions that Sukhen Das had a unique style of<br />
storytell<strong>in</strong>g. He gave priority to the story and dialogue alongside drama which was the most<br />
important aspect of his films. He made way for the voice of the suppressed to be heard and<br />
articulated through his films. But he was not free from criticism. There were op<strong>in</strong>ions around his<br />
films that termed them regressive, lack<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ematic sense and high <strong>in</strong> melodrama similar to the<br />
jatra (Pal, 2004: 16, 17).<br />
Shatru – and the Anjan Chowdhury Moment:<br />
In 1984, a young script writer from Tollygunge directed his first feature film Shatru which<br />
changed the scenario of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. Shatru altered the earlier situation of <strong>Bengali</strong> films
140|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
runn<strong>in</strong>g for a maximum of two to three weeks and then struggl<strong>in</strong>g to stay <strong>in</strong> the hall cha<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong><br />
Calcutta. It was as if Anjan Chowdhury had discovered the formula that the film <strong>in</strong>dustry had been<br />
frantically look<strong>in</strong>g for. Shatru ran for more than one and a half months with ‘house-full’ boards <strong>in</strong><br />
major c<strong>in</strong>ema halls of Calcutta. Unexpectedly, tickets of Shatru were be<strong>in</strong>g sold <strong>in</strong> ‘black’. Anjan<br />
Chowdhury’s Shatru makes a strik<strong>in</strong>g departure from the tradition of the popular genre of romantic<br />
films <strong>in</strong> Bengal. The protagonist is a noble, honest and a dutiful police <strong>in</strong>spector played by Ranjit<br />
Mullick. Before this film, he was ma<strong>in</strong>ly identified as a romantic hero. Ranjit Mullick’s character of<br />
the O.C of Haridevpur village lives up to the image of a hero as a fighter capable of physical action.<br />
The protagonist’s figure can be identified with the angry-young-man image of Amitabh Bhacchan <strong>in</strong><br />
H<strong>in</strong>di c<strong>in</strong>ema, popular <strong>in</strong> the 1970s (Chakraborty, 1985:1).<br />
Shatru had a mixed ensemble cast with a corrupt MLA played by Manoj Mitra, whose son is<br />
a rogue, troubl<strong>in</strong>g and eve-teas<strong>in</strong>g the village school master’s college go<strong>in</strong>g daughter. There was<br />
another character of a comic and corrupt police sub-<strong>in</strong>spector played by Anup Kumar, and the<br />
figure of a local bus<strong>in</strong>essman deal<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> illegal country liquor. The film had fight sequences,<br />
theatrical comedy and heavy melodramatic dialogues. Shatru ran very successfully <strong>in</strong> city halls like<br />
Radha-Purabi-Ujjwala-Sri for seven weeks consecutively, mostly with ‘housefull’ boards. This<br />
situation of an overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g audience response was till then associated with the so-called<br />
bhadralok c<strong>in</strong>emas of the 50s, 60s and to an extent the 70s. People flooded back to the halls <strong>in</strong> huge<br />
numbers to watch Shatru.<br />
The crucial question among the audience was - who wrote Shatru? Till then, Anjan<br />
Chowdhury was a script writer <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge, with films like Dadamoni, Sathe Shathyan,<br />
Sankalpa, Prayaschitta and Lal Golap <strong>in</strong> his script portfolio. In an <strong>in</strong>terview to Dipankar<br />
Chakraborty Anjan Chowdhury remarked, “….the <strong>Bengali</strong> audience can be satisfied very easily<br />
with<strong>in</strong> three to four reels of the film; the hero has to be made ‘loveable’, and then the audience will
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automatically like the film…” (1985: 1). Furthermore, Chowdhury’s formula for a box office film<br />
had to have the follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>gredients:<br />
one has to emphasize <strong>in</strong> a film, the natural humanistic relationships, like mother-father, brother-sister,<br />
love and respect etc., the ‘speed’ or ‘pace’ of the film(it should not get bor<strong>in</strong>g). A clash between the<br />
people of the upper class and the lower class, a debate or struggle between honesty and dishonesty<br />
and f<strong>in</strong>ally honesty has to w<strong>in</strong>. There should also be a particular type of revenge <strong>in</strong> the film, as<br />
revenge is the most important <strong>in</strong>gredient for a successful film or the ‘Key po<strong>in</strong>t’ (Chakraborty, 1985:<br />
1-2).(Translation m<strong>in</strong>e)<br />
He further says,<br />
why do you th<strong>in</strong>k the early sound film by Charu Roy ‘Bangalee’ was never accepted by <strong>Bengali</strong>s, or<br />
for that matter films of Rittwik Ghatak (Ajantrik), Bar<strong>in</strong> Saha’s (Tero Nodir Pare), Satyajit Ray’s<br />
‘Aranyer D<strong>in</strong> Raatri’? They, <strong>in</strong> fact, stand erased from public memory, because the clash between<br />
honesty-dishonesty was not there, everyday human relationships of a family and a key factor like<br />
‘revenge’ was miss<strong>in</strong>g, and even if they were there, they were not present <strong>in</strong> the story directly and<br />
simply. They also probably lacked ‘speed’ (Chakraborty, 1985: 1-2). (Translation m<strong>in</strong>e)<br />
For Anjan Chowdhury therefore, the <strong>Bengali</strong> audience was now that of the class who<br />
identified more with the themes and stories of ‘jatra’. Elements like theatricality, over-the-top<br />
dialogue delivery, farcical comedy and sorrowful or joyful music were essential <strong>in</strong> a script by Anjan<br />
Chowdhury. Shatru today occupies a dist<strong>in</strong>ct position as a significant marker <strong>in</strong> the history of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. 7 A black-and-white film with absolutely no big star cast, how did Shatru become a<br />
hit? In the same <strong>in</strong>terview, Chowdhury says,<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong>s do not unconditionally love stars; they want good story, and hence I laid emphasis on the<br />
story while mak<strong>in</strong>g Shatru. The contemporary social scenario must reflect <strong>in</strong> the story and if one<br />
7<br />
In a special feature story by Anandalok Magaz<strong>in</strong>e, titled “ Dorshokdhannya Shera 30 Bangla C<strong>in</strong>emar” 27 th June<br />
2003, a public poll was published that listed the 30 all time hits from <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, among which two films of Anjan<br />
Chowdhury had a place, Shatru and Gurudakh<strong>in</strong>a.
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looks, today the police are maligned for their corruption and nobody trusts the police anymore,<br />
therefore the story of Shatru was about a police <strong>in</strong>spector who every citizen would respect and dream<br />
of, an ideal figure that is smart, honest and dutiful (Chakraborty, 1985: 2-3). (Translation m<strong>in</strong>e)<br />
Chowdhury justified his style of storytell<strong>in</strong>g as a formula which, if and when not altered by<br />
the director or distributor, would ensure success. For e.g. <strong>in</strong> his scripted film Prayaschitta<br />
(Arab<strong>in</strong>da Mukhopadhyay, 1984) accord<strong>in</strong>g to the script he had written at the end the hero (Ranjit<br />
Mullick) would die, because the character had committed many mistakes <strong>in</strong> his life. But the<br />
distributor (Amar Nan) did not agree and wanted the hero to rema<strong>in</strong> alive. The director had to listen<br />
to the distributor’s orders and to the great dissatisfaction of Chowdhury; the hero had to be kept<br />
alive. The f<strong>in</strong>al outcome was that the film flopped.<br />
Shatru was received with whistles, hoot<strong>in</strong>g and claps at theatres like ‘Ujjwala’, ‘Purna’ and<br />
‘Sri’, every time the Police officer gave a blow or a kick to the villa<strong>in</strong>s. The film had three to four<br />
songs, a dance number for which Jayashree Tee was brought from Bombay, and the fight master Mr.<br />
Makravi was also brought from Bombay. Other actors <strong>in</strong>cluded veteran character actor Bikas Roy,<br />
from the ‘70s and ‘80s, Manoj Mitra and new comers Prosenjit and Shakuntala Barua.<br />
In the 1980s, a large section of the audience avoided go<strong>in</strong>g to theatres for films that had too<br />
many songs that were seen as superfluous. A part of the audience walked out of the theatres when<br />
the songs began to play because they knew they would not miss out on any important part of the<br />
story if they did not watch the song sequence. Anjan Chowdhury tried his best to alter this m<strong>in</strong>dset.<br />
For him, songs were a very important part of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and it was through music and songs<br />
that directors expressed their ethical thoughts and sentiments.<br />
Shatru had a song directly comment<strong>in</strong>g on the corruption <strong>in</strong> the police force (written by<br />
Chowdhury himself). Chowdhury kept the suspense flow<strong>in</strong>g through the song, so that no one could
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leave their seats and go away. Keep<strong>in</strong>g the female audience <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d Chowdhury kept a song<br />
‘Hotam khushi tomar majhe maa ke fire pele…’ (I would be happy to get back my mother <strong>in</strong> you)<br />
where the orphan (whose father is killed because he gets <strong>in</strong>volved with the illegal country liquor<br />
seller of the village) s<strong>in</strong>gs the song embrac<strong>in</strong>g the childless widow (Shakuntala Baruah). Accord<strong>in</strong>g<br />
to Chowdhury, emotions, sentimentality, motherly care and love are crucial to satisfy the female<br />
audience. Chowdhury was also conscious of not giv<strong>in</strong>g away too much. So, he avoided any chance<br />
of a possible romance between the police officer (Ranjit Mullick) and the young widow (Shakuntala<br />
Baruah). This was possibly the first time that a relationship of mere respect and reverence was<br />
<strong>in</strong>troduced between the ma<strong>in</strong> male and female characters <strong>in</strong> a ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> film.<br />
Anjan Chowdury emerged as one of the busiest scriptwriters and directors of the 80s. He<br />
scripted Mahamilan (1987) for the widely appreciated director D<strong>in</strong>en Gupta. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to D<strong>in</strong>nen<br />
Gupta<br />
Chowdhury could <strong>in</strong>corporate various positive aspects <strong>in</strong> his script; “the heroes <strong>in</strong> his stories would<br />
act, look and behave like heroes, who audiences loved and desired. Apart from that Anjan is also<br />
aware of the problems that ail the present day society. Doctors, police, village, and town form the core<br />
of the themes of his films and stories. Anjan’s heroes sell a dream to end social evils. Today’s<br />
audience wants that, as the old school of story-tell<strong>in</strong>g is no more relevant today, <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
narrative has changed. One cannot cont<strong>in</strong>ue mak<strong>in</strong>g films based on Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay.<br />
Also the <strong>Bengali</strong> audience is somewhat bored by the monotonous overdose of recent H<strong>in</strong>di c<strong>in</strong>ema”<br />
(Chakraborty, 1985:1). (Translation m<strong>in</strong>e)<br />
In the 80s and early 90s some of the films that Anjan Chowdhury directed were Bidrohi<br />
(1987), Gurudaksh<strong>in</strong>a (1987), Chhoto Bou (1988), Anjali (1988), Bidhilipi (1991), Indrajit (1992)<br />
etc. He also scripted several films like Aakrosh (1989), Mangaldip (1989), Shatarupa (1989) etc.<br />
There was a lot of hope bestowed on Anjan Chowdhury for his ability to deliver hits by
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foreground<strong>in</strong>g the voice of the oppressed and the subaltern figure and for highlight<strong>in</strong>g the issues of<br />
everyday life of the common man and of people liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the marg<strong>in</strong>s of the city. In an <strong>in</strong>terview to<br />
Dipankar Chakraborty of Anandabazar Patrika, Tollygunge’s famous Chhayabani Distributors’<br />
proprietor, Mr. Nirendranath Shil, said that though he had not seen Shatru, he had gathered<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation that Shatru had a lot of sentimental emotions which might have touched the hearts of<br />
the female audiences, as accord<strong>in</strong>g to him it was the female audience that ma<strong>in</strong>ly came to watch<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films.<br />
However, I read a different message that Anjan Chowdhury tries to deliver <strong>in</strong> Shatru. He<br />
actually targets the youth, both the audience and the young talent of the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Haridevpur’s law and order is set right, the corrupt MLA (member of the legislative assembly) and<br />
his rogue son are taught the right lesson, the illegal bus<strong>in</strong>essman is beaten up by the honest, upright<br />
and dutiful police officer who takes off his police cap (symbol of official duty of protect<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
uphold<strong>in</strong>g law and order and justice) and puts it on the head of the orphan, picks him up, looks at<br />
the audience (<strong>in</strong>to the camera) and gives a congratulatory smile.<br />
It is important to note here that earlier <strong>in</strong> the film there was a song sequence where the<br />
MLA’s son was mak<strong>in</strong>g fun of the same police cap ‘ei tupi kake porai’(Anjan Chowdhury) which<br />
translates ‘who shall I put this cap on?’, and at the end of the film the same cap is put on the head of<br />
the child ‘ey tupi noy shei tupi’ ‘this cap is not that cap’ for <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> ‘tupi porano’ (to cap<br />
somebody) is used as a phrase which means to fool or cheat someone. So at the end of the film,<br />
Anjan Chowdhury tries to establish the message that the youth is the future of any develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />
nation and that the legacy of power, control and fight for justice should be passed on to the next<br />
generation. The cap symbolically expresses this and establishes the trend that Rajiv Gandhi <strong>in</strong>itiated<br />
- that 1985 marked the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of a new India -an India of the Youth (Yuva Bharat).
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The chang<strong>in</strong>g trend of <strong>Bengali</strong> films dur<strong>in</strong>g this period has been more or less identified.<br />
Promod Chakraborty’s Teen Murti was a roar<strong>in</strong>g success at the box-office. There were also films<br />
like Rajeshwari, Joy Porajoy and Parabat Priya that were not received well <strong>in</strong> the city c<strong>in</strong>ema halls<br />
but did extremely well <strong>in</strong> the suburbs and c<strong>in</strong>ema halls around West Bengal. Apart from these, most<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films between the periods of 1984 to 85 did not run for very long - even those films that<br />
had high budgets. The ‘parallel c<strong>in</strong>ema’ or ‘art-films’ whose success and position could not be<br />
measured or evaluated only through box-office figures were restricted to two films Grihayuddhha<br />
(Buddhadeb Dasgupta 1984) and Dakhal (Goutam Ghosh 1984) (Anandabazar Patrika 1985, 7).<br />
Anjan Chowdhury’s Shatru made it possible for the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry to fight back and<br />
ensure that the production, distribution and exhibition process could cont<strong>in</strong>ue. Anjan Chowdhury<br />
became a banner, with three of his films that were released back to back becom<strong>in</strong>g super hits. These<br />
were - Gurudakh<strong>in</strong>a (1987) a musical still remembered for its music and popular songs, and Chhoto<br />
Bou (1988) that foregrounded everyday family crisis <strong>in</strong> middle-class or rather lower middle class<br />
jo<strong>in</strong>t families, and was narrated from the perspective of the female members of the family. Revenge,<br />
opression of the economically poor by rich landlords, the local bus<strong>in</strong>essman and his goons was a<br />
recurr<strong>in</strong>g theme of Anjan Chowdhury’s films. He states that<br />
I know how to tell a story, and I do only what I know, I don’t know if I am capable of mak<strong>in</strong>g art<br />
films, and even if I am capable I don’t th<strong>in</strong>k I want to make such k<strong>in</strong>d of films. I am ma<strong>in</strong>ly engaged<br />
<strong>in</strong> a trade, a bus<strong>in</strong>ess, a ‘dhandda’ (merely money earn<strong>in</strong>g trade). I make films accord<strong>in</strong>g to the taste<br />
of the audience. Fortunately, it has worked most of the times. When it has failed I have blamed my<br />
fate not my capabilities or the audience (Guha, 1997:13-17) (Translation m<strong>in</strong>e).<br />
Anjan Chowdhury’s contribution was not only restricted to mak<strong>in</strong>g super hit films one after<br />
the other, he also brought new talent to the <strong>in</strong>dustry. He was solely responsible for establish<strong>in</strong>g his<br />
assistants as <strong>in</strong>dependent directors like Bablu Samaddar, Haranath Chakraborty, Subhas Sen, Amal
146|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Roy Ghatak and Dulal Dey (commonly referred as team Anjan Chowdhury <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry).<br />
It is also important here to mention, the other filmmakers who complicated the s<strong>in</strong>gular<br />
popularity of Anjan Chowdury. Though the bhadralok audience often vehmently criticised the films<br />
of Chowdhury and his successors, they also cont<strong>in</strong>ued to endorse films made by Tarun Majumdar<br />
(known for films like Balika Bodhu, Shriman Prithviraj, Ganadevata, Dadar kirti, Bhalobasa<br />
Bhalobasa, Poroshmoni etc.) and Arab<strong>in</strong>da Mukherjee (known for films like Dhanyee Meye,<br />
Mouchak, Pita Putra), who were highly popular and successful s<strong>in</strong>ce the 70s for mak<strong>in</strong>g films that<br />
were family based, musically enriched and mostly lietrary adaptations. However, by the mid 90s<br />
both Majumdar and Mukherjee began to loose their mettle by be<strong>in</strong>g excessively repetitive with their<br />
themes and not adapt<strong>in</strong>g to the chang<strong>in</strong>g context of globalization and urbanization. Their films<br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ued to project an euphoric idealistic and overtly simplistic ‘bengal<strong>in</strong>ess’ and middle-class life,<br />
that could neither target the urban audience nor the small town and rural audiences any further.<br />
By the mid 1980s the two prom<strong>in</strong>ent directors who followed the the tradition of Majumdar<br />
and Mukherjee were porbably Prabhat Roy and Biresh Chattopadhyay, who consistently made films<br />
that were possibly termed as commercially successful films with social relevance. Both Roy and<br />
Chattopadhyay were also responsible for popularis<strong>in</strong>g new stars like Victor Banerjee, Ranjit<br />
Mullick and for cast<strong>in</strong>g quite a few <strong>Bengali</strong> and non-<strong>Bengali</strong> actors from the Bombay film <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
<strong>in</strong> their films. Films of Roy and Chattopdhyay are still remembered for their music and multi star<br />
cast, good drama and for be<strong>in</strong>g socially relevant. Biresh Chattopadhyay’s Ekanto Apan (1987)<br />
starr<strong>in</strong>g Victor Banerjee and Aparna Sen and released <strong>in</strong> July 1987 at M<strong>in</strong>ar, Bijoli, Chhabighar was<br />
an <strong>in</strong>stant success. In 1989 Chattopadhyay’s Kori Diye K<strong>in</strong>lam was also a moderately successful<br />
film and was received well by the critics; the film starred Moushumi Chatterjee, Arjun Chakraborty,<br />
Utpal Dutta, Tapas Pal, Aparna Sen and Madhabi Mukherjee. The very same year he also released<br />
his other two popular films Srimati Hangsaraj and Tufan. By the early 1990s, Prabhat Roy <strong>in</strong>
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Tollygunje was often referred to as the expert filmmaker who could walk a tight rope between<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema for commerce and c<strong>in</strong>ema of social relevance (Chatterjee, 2000: 11).<br />
Roy came from the stage and had acted <strong>in</strong> more than forty plays <strong>in</strong> Barrackpore near<br />
Calcutta. He had <strong>in</strong>itially migrated to Mumbai to make films, and had started by assist<strong>in</strong>g Shakti<br />
Shamanta and directed his first two H<strong>in</strong>di films Z<strong>in</strong>dagani produced by actor Rakhee <strong>in</strong> 1984,<br />
followed by Hum Intezaar Karenge produced by Neelima Paul. Both the films were commercially<br />
unsuccessful, after which he debuted <strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry with Pratidan (1983), starr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Victor Banerjee, Naseerudd<strong>in</strong> Shah, Sharmila Tagore and Ranjit Mullick. The story dealt with the<br />
reform of a villian. Roy’s next massive box office hit was Pratikar (1987) starr<strong>in</strong>g Chiranjeet,<br />
Victor Banerjee, Debashree Roy and Utpal Dutt. Films like Prateek (1988), and Agnitrishna (1989),<br />
Swet Pathorer Thala (1992) , Laathi (1996), Sed<strong>in</strong> Choitramash (1997), Shudhu Ekbar Bolo (1999),<br />
Shubho Drishti (2005), Pitribhoomi (2007), are some of the films for which the period and the<br />
director Prabhat Roy are remembered and credited. Swet Pathorer Thala based on a novel by the<br />
popular bengali writer Banai Basu bagged the National Award (Silver Lotus) for the best family<br />
film. It’s a story that revolves around the struggles of a young widow who sacrifices her emotional<br />
desires for the sake of a thankless <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class family. Laathi was based on Roy’s own<br />
story, with Victor Banerjee portray<strong>in</strong>g an old man crusad<strong>in</strong>g aga<strong>in</strong>st elder abuse with<strong>in</strong> the family;<br />
the film also won a National Award. Roy be<strong>in</strong>g an important director, was often asked to comment<br />
on the present state of the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry and he quite eloquently expressed his anxieties<br />
and hopes, as follows:<br />
I’d say the <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Industry is alive and kick<strong>in</strong>g. True we have problems, which <strong>in</strong>dustry<br />
doesn’t? Right now we are bogged down by the overproduction syndrome, where the supply is more<br />
than the demand. There are fewer theatres and more films <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong>. We face competition from<br />
television too. The rural-urban divide can also work to our disadvantage at times because Calcutta
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theatres are <strong>in</strong> a very bad shape, you can actually f<strong>in</strong>d mice scurry<strong>in</strong>g for cover under your feet. The<br />
aircondition<strong>in</strong>g is more fiction than fact. Theatres runn<strong>in</strong>g h<strong>in</strong>di films, like Menaka and Priya for<br />
example have been renovated over the past few years and are very good. But they have closed their<br />
doors to <strong>Bengali</strong> films. The number of technicians here has <strong>in</strong>creased. This is a very good th<strong>in</strong>g, we<br />
may be struggl<strong>in</strong>g to survive, but survive we can and will (Chatterjee, 2000: 11).<br />
By the mid 1990s, the television <strong>in</strong>dustry’s ris<strong>in</strong>g popularity and <strong>in</strong>vasion also impacted the<br />
Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry. The crisis faced by the film <strong>in</strong>dustry throughout the 1980s that was<br />
marked by low c<strong>in</strong>ema aesthetics resurfaced once aga<strong>in</strong>. The <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g demand for quality content<br />
<strong>in</strong> television attracted several film directors of Tollygunge to produce content for television. The<br />
actors and talent from the film <strong>in</strong>dustry rapidly migrated to television, for regular work and better<br />
remmuneration. The bhadralok section of the audience also generously endorsed television<br />
programmes, as they were able to identify better with the content of television than the ma<strong>in</strong>stream<br />
films that proliferated <strong>in</strong> Bengal. This situation affect<strong>in</strong>g drastic audience segmentation, enabled<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> new directors to make films <strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge studios categorically targett<strong>in</strong>g the mofussil<br />
and rural audience and alter<strong>in</strong>g the overall c<strong>in</strong>ema aesthtics all over aga<strong>in</strong>. Therefore, <strong>in</strong> the<br />
follow<strong>in</strong>g section I shall closely look at the shift<strong>in</strong>g scenario of the film <strong>in</strong>dustry and also take <strong>in</strong>to<br />
account the filmmakers who dom<strong>in</strong>ated the post Anjan Chowdhury phase <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge.<br />
The <strong>Post</strong>-Anjan Chowdhury Phase:<br />
Haranath Chakraborty and Bablu Samaddar who started their careers as assistants to Anjan<br />
Chowdhury, later went on to become two of the most popular directors who churned out the<br />
maximum number of block buster films at the box-office. By the late 1990s, several films scripted<br />
and directed by Anjan Chowdhury failed one after the other at the box-office. Films directed by<br />
Haranath and Bablu were do<strong>in</strong>g better than films by Anjan Chowdhury, and the ‘Anjan Chowdhury
149|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
team’ gradually began to fall apart.<br />
Ananya (1992) directed by Dulal Dey and scripted by Anjan Chowdhury was a flop, though<br />
noted actress Aparna Sen played the lead; Sriman Bhootnath (1997) directed by Amal Roy Ghatak<br />
and scripted by Anjan Chowdhury also did not do well. By this time, the ‘crisis narrative’ was at its<br />
peak. The <strong>in</strong>dustry was divided <strong>in</strong>to polarities of ‘good c<strong>in</strong>ema’ and ‘bad films’. The press<br />
celebrated directors who experimented with the form and content of filmmak<strong>in</strong>g and sometimes<br />
critiqued the social and political system. Filmmakers like Goutam Ghosh, Mr<strong>in</strong>al Sen, Utpalendu<br />
Chakraborty, Buddhadev Dasgupta and the Press lashed out strong and loud at the Anjan<br />
Chowdhury team for br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g down the the standard of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema by mak<strong>in</strong>g films that were<br />
shoddily shot, very often copied directly from cheap H<strong>in</strong>di masala films and were even worse when<br />
copied from ‘jatra’ or from the films of Bangladesh.<br />
Most scholarly work and press writ<strong>in</strong>gs on <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema have been generally biased <strong>in</strong><br />
favor of ‘parallel’ c<strong>in</strong>ema. In popular press and film society writ<strong>in</strong>gs, the recurrent concern has been<br />
the degradation of <strong>Bengali</strong> films that were no longer based on the rich tradition of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
literature, and were not like the films of the 1950s and 60s, marked by realism and a ‘middle-class<br />
sentiment’ (Raha 1991). These discursive responses cont<strong>in</strong>ued with celebratory work on auteur<br />
directors like Satyajit Ray (Banerjee 1996), Ritwik Ghatak (Roy 1974) and Mr<strong>in</strong>al Sen<br />
(Bandyopadhyay 2003) with a focus on the film text and narrative content.<br />
Dur<strong>in</strong>g the 80s and 90s, writ<strong>in</strong>gs on <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema expressed concern about the transition<br />
towards the ‘masala’ film as a copy of H<strong>in</strong>di popular films that could possibly appeal only to mass<br />
audiences (Ghosh, 1990: 135). This work engaged with the notion of ‘crisis’ that the middle-class<br />
<strong>in</strong>telligentsia had constructed 8 (Bhattacharya 2011; Raha 2004: 80-81; R. Roy 2001). This ‘crisis’<br />
8<br />
In an essay titled “Sattar Dashaker Bangla Chhabi”/ “The <strong>Bengali</strong> Films of the N<strong>in</strong>eteen Seventies” Someshwar<br />
Bhoumik observed the deterioration of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> the late 1970s with films like Amanush, Ananda Ashram or<br />
Baba Taraknath argu<strong>in</strong>g that these films were devoid of the ‘clean enterta<strong>in</strong>ment value’ that was a characteristic of
150|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
was not seen <strong>in</strong> any way <strong>in</strong> economic terms; rather the primary concern was the decay<strong>in</strong>g quality of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema 9 . The success of certa<strong>in</strong> films and the changes <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry proved to the middleclass<br />
<strong>in</strong>telligentsia that it was not just the ‘crisis’ of quality films that was deterr<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema<br />
(Bhattacharya 2011), but there were various other factors as well.<br />
1991 marked the economic liberalization of India. It had a very strong impact on the<br />
Bombay film <strong>in</strong>dustry that witnessed several changes, gradually affect<strong>in</strong>g the regional film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustries. The term “Bollywood” was gradually ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g currency then and corporatization of film<br />
production was <strong>in</strong>troduced. UTV motion pictures, Yash Raj Studios, Dharma Production and few<br />
others became fully corporatized film production and distribution houses. The then-M<strong>in</strong>ister of<br />
Information and Broadcast Sushma Swaraj made an official declaration term<strong>in</strong>g Bollywood a<br />
recognized Industry. This event changed the way films were produced, distributed and exhibited. A<br />
large number of films could now be released <strong>in</strong> territories outside the Indian nation. The diaspora as<br />
a category not only became a huge revenue-earn<strong>in</strong>g source, but the content, look and the narratives<br />
of Bombay films also began to cater to the expectations, sensibilities and aesthetics of the diaspora<br />
market. The 1990s thus saw tremendous changes <strong>in</strong> the Bollywood <strong>in</strong>dustry and its film production<br />
<strong>in</strong> terms of economic development, wider distribution, technological advancement and neo-liberal<br />
aesthetics <strong>in</strong> film content and narrative that foregrounded a tension between the tradition of the East<br />
versus the liberal values of the West.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry was still struggl<strong>in</strong>g to f<strong>in</strong>d a place <strong>in</strong> the m<strong>in</strong>ds of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films <strong>in</strong> the 1950s and the 1960s (1981: 28-43). Somen Ghosh <strong>in</strong> his book Bangla C<strong>in</strong>emar Palabadal (The<br />
chang<strong>in</strong>g Phase of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema) has tried to analyze this ‘crisis’ ridden period of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema when he observes<br />
that “when totally unrealistic, lower standard film made its silver jubilee at the box office, it expressed our shameless<br />
nature <strong>in</strong> our cultural characterless-ness” (1990: 135) (Translation m<strong>in</strong>e).<br />
9<br />
In their writ<strong>in</strong>gs on 1950s and 60s ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema, authors like Rajat Roy, Kiranmoy Raha and film<br />
journalists (Bipra Das, Ranjan Bandyopadhyay et al) po<strong>in</strong>t out a significant difference between <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema and<br />
other regional c<strong>in</strong>emas of that period. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to them unlike other ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>emas, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> ma<strong>in</strong>stream<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ematic practice (films featur<strong>in</strong>g the hit pair Uttam-Suchitra) the mythological narrative and ‘vulgar’ song and dance<br />
took a backseat. This feature accord<strong>in</strong>g to them made this c<strong>in</strong>ema more mature and ‘dist<strong>in</strong>ct’ compared to the other<br />
c<strong>in</strong>emas of that period. Also see Spandan Bhattacharya (2011).
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people beyond a certa<strong>in</strong> class and section of audience. Popular films that were dom<strong>in</strong>ated by film<br />
makers like Swapan Saha and Haranath Chakraborty were completely disowned by the <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
middle class bhadralok audience. By the mid 90s, a severe situation plagued the Tollygunge<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry. Films like Beder Meye Josna, Shami keno Ashami and Baba Keno Chakor mere filmed<br />
versions of jatra often enacted by actors from Bangladesh. The popular c<strong>in</strong>ema hall cha<strong>in</strong> of M<strong>in</strong>ar-<br />
Bijoli-Chhabighar began to concentrate on H<strong>in</strong>di films mostly and the bhadralok audience had<br />
nowhere to go and watch ‘good’ <strong>Bengali</strong> films.<br />
At this po<strong>in</strong>t of time, a large pool of talents from the film <strong>in</strong>dustry, compris<strong>in</strong>g of actors,<br />
directors, writers and technicians shifted to television 10 , as it had a larger appeal amongst the middle<br />
and upper classes. Television content was once aga<strong>in</strong> close to literature. It was also more lucrative<br />
<strong>in</strong> terms of economic returns. But most importantly, it gave work to large numbers of actors and<br />
technician <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry. Suddenly, Tollygunge became an <strong>in</strong>dustry cater<strong>in</strong>g to television<br />
audiences. At the same time, a few directors like Swapan Saha, Haranath Chakraborty, Sujit Guha<br />
and Bablu Sammadar cont<strong>in</strong>ued to make films for a certa<strong>in</strong> class and section of the audience.<br />
In a special series of articles and <strong>in</strong>terviews published by Anandalok on ‘why this crisis <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema?’ em<strong>in</strong>ent filmmakers, actors, producers and writers expressed concern about the<br />
decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema, and its distance and shift from the literary tradition. Noted director<br />
D<strong>in</strong>en Gupta said that <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema was <strong>in</strong> a miserable state. He added that most of the directors<br />
were uneducated; no one believed <strong>in</strong> do<strong>in</strong>g home-work before go<strong>in</strong>g on the floors and mocked at a<br />
certa<strong>in</strong> group of directors and actors. He further mentioned<br />
10<br />
Anandalok Magaz<strong>in</strong>e carried articles <strong>in</strong> the mid 90s about how Tollygunge was now a hub of Television production<br />
and not so much an <strong>in</strong>dustry that focused on mak<strong>in</strong>g films. “Tollugunge ekhon T.V.gunje” (“Tollygunge is now a<br />
T.V.gunje”) 28 th January 1995, page 38. “Chhoto Pordaye bartamaan e Tollywood Tarokader Bheer” (“The Small<br />
Screen is crowded by stars from Tollywood”) an article by Kamalendu Sarkar, Anandalok, 20 th September 1997, page<br />
61-65, expressed the op<strong>in</strong>ion that the stars on Tollywood were more busy do<strong>in</strong>g T.V serials; the studios of Tollygun ge<br />
were all booked for television serial shoot<strong>in</strong>gs and daily soap operas, and questioned the decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the tradition of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and its future. (Author’s translation)
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these days if you go and buy vegetables for some of the directors they will cast you <strong>in</strong> their films, and<br />
more over where can we f<strong>in</strong>d talented actors, actresses and directors these days? 11 .<br />
Anjan Chowdhury who once gave blockbuster hits, but had gradually limited his filmmak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
career by the late 90s was asked the reason for the decl<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. The attacks from the<br />
bhadralok section were leveled at Anjan Chowdhury, but were directly mostly towards Swapan<br />
Saha. Anjan Chowdhury expla<strong>in</strong>ed his reasons as follows:<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema audience of yesteryear and the present generation of audience are as different as<br />
heaven and hell. Till recently, the <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema audience crowded the c<strong>in</strong>ema halls, but today the<br />
only audience that visits c<strong>in</strong>ema halls are the ones who do not have television sets or a VCR player at<br />
home. Today, the larger section of middle class bengali audience get their enterta<strong>in</strong>ment from<br />
television. They watch <strong>Bengali</strong> films regularly on television and VCR players. Today’s audience for<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema are rickshaw-pullers, fish mongers and vegetable hawkers. Stories drawn from<br />
literature of high standard might not be liked by them. This audience merely want to be enterta<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong><br />
the c<strong>in</strong>ema halls. For them it is escapist enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. They do not want to cry or use their bra<strong>in</strong>s,.<br />
So, one cannot make films like before. The element of enterta<strong>in</strong>ment for this audience must be kept <strong>in</strong><br />
m<strong>in</strong>d before mak<strong>in</strong>g films.<br />
If filmmakers like myself must survive <strong>in</strong> Tollygunje, we must th<strong>in</strong>k about this class of people and<br />
their taste. If we th<strong>in</strong>k about our educated friends and audience and make films for them, the films<br />
will flop I have experienced this when I made the film Abbajaan (1994). Though Abbajaan was a<br />
‘good’ film it did not work. The film I am now mak<strong>in</strong>g is called Naach Naag<strong>in</strong>i Naach Re is a fullblown,<br />
unabashed commercial film. I have kept <strong>in</strong> m<strong>in</strong>d this section of the audience I have def<strong>in</strong>ed. It<br />
is clear that I have to bend low now to collect money. If I cont<strong>in</strong>ue mak<strong>in</strong>g ‘good’ films, I will perish.<br />
11<br />
Anandalok Prothom Pratibedan-Bangla Chhobi: Sankat keno?(“ <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema: Why this crisis?”) 18 th January<br />
1995, 28 th January 1995, the special series cont<strong>in</strong>ued till the next four editions, <strong>in</strong>terview<strong>in</strong>g several directors, actors and<br />
writers ask<strong>in</strong>g them about the crisis <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and the decl<strong>in</strong>e of audiences for <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema. ‘<strong>Bengali</strong><br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong> its present state and form <strong>in</strong> every way is <strong>in</strong> a terrible state of affairs, whereas once upon a time this very<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema and <strong>in</strong>dustry was a pride of Bengal and the rest of the nation. But today its existence and identity is at<br />
the verge of decl<strong>in</strong>e and disappearance and it is of great fear and shame. Anandalok tries to ask several talents from the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the likes of Madhabi Mukherjee, Soumitra Chaterjee, Gaoutam Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta,<br />
Haradhan Bandopadhyay, Anjan Chowdhury. Sabitri Chattopadhyay and Supriya Devi, what ails the <strong>in</strong>dustry? What are<br />
the reasons? What could be the possible remedies? (Author’s translation) – ((Chakrabarty 1995)
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I have to earn money to survive. Let us forget Abbajaan. Recently, Prabhat Roy made Sandhyatara<br />
(1994). The film was good but it failed at the box office, the audience did not receive it well. Even<br />
Tarun Majumdar’s Kotha Chilo (1994) did not work. Now, Tapan S<strong>in</strong>ha’s Wheel Chair is not<br />
attract<strong>in</strong>g good audience. The ma<strong>in</strong> po<strong>in</strong>t is that there is no audience for ‘good’ c<strong>in</strong>ema, and generally<br />
there is a decl<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> the audience for c<strong>in</strong>ema. S<strong>in</strong>ce times have changed, one has to match up to the<br />
demands of the time. Films have to be made accord<strong>in</strong>g to the demands of the time. Only then can we<br />
come out of the crisis. Hence we now have to make films only for enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. The <strong>in</strong>dustry will<br />
survive only if we cater to the section of audience I described earlier (A. D. Gopa Sengupta, 1995: 35-<br />
37).<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce corporatization had not yet made its entry <strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry, it is<br />
important to study directors who were mak<strong>in</strong>g films dur<strong>in</strong>g the mid 90s and at the beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g of the<br />
new millennium. What k<strong>in</strong>d of films were they mak<strong>in</strong>g? What k<strong>in</strong>d of success were they gett<strong>in</strong>g?<br />
Haranath Chakraborty:<br />
Haranath Chakraborty who began his career as an assistant to Anjan Chowdhury debuted as a<br />
director with Mangal Deep (1989) starr<strong>in</strong>g Ranjit Mallick and Sandhya Roy. The film had a<br />
treatment, plot-l<strong>in</strong>e and direction that were very close to that of Anjan Chowdhury. Gradually,<br />
Haranath Chakraborty carved an <strong>in</strong>depenent identity. He concentrated on the action genre and made<br />
films like Nabab (1991), Sangharsha (1995), Mahan (1996), Bidroho (1997), Ranakshetra (1998).<br />
Chakraborty established himself as one of the most commercially successful directors <strong>in</strong><br />
Tollygunge. He was the busiest director of the 90s and early 2000s. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to him, Ranakshetra<br />
brought <strong>in</strong> several changes <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>dustry. He shot the film on a much higher budget than the<br />
prevalent practice. The action sequences were choreographed with greater technical f<strong>in</strong>esse <strong>in</strong> car<br />
blast and chase sequences <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g expensive cars. He says he never shot a film on 16mm, <strong>always</strong>
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on 35mm. With every film, he <strong>in</strong>creased the budget and the number of pr<strong>in</strong>ts to be released 12 . In<br />
2000 Haranath made the biggest budget film of Tollygunge Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad (henceforth<br />
SBZ). The film SBZ was shot <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>emascope, a first <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge. It also had a costume designer,<br />
a publicity designer, a set built on a very high budget that could have made several films all<br />
together. The film had pre-release publicity, a music release and digital posters.<br />
Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad was a massive hit across cities, suburbs, small towns and villages.<br />
Chakraborty says that he never wished to take a gap of more than a few weeks between two films,<br />
for he believed that his crew should <strong>always</strong> be work<strong>in</strong>g, as that would generate revenue for the<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry and its workers, which would ensure the survival of the <strong>in</strong>dustry. SBZ was released with 50<br />
pr<strong>in</strong>ts, also a first for a <strong>Bengali</strong> film. But critics were merciless. They lashed at Chakraborty for<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> films look like cheap imitations of H<strong>in</strong>di masala films and frame-to-frame copies<br />
of South Indian hits. But Chakraborty believes that these were precisely the factors that made his<br />
films popular and commercially successful. Seventy lakhs spent on Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad were<br />
recovered <strong>in</strong> just about fifty days. This was unbelievable and absolutely a first for any <strong>Bengali</strong> film<br />
over the last three decades (Bhattacharya, 2001: 30-32).<br />
The film drew a full house <strong>in</strong> more than twenty five c<strong>in</strong>ema halls all over Bengal. Seventy<br />
lakhs for a <strong>Bengali</strong> film was a huge risk <strong>in</strong> 2001. Until then, Tollygunge had been experienc<strong>in</strong>g<br />
huge f<strong>in</strong>ancial losses. A blockbuster was the need of the hour. Most hall owners had sold off or<br />
leased out their property by 1999. A few studio owners were negotiat<strong>in</strong>g with promoters to sell off<br />
their studio premises. Though Swapan Saha’s Baba Keno Chakor and Motiur Rahman Panu’s Beder<br />
Meye Josna were hits, this didn’t br<strong>in</strong>g about significant changes <strong>in</strong> the economics of the <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
This was a time when corporate values had gradually begun to enter the Calcutta (now Kolkata)<br />
market, the neo-liberal life style was pick<strong>in</strong>g up at a slow pace, and the urban population of the<br />
12<br />
Author’s <strong>in</strong>terview with Haranath Chakraborty 17 th October 2010, Kolkata.
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metropolis, Calcutta, were shopp<strong>in</strong>g from Pantaloons; ma<strong>in</strong>stream <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema was a distant<br />
concern. Quite unexpectedly yet surpris<strong>in</strong>gly, Pantaloons cashed <strong>in</strong> on the success of Shasurbari<br />
Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad and came up with a slogan dur<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>Bengali</strong> festival Jamai Shoshti- (a festival where<br />
sons-<strong>in</strong>-law are treated by mothers and fathers-<strong>in</strong>-law and gifted new clothes). It went thus - “Eibar<br />
Shosthi te Jamai bolbeiyee Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad” (this festival the son-<strong>in</strong>-law will def<strong>in</strong>itely say<br />
that his <strong>in</strong> laws house rocks!)This was possibly the first recognition of a ma<strong>in</strong>stream film and the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry by a corporate brand. This was a time when <strong>Bengali</strong> films would hardly run<br />
for more than two to three weeks <strong>in</strong> a row. SBZ was a trend setter, not merely for the hero and<br />
hero<strong>in</strong>e of the film, Prosenjit and Rituparna Sengupta, who had worked together <strong>in</strong> eight films the<br />
previous year but had given only one hit, Kulangaar. SBZ ran for a record period of time, cross<strong>in</strong>g<br />
more than eight weeks (Bhattacharya, 2001: 30-32).<br />
The story bore a strong resemblance to the H<strong>in</strong>dii film Jamai Raja (A. Kodandarami Reddy<br />
1990) starr<strong>in</strong>g Anil Kapoor, Hema Mal<strong>in</strong>i and Madhuri Dixit. It also bore similarities with two other<br />
H<strong>in</strong>di potboilers namely Raja H<strong>in</strong>dustani (Dharmesh Darshan 1996) and Biwi Ho Toh Aisi (J.K.<br />
Bihari 1988). The story is about a deprived child (Prosenjit) who grows up to come back and<br />
avenge the wrong done to him. Anamika Saha is the stereotypical wretched and wicked mother-<strong>in</strong>law<br />
who is forced to accept this son-<strong>in</strong>-law as a ghar jamai (a son-<strong>in</strong>-law who lives <strong>in</strong> his mother<strong>in</strong>-law’s<br />
house) followed by a constant battle of wits between the mother-<strong>in</strong>-law and son-<strong>in</strong>-law. The<br />
romantic songs were similar to the fare dished out <strong>in</strong> popular H<strong>in</strong>di films of the time with not too<br />
much of action (Bhattacharya, 2001: 30-32).<br />
Rob<strong>in</strong> Agarwal who produced Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad lamented that the present breed of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films were poor <strong>in</strong> story and orig<strong>in</strong>ality, that the <strong>in</strong>dustry lacked good actors, directors and<br />
when a film like SBZ became a hit, it was merely a question of chance. Despite all this, SBZ had<br />
elements that are still remembered. The credits were novel and did not follow the established
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practice of a roll<strong>in</strong>g down of names and titles. As members of the audience were enter<strong>in</strong>g the hall,<br />
look<strong>in</strong>g for their seats and settl<strong>in</strong>g down, the film <strong>in</strong>troduced each and every member of the ‘family’<br />
directly to the audience. The first few songs for the film, unlike contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> song<br />
sequences shot <strong>in</strong> Nicco Park or other parks and lakes <strong>in</strong> and around Kolkata were shot aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
picturesque backdrop of Kalimpong <strong>in</strong> northern Bengal (Bhattacharya, 2001:30-32).<br />
While regrett<strong>in</strong>g the pathetic condition of s<strong>in</strong>gle-screen theatres <strong>in</strong> Kolkata, actor Ranjit<br />
Mullick complimented the filmmaker for hold<strong>in</strong>g the audience captive with a ‘clean family comedy<br />
film.’ Haranath Chakraborty analyses the rav<strong>in</strong>g success of Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad quite differently.<br />
He states that the film explores comedy, a genre rarely found <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of the time. The<br />
audience lapped up Prosenjit <strong>in</strong> a comic role and Rituparna <strong>in</strong> a different persona from the ones the<br />
audience was used to. The audience was tired of watch<strong>in</strong>g these two <strong>in</strong> the same k<strong>in</strong>d of romantic<br />
roles aga<strong>in</strong> and aga<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> film after film. The film deviates from the usual plot l<strong>in</strong>e of most<br />
commercial films. Instead of be<strong>in</strong>g a melodramatic story about a cruel mother-<strong>in</strong>-law tortur<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
weepy daughter-<strong>in</strong>-law, SBZ manages to execute chauv<strong>in</strong>ism of a k<strong>in</strong>d that is comical where the<br />
son-<strong>in</strong>-law tames his mother-<strong>in</strong>-law (Bhattacharya, 2001: 30-32).<br />
Pratibad (2001) which followed SBZ was another blockbuster which was a record success<br />
and probably one of the highest grossers <strong>in</strong> the last twenty five years. Pratibad is remembered and<br />
marked for its contribution <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiat<strong>in</strong>g the trend of remak<strong>in</strong>g South Indian hits <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge.<br />
Filmmakers still mak<strong>in</strong>g films <strong>in</strong> the so-called ‘Anjan Chowdhury’ style were taken aback with the<br />
gimmicks, action and the element of thrill the film was filled with. Pratibad moved a step ahead<br />
from us<strong>in</strong>g fake revolvers to the use of ste<strong>in</strong> guns, dynamite blasts to whip lash<strong>in</strong>g of villa<strong>in</strong>s. The<br />
climax was shot <strong>in</strong> Chennai; cannon blasts were recorded authentically; expensive cars were blown<br />
off, the hero flew to a height of forty feet, and there was a rocket launcher that burnt off an entire<br />
gang of villa<strong>in</strong>s. Added to these, the film had acts like bike jump<strong>in</strong>g, and other action filled stunts
157|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
that <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema had never witnessed before (Sarkar 2003,49).<br />
The c<strong>in</strong>ema hall Prachi announced that Pratibad was one of the highest grossers <strong>in</strong> their<br />
fifty two-year-long history of exhibit<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> films. With the success of Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad,<br />
almost all c<strong>in</strong>ema hall owners <strong>in</strong>creased the rate of tickets <strong>in</strong> West Bengal. Pratibad was Anjan<br />
Chowdhury’s story. He scripted it and wrote the dialogues. Chowdhury agrees that the story was<br />
noth<strong>in</strong>g new, but the film had technical advancements and the use of gimmicks similar to<br />
Bollywood films. Haranath Chakraborty remarked that it was high time Tollygunge filmmakers<br />
<strong>in</strong>corporated these techniques and aesthetic advancements. An audience now exposed to<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational c<strong>in</strong>ema through cable television would watch <strong>Bengali</strong> films only if they get more than<br />
what they have been gett<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>Bengali</strong> films so far (Sarkar, 2003:49). The period around early<br />
2001-03 was a def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g moment for <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema when both the <strong>in</strong>dustry and the press woke up<br />
to the possibilities of a new resurgence <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge <strong>in</strong> terms of technicalities and visual aesthetics<br />
(Sarkar, 2003: 49).<br />
The success of Pratibad <strong>in</strong> Kolkata c<strong>in</strong>ema halls once known for their tradition of screen<strong>in</strong>g<br />
‘Uttam-Suchitra’ hits proved that audience taste had possibly changed and people wanted <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
ma<strong>in</strong>stream films to be technically advanced and on par with Bollywood films (Chattopadhyay,<br />
2001:59-61). Haranath Chakraborty stated that films would work only if they could feel the<br />
audience pulse and that pseudo-<strong>in</strong>tellectualism would fail <strong>in</strong> Bengal. He stressed that one could<br />
neither waste the money of producers, nor cheat the audience <strong>in</strong> the name of art films. The audience<br />
now exposed to c<strong>in</strong>ema from Hollywood wanted more than what they had been gett<strong>in</strong>g from<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films so far (Sarkar, 2003:49).<br />
It is not surpris<strong>in</strong>g here that even Chakraborty’s mentor Anjan Chowdhury talked <strong>in</strong> a<br />
similar fashion when asked why his films repeatedly dealt with issues of mofussil problems of
158|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
everyday life, like fights and quarrels <strong>in</strong> a kerosene shop, or <strong>in</strong> a queue for fill<strong>in</strong>g water from a<br />
municipal corporation public water supply tap <strong>in</strong> a village. Without hesitat<strong>in</strong>g, Chowdhury said that<br />
those who still cook their food us<strong>in</strong>g kerosene oil everyday and who have only one municipal tap<br />
provid<strong>in</strong>g dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g water <strong>in</strong> their area are the ones he makes films for. They are his customers and<br />
he caters to them. He would not be able to deliver and would fail miserably if he forced himself to<br />
make films like Goutam Ghosh, Aparna Sen or Rituparno Ghosh. He knew his formula and he<br />
could deliver his best know<strong>in</strong>g his audience and his style. He wanted to make profits and there was<br />
no other way to do it than the way he wrote or directed his films; his filmmak<strong>in</strong>g style guranteed<br />
profit and made the producers earn higher returns (Chattopadhyay, 2001: 27-30).<br />
Swapan Saha:<br />
Gett<strong>in</strong>g the maximum number of hits was the only way Tollygunge could survive <strong>in</strong> the face<br />
of tough competition from Bollywood and Hollywood blockbusters when press discourse was<br />
completely aga<strong>in</strong>st ma<strong>in</strong>stream Tollygunge. There were still a handful of <strong>Bengali</strong> producers who<br />
wanted to cater to the Bhadralok middle class audience. Film production <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge was<br />
controlled more or less by fleet<strong>in</strong>g producers who were mostly non-<strong>Bengali</strong> bus<strong>in</strong>essmen. They<br />
were primarily engaged <strong>in</strong> multiple or real estate bus<strong>in</strong>ess who <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> film production<br />
Around this time, the director who worked with the maximum number of <strong>in</strong>dependent non-<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> producers was Swapan Saha. At times, he made more than three films with a lump sum he<br />
received from a bus<strong>in</strong>essman. By 2003 Saha had completed fifty feature films with<strong>in</strong> twelve years.<br />
For the first time <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge, an average of four films a year were be<strong>in</strong>g made by a s<strong>in</strong>gle<br />
director. Almost all his films recovered the money the producers had <strong>in</strong>vested <strong>in</strong> them. Never m<strong>in</strong>d<br />
the fun the bhadralok audiences made of films like Baba Keno Chakor (why is the father a servant?)
159|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
or Shami keno Ashami (why is the husband an alleged victim?); his films cont<strong>in</strong>ued to be extremely<br />
popular <strong>in</strong> the suburbs and villages. A certa<strong>in</strong> section of people would walk <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema halls<br />
know<strong>in</strong>g that it was a Swapan Saha film they were go<strong>in</strong>g to see.<br />
Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Saha a small group of ‘serious’ filmmakers with National Awards and Film<br />
Festival screen<strong>in</strong>gs abroad would often label his films as ‘photographed jatra’. But none of their<br />
films ever drew a full house cont<strong>in</strong>uously for two weeks, land<strong>in</strong>g the producer <strong>in</strong> a lurch. Saha<br />
reiterates with confidence that he was perhaps the only director on whom producers could bank on<br />
without doubt <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge for almost a decade. Of the fortysix films of Swapan Saha that had<br />
released so far, fifteen have been super hits, fifteen were hits, while the rest had all recovered costs.<br />
Saha began to be looked at with greater suspicion and shock because he could make three films at a<br />
time on paltry budgets, which no filmmaker had ever dared to do before <strong>in</strong> the Tollygunge film<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry. He completed most of his films <strong>in</strong> two months, sometimes even <strong>in</strong> one month. These were<br />
issues on which the Press wrote profusely and most often with a mock<strong>in</strong>g tone and a sense of<br />
ridicule. Even <strong>in</strong> television shows when ‘paralell c<strong>in</strong>ema’ film directors were questioned about the<br />
films of Saha they repeatedly held him responsible for br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g down the standards of the c<strong>in</strong>ema <strong>in</strong><br />
Bengal.<br />
Swapan Saha began his career <strong>in</strong> Dhaka assist<strong>in</strong>g Alamgir Kumkum. He even acted <strong>in</strong> two<br />
Bangladeshi films Monimala and Moner moto Bou. He assisted Dhaka’s popular director Johir<br />
Raihan, from whom he learnt the technique of f<strong>in</strong>ish<strong>in</strong>g a film shoot <strong>in</strong> less than a month. He shot<br />
Shothbhai <strong>in</strong> less than ten days. The film was released with<strong>in</strong> one month of its production and had a<br />
total budget of only Rs. 9 lacs. Tra<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>in</strong> Bangladesh, Saha’s films had a strong <strong>in</strong>fluence of the<br />
tradition of Bangladeshi films, <strong>in</strong>-your-face high melodrama and double mean<strong>in</strong>g dialogues, with an<br />
imitation of rural and kitschy ‘Jatra’ aesthetics. Saha admits that this was his speciality and these<br />
were attributes that made his films popular <strong>in</strong> the mufossil areas and <strong>in</strong> rural Bengal. His super hits
160|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded Sujan Sakhi, Bhai amar Bhai, Jh<strong>in</strong>ukmala, Adorer Bon, Tomake Chai, Maatir Manush,<br />
Baba Keno Chakor, Kamalar Bonobash, Praner Cheye Priyo, Santan Jokhon Shatru, Guru Shishya,<br />
Jabab Chai, Strir Morjada, Kurukshetra and Sneher Protidan The hits were Bedenir Prem, Maan-<br />
Shomman, Bishwas Obishwas, Nag<strong>in</strong>ikanya, Sokhi tumi kar, Nishpaap Ashami, Bakulpriya, Mayer<br />
Dibbi, Sundori, Swamir Adesh, Ghorer Lokkhhi, Swamir Ghor, Maanush Keno Beimaan, Ei Ghor<br />
Ei Shongshar and Bhalobashi Tomake (Saha, 2003: 30-31).<br />
Swapan Saha candidly expressed his discomfort when asked about directors who won<br />
awards and were <strong>in</strong>vited to prestigious gather<strong>in</strong>gs where discussions on c<strong>in</strong>ema took place. He<br />
totally disapproved of such groups and activities as an elite practice. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to him, they did not<br />
make films for the <strong>in</strong>dustry and people; they made films for themselves and festivals. Saha<br />
repeatedly quoted Anjan Chowdhury who appreciated his contribution for generat<strong>in</strong>g profits and<br />
revenue at the box office for the Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, contemporary Tollygunge’s biggest and most successful production house<br />
Shree Venkatesh films Pvt. Ltd. started their film production venture with Swapan Saha’s Bhai<br />
amar Bhai (1996). Swapan Saha believes that today the <strong>in</strong>dustry has changed. It is no longer driven<br />
by one hit, or one genre, because every new hit is a new genre, and there is no consistency <strong>in</strong><br />
filmmak<strong>in</strong>g style and content. However, he is confident that the 90s was a crucial period when<br />
directors like himself gave hundreds of people their bread and butter ma<strong>in</strong>ly the workers and staff of<br />
the studios <strong>in</strong> Tollygunge.<br />
Earlier, he released his films with a maximum of twelve to fifteen pr<strong>in</strong>ts, and a maximum<br />
budget of twenty lacs, which is not the norm now. Tollygunge has grown <strong>in</strong> leaps and bounds. Saha<br />
is happy that Tollywood is perhaps at par with Bollywood. But he is not hopeful about the<br />
numerous <strong>in</strong>dependent one-time production houses mushroom<strong>in</strong>g across the <strong>in</strong>dustry. He says they
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will all disappear with<strong>in</strong> a year or two. Only Eskay and Shree Venkatesh Films will survive, for they<br />
know the film bus<strong>in</strong>ess the best. When asked why his films no longer work (RUN, Private Practice,<br />
Love Story of a Super Star, Warrant were all flops) he says they still work <strong>in</strong> rural areas. He believes<br />
that it is not enough to th<strong>in</strong>k that just because some films do well <strong>in</strong> multiplexes, they will<br />
necessarily earn profits for the producer. He also believes that the multi-plex hit does not ensure that<br />
the rural audience will accept these films, and accord<strong>in</strong>g to him it is certa<strong>in</strong>ly the rural audience that<br />
makes a film a hit. 13<br />
The Chang<strong>in</strong>g Scenario: Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry becomes Tollywood<br />
The Film Market, set up dur<strong>in</strong>g the 8th Kolkata Film Festival had gone unattended. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
Pritam Jalan, producer and distributor, corporatization and multiplexes were needed to promote<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films. However, for the <strong>Bengali</strong> bhadralok class there was more than one reason to<br />
celebrate the film <strong>in</strong>dustry gett<strong>in</strong>g recognized as Tollywood. Rituparno Ghosh, a <strong>Bengali</strong> film<br />
director whose films won national awards was appropriated by the urban upper middle class<br />
educated <strong>Bengali</strong>s. Ghosh’s films like Unishe April, Dahan, Bariwaali, Subho Mahurat and<br />
Chokher Bali not only got critical acclaim, but was immediately celebrated for their rich aesthetics<br />
and literature-centric content. (ibid)<br />
Alongside was the advent of multiplex theatres <strong>in</strong> the metropolis. Inox Forum was the first<br />
multiplex to be set up <strong>in</strong> Calcutta at Bhawanipur, where the famous s<strong>in</strong>gle screen theatre cha<strong>in</strong><br />
M<strong>in</strong>ar-Bijoli-Chhobighar existed, a hub of the <strong>in</strong>tellectual bhadralok <strong>Bengali</strong> audience. The Inox<br />
multiplex not only changed the entire experience of film view<strong>in</strong>g, but it created a space for the niche<br />
audience that was desperately <strong>in</strong> search of a legitimized space for a certa<strong>in</strong> k<strong>in</strong>d of c<strong>in</strong>ema that had<br />
13<br />
Author’s <strong>in</strong>terview with Swapan Saha on 15 th October 2011, Kolkata, Technician Studios.
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just begun to get popular. Rituparno Ghosh’s Chokher Bali was the first <strong>Bengali</strong> film that got<br />
screened at the Inox multiplex screen and created a storm critically and earned reasonably well at the<br />
box office. However, there were few critics who were not k<strong>in</strong>d to the film at all probably because<br />
they were biased aga<strong>in</strong>st a Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai be<strong>in</strong>g cast <strong>in</strong> a Tagore <strong>in</strong>terpretation with<br />
her voice dubbed by a <strong>Bengali</strong> actress.<br />
Chokher Bali produced by Shree Venkatesh Films (henceforth SVF) founded by Mahendra<br />
Soni and Shrikant Mohta entered film production <strong>in</strong> 1996 with Swapan Saha’s film Bhai amar Bhai.<br />
The film did moderate bus<strong>in</strong>ess at the box-office. They cont<strong>in</strong>ued to produce <strong>Bengali</strong> films and<br />
became highly successful and popular after produc<strong>in</strong>g Haranath Chakraborty’s Shasurbari<br />
Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad and Pratibad. There was no look<strong>in</strong>g back. In 2007, SVF produced Rituparno Ghosh’s<br />
Chokher Bali starr<strong>in</strong>g Aishwarya Rai. The film had a budget of more than 1.5 crore, a record for the<br />
time. Chokher Bali was declared a hit even though the film mostly ran <strong>in</strong> Kolkata and other<br />
metropolitan cities, and more or less changed the fate of SVF and Rituparno Ghosh. The press,<br />
public and critics saw the success of Chokher Bali as a start<strong>in</strong>g po<strong>in</strong>t that triggered major<br />
developments <strong>in</strong> the corporatization of Tollygunge and <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiat<strong>in</strong>g aesthetic changes <strong>in</strong> film<br />
production. SVF produced Rituparno Ghosh’s first H<strong>in</strong>di film Ra<strong>in</strong>coat (2004) starr<strong>in</strong>g Aishwarya<br />
Rai and Ajay Devgan.<br />
Around this time, actor-s<strong>in</strong>ger-filmmaker Anjan Dutt made his first <strong>Bengali</strong> film The Bong<br />
Connection (2007) a film deal<strong>in</strong>g with the present day young urban <strong>Bengali</strong>s. It was a big success<br />
not only with the audience <strong>in</strong> Bengal and India but outside India among the diaspora audience. The<br />
Bong Connection (2007) opened the flood gates for the <strong>in</strong>dustry to experiment with different<br />
genres, subjects and treatment. The film was crucial <strong>in</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g screen<strong>in</strong>g regulations of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
films <strong>in</strong> multiplexes. Multiplexes earlier screened only selected <strong>Bengali</strong> films, ones that targeted the<br />
niche urban audience. With the overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g success of The Bong Connection, the rules changed.
163|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
The EIMPA made it mandatory for all multiplexes to devote at least 40% of their screen time to<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema.<br />
Follow<strong>in</strong>g these developments, the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry went through diverse changes:<br />
newer groups of producers, directors and film technicians entered the <strong>in</strong>dustry that gradually led to<br />
the corporatization of film production, distribution and exhibition. At the same time, post<br />
liberalization there was a boom <strong>in</strong> private television channels. Several <strong>Bengali</strong> private cable<br />
television channels began such as Etv Bangla, Zee Bangla, Star Ananda, Tara Bangla, Akash<br />
Bangla and so on, with a wide range of <strong>in</strong>formation and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment based programmes related to<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry. This was followed by the entry of <strong>Bengali</strong> FM Radio stations like Amar<br />
FM, Friends FM, Big FM, Red FM etc. which, unlike public service providers did not stick only to<br />
Rab<strong>in</strong>dra sangeet and film music from old <strong>Bengali</strong> classics. These Radio Stations provided a new<br />
range of programmes <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g newer talent from the contemporary <strong>Bengali</strong> film and enterta<strong>in</strong>ment<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry, and also began play<strong>in</strong>g songs and music from contemporary films.<br />
The chang<strong>in</strong>g scenario of the English and <strong>Bengali</strong> language press was <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. The<br />
earlier discourses and discussions related to the post 1980s ‘crisis narrative’ and decay<strong>in</strong>g quality of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema began to shift towards a more celebratory discourse of the overall <strong>Bengali</strong> film and<br />
enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong>dustry. These articles and stories began to circulate through newspaper supplements<br />
like Calcutta Times of The Times of India, HT City of H<strong>in</strong>dustan Times, t2 of The Telegraph, and<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> magaz<strong>in</strong>es like ‘Anandalok’, ‘Unnish Kuri’ and ‘Sananda’. All featured columns, articles<br />
and pages with a focus on Tollywood and related aspects of the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry. New stars,<br />
new directors, corporatization, film exhibition, film budgets, visual and techno-aesthetics, music<br />
and fashion 14 , etc. were profusely covered. This was followed by reports of various bus<strong>in</strong>ess and<br />
14<br />
See Ruman Ganguly and Roshni Mukherjee “Tollywood has room for all”; Calcutta Times, Sunday 3 rd July 2011
164|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
economic collaborations and ventures that Tollywood experienced 15 . The word Tollywood had<br />
ga<strong>in</strong>ed currency <strong>in</strong> the popular press and media discourses, lead<strong>in</strong>g to its acknowledgement <strong>in</strong> the<br />
public sphere. The <strong>in</strong>dustry was hopeful about this turn ma<strong>in</strong>ly because of the logic of sheer<br />
economics, as more number of films, and more press and media coverage meant susta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
employment <strong>in</strong> the film <strong>in</strong>dustry for people work<strong>in</strong>g and controll<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>in</strong>dustry, fac<strong>in</strong>g the unequal<br />
threat of competition from Bombay films. Nevertheless, Tollywood was often criticized by the<br />
popular press and media for mak<strong>in</strong>g copies of southern hits and morph<strong>in</strong>g Bollywood (Nag, 2009:<br />
The Telegraph) 16 . With fewer exceptions, because of the new crop of filmmakers, the success of<br />
unconventional films at the box-office alongside regular ‘pot-boilers’ forced filmmakers to switch<br />
to diverse <strong>Bengali</strong> content, aggressive market<strong>in</strong>g, all-round publicity, and even world wide release.<br />
For <strong>in</strong>stance, s<strong>in</strong>ger-director Anjan Dutt’s Madly Bangali tried to break stereotypes of the staid and<br />
conservative bhadralok <strong>Bengali</strong> who cannot party and adapt to the over all global life style and a<br />
cosmopolitan attitude; it was about city youngsters try<strong>in</strong>g to make it big <strong>in</strong> the music <strong>in</strong>dustry.<br />
Another film by Anjan Dutt Chalo lets go, a travelogue was based on challeng<strong>in</strong>g human<br />
relationships belong<strong>in</strong>g to a post global urban metropolis. Both films did average bus<strong>in</strong>ess at the<br />
box-office. Director duo Abhijit Guha and Sudeshna Roy’s romantic comedy Cross Connection ran<br />
for a record break<strong>in</strong>g ten weeks <strong>in</strong> central Kolkata and elsewhere. Actor-turned-producer Rituparna<br />
Sengupta experimented with unconventional film plots, star cast and higher budgets <strong>in</strong> films like<br />
Alo and Potadar Kirti. There were changes both with<strong>in</strong> and outside the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry that<br />
15 Yash Chopra, <strong>in</strong>charge of the Enterta<strong>in</strong>ment w<strong>in</strong>g of c<strong>in</strong>ema attached to the FICCI, led a delegation on its behalf to<br />
the Bengal Chief M<strong>in</strong>ister Buddhadev Bhattacharya for the revival of the <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Industry. The proposal <strong>in</strong>cluded<br />
the construction of a cha<strong>in</strong> of multiplexes, state-of-the-art enterta<strong>in</strong>ment plazas, shopp<strong>in</strong>g malls and food rendezvous,<br />
which would assure “a susta<strong>in</strong>able revenue generation scheme” for the overall enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong> the state<br />
(Biswas 2002, no page nos.)<br />
“After sponsor<strong>in</strong>g city football giants a decade back, liquor baron Vijay Mallya is here to sponsor Tollywood. Inox<br />
Leisure Ltd, one of the lead<strong>in</strong>g multiplex cha<strong>in</strong>s, has already shown <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> distribut<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Bengali</strong> films. Mallya’s<br />
United Spirits Ltd, the biggest IMFL firm <strong>in</strong> the country, will promote commercial <strong>Bengali</strong> films by cobrand<strong>in</strong>g one of<br />
its highest sell<strong>in</strong>g whisky brands, Bagpiper, with Tollywood movies. Mallya is start<strong>in</strong>g his Tollywood <strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>gs with<br />
Rituparna Sengupta’s maiden production venture Patadar Kirti” (Mukherji 2009, 4)<br />
16<br />
See Bureau Report ‘Poran Jai….a copy, says court’ The Telegraph, Tuesday, August 11, 2009.
165|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
ushered <strong>in</strong> a revamp. These are possibly the changes and developments that outl<strong>in</strong>e the journey of<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong> film <strong>in</strong>dustry’s identity from Tollygunge <strong>in</strong>dustry to Tollywood.<br />
But Tollywood’s contemporary f<strong>in</strong>ancial condition is generally dom<strong>in</strong>ated by a very high<br />
rate of <strong>in</strong>terest for film f<strong>in</strong>anciers and production houses. This is tackled through the vertical<br />
revenue earn<strong>in</strong>g model- theatre release, satellite rights, home video rights, music rights and overseas<br />
rights. This model is most successfully practiced and adopted by Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF).<br />
Actor and executive producer Ar<strong>in</strong>dam Sil is believed to have started the trend of cross over films <strong>in</strong><br />
Tollywood as executive producer of ‘Moxie Group’ with Bong Connection 2007 (budget one crore)<br />
that earned ten times the <strong>in</strong>vested amount. He believes that this is because of the chang<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>dset<br />
<strong>in</strong> the youth and the narrow<strong>in</strong>g gap between rural and urban psyches (Dasgupta 2010).<br />
In 2010, the number of films released <strong>in</strong>creased from 45 to 80 films. Subrata Sen, a noted<br />
contemporary Tollywood filmmaker states that for a very long time <strong>Bengali</strong> films have been titled<br />
as ‘Nyaya-Annaya’ and ‘Bichar-Abichar’ 17 , mak<strong>in</strong>g it an education <strong>in</strong> antonyms. These traits were<br />
chang<strong>in</strong>g, which <strong>in</strong>dustry <strong>in</strong>siders considered the Midas touch, <strong>in</strong> the form of the new star Dev,<br />
director Raj Chakraborty, composer Jeet Ganguly and the biggest production house <strong>in</strong> Bengal Shree<br />
Venkatesh Films (SVF). Raj Chakraborty’s Chirod<strong>in</strong>i tumi je amar, (2007) created history by<br />
gross<strong>in</strong>g fifteen times its budget of Rs. 80 lakh. His other films like Challenge with a two-crore<br />
budget earned ten times the amount and Prem Amar a 1.5 crore film, fetched twenty times the<br />
money <strong>in</strong>vested. Changes like these with films earn<strong>in</strong>g unexpected figures question the earlier<br />
notion of <strong>Bengali</strong> audiences and their taste. This situation has resulted <strong>in</strong> the rise of a mixed<br />
discourse of celebration and criticism amidst the press and the public. Perhaps there is logic of<br />
f<strong>in</strong>ance and economics on one side, which is paradoxically and ironically generated from the<br />
17 Filmmaker says, "<strong>Bengali</strong> films have been timelessly called stuff like Nyaya-Annaye and Vichar-Avichar. It had<br />
almost become an education <strong>in</strong> antonyms. All this is chang<strong>in</strong>g." Eastern promise: Abhijit Dasgupta ; January 21 2010<br />
Updated 17:16 IST:
166|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
qu<strong>in</strong>tessential formulaic b<strong>in</strong>ary of ma<strong>in</strong>stream c<strong>in</strong>ema and artistic <strong>in</strong>tegrity on the one hand, and<br />
glamour and honour on the other, that began to be associated with the new films of Tollywood. The<br />
popular press discourse foregrounds the <strong>in</strong>dustry as Tollywood, somewhat similar to Bollywood as<br />
a response; the similarity is only <strong>in</strong> the co<strong>in</strong>age of the term because the former is different <strong>in</strong> its<br />
composition and characteristic formation. It is important that a closer exploration is made about<br />
these changes operat<strong>in</strong>g through various circuits with<strong>in</strong> the overall cultural and <strong>in</strong>dustrial structure<br />
of Tollygunge now established as Tollywood, most of which were ma<strong>in</strong>ly brought <strong>in</strong> by Shree<br />
Venkatesh Films Pvt. Ltd. almost after a decade of liberalization, which perhaps needs detailed<br />
study and critical attention.<br />
Bibliography<br />
"Bangla Chayachhobir aro ekta mondo bochor paar holo. Taholeo unnishhochurashi ke sheybhabe<br />
mondo bochor bola jay na bodhoy." Anandabazar Patrika. Calcutta: ABP Pvt. Ltd, January<br />
8th, 1985.<br />
Bhattacharya, Roopa. "Bangla Chhobir Jonnya oxygen noy, chai alookaabli." Anandalok, June 8,<br />
2001: 30-32.<br />
Bureau, Parivartan News. "Sab Hall e Bangla Chhobir baddhhotamulok prodorshon shattiee ki<br />
shambhab?" Parivartan, August 19, 1981: 41-44.<br />
Chakraborty, Dipankar. "Bangla Chhabir ticket o blackey bikri hocchhe". News Paper Article,<br />
Calcutta: Ananda Bazar Patrika, 1985, 1.<br />
Chatterjee, Partha. "Bangla C<strong>in</strong>ema Shonkot o Shomadhan: Chhobi Dekhte Kothay jabo?"<br />
Anandalok, December 22, 1979: 23-26.<br />
Chattopadhyay, Balmiki. "Amar Oboshorer Boyosh hoye geche. aar parcchhi na." Anandalok, June
167|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
8th, 2001: 27-30.<br />
Chattopadhyay Balmiki."Shasurbari Z<strong>in</strong>dabaad, tarporyei Pratibad Chhobi hiter chabikathi."<br />
Anandalok, June 8, 2001: 59-61.<br />
Chowdhury, Bhaskar. "Uttam Kumar er obhab tallyganj para ekhono bisesh ter pa<strong>in</strong>i." Parivartan,<br />
July 15, 1981: 43.<br />
Dasgupta, Abhijit. “ Eastern Promise”. Indiatoday. January 21st, 2010.<br />
http://<strong>in</strong>diatoday.<strong>in</strong>today.<strong>in</strong>/site/story/Eastern+promise/1/80298.html (accessed February<br />
21st, 2012).<br />
Gopa Sengupta, AmitBikaram Dutta & Reashmi Banerjee. "Bishesh Protibedan Alochonar Ashor<br />
Bangla Chobi: Sankat Keno?" Anandalok, 1995.<br />
Gopa Sengupta, AmitBikram Dutta and Reshmi Banerjee. "Bishesh Protibedan Alochonar Ashor<br />
Bangla Chobi: Sankat Keno?" Anandalok, February 14th, 1995: 35-37.<br />
Guha, Swapan Kumar Ghosh and Abhijit. "Tollygunjer dwairath Anjan Bonaam Swapan."<br />
Anandalok, November 29th, 1997: 13-17.<br />
Konar Subhra Sircar and Debasis. “EIMPA plans Tollywood survival kit”. Times of India Indiatimes.<br />
January 3rd, 2003. http://timesof<strong>in</strong>dia.<strong>in</strong>diatimes.com/city/calcutta-times/EIMPA-plans-<br />
Tollywood-survival-kit/articleshow/33217695.cms (accessed February 20th, 2012).<br />
Nag, Kushali. “Copy Paste with a Punch”. Article, Calcutta: The Telegraph t2, 2009<br />
Pal, Tapas. "SukhenDa Nijeyiee Ghoranaa." Anandalok, April 12, 2004: 16,17.<br />
Saha, Rupak. "Swapan Keno Shofol?" Anandalok, March 30, 2003: 30, 31.<br />
Sarkar, Kamalendu. "Anjan Chowdhuryr shibir chere Haranath Chakraborty ekhon Tollygunjer trata.<br />
Bannijjyo shofol ei porichaloke niye likhechen." Anandalok, May 14th, 2003: 48,49.
168|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Anugyan Nag is an M.Phil <strong>in</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru University. He has<br />
previously done Masters from Asian School of Media Studies (Noida, U.P) 2006, <strong>in</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema and<br />
Fiction Film Production from Salford University, United K<strong>in</strong>gdom 2008. Anugyan is currently<br />
Assistant Professor at Sharda University (Greater Noida, U.P), <strong>in</strong> the School of Art, Design and<br />
Media Studies. He is pursu<strong>in</strong>g his Phd from the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU. Anugyan is<br />
also an <strong>in</strong>dependent Filmmaker and has served as jury Documentary and Short film festival, like<br />
"Jeevika"-Livlihood International Film Festival (Conducted by Center for Civil Societies, India,<br />
2005 and 2010). His films have been nom<strong>in</strong>ated, screened and awarded at various National and<br />
International Film Festival. “Above Water” 2007 won the Special Jury Award at Kolkata<br />
International Short Film Festival 2008 held at Nandan. Anugyan has conducted workshops,<br />
Lectures and sem<strong>in</strong>ars on Indian C<strong>in</strong>ema Past Present and the Contemporary, Documentary Film<br />
mak<strong>in</strong>g and the idiom of Short Fiction film at Sri Aurob<strong>in</strong>do Centre for Arts and Communication,<br />
New Delhi and Asian School of Media Studies, Noida. His key areas of <strong>in</strong>terest are Popular H<strong>in</strong>di<br />
and <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema, Diaspora Studies, Music and Indian Dance, the urban culture and Digital<br />
Film mak<strong>in</strong>g.
Pather Dabi and Revolutionary Nationalism <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema: A Review<br />
Sujay Chatterjee<br />
Unlike Hollywood and Bollywood, <strong>Bengali</strong> films have suffered from severe constra<strong>in</strong>ts which<br />
<strong>in</strong>cluded lack of money that often resulted <strong>in</strong> lack of creativity. The last th<strong>in</strong>g was responsible for<br />
the gradual decl<strong>in</strong>e of <strong>Bengali</strong> Film Industry after 1960's. In Hollywood, we can view movies<br />
cover<strong>in</strong>g almost all the fields of human life: one can see movies based on war, natural calamities,<br />
adventure, history, biography, animal world; there are children's movies, romantic comedy, personal<br />
and historical tragedy, movies depict<strong>in</strong>g great th<strong>in</strong>gs of the past, movies about an imag<strong>in</strong>ed future,<br />
horror films, family drama, slapstick comedy, sports movies – the list will be endless.<br />
But <strong>in</strong> Tollywood, one can be bored by movies repeatedly based on love, action and<br />
melodrama. But This was not <strong>always</strong> not the case. Even 50 years ago Bengal could enterta<strong>in</strong> its<br />
people as much as Hollywood. Then came the communist movement. It can be seen from the<br />
history of world c<strong>in</strong>ema that Film Industry almost <strong>in</strong>evitably decl<strong>in</strong>ed wherever communists came<br />
to power, and West Bengal was no exception. Worldwide, from 1950s to 1990s, there was only one<br />
competitor to Hollywood – the Bombay Film Industry. As the shadow of Communism covered<br />
almost the half of Europe and most of the world, countries like Soviet Russia and Ch<strong>in</strong>a witnessed a<br />
decl<strong>in</strong>e of the enterta<strong>in</strong>ment <strong>in</strong>dustry. Among the capitalist countries, Japan, France, Germany, Italy<br />
and Brita<strong>in</strong> were fac<strong>in</strong>g economic crisis after the World War II.<br />
Thus Bollywood had no competitor <strong>in</strong> either Europe, Asia and Africa. Only <strong>in</strong> India it had its<br />
rival <strong>in</strong> Tamil Film Industry. By that time, Bengal gradually fell <strong>in</strong>to the hands of the Communists.<br />
This ended the Golden Era of <strong>Bengali</strong> C<strong>in</strong>ema and it also freed Bollywood from a very powerful<br />
rival it had to face. This was a tragedy – perhaps a Greek tragedy – a tragedy that gave <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema a new outlook. Tragedy was <strong>always</strong> a popular genre for the <strong>Bengali</strong>s. Failure is a pillar of<br />
success for those who can dream further and <strong>Bengali</strong>s have been great dreamers. Dreams rarely<br />
come true, but then films have a connection with dream<strong>in</strong>g and imag<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g. <strong>Bengali</strong> revolutionaries
170|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
had a dream – a dream that was made immortal by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay <strong>in</strong> his novel,<br />
Pather Dabi.<br />
Pather Dabi was made <strong>in</strong>to a film for the first time <strong>in</strong> 1947, just before <strong>in</strong>dependence. It<br />
released on 7 March, 1947, at the Rupbani c<strong>in</strong>ema hall <strong>in</strong> Kolkata. It was directed by Satish<br />
Dasgupta and Digambar Chattopadhyay. Debi Mukherjee played the role of Sabyasachi <strong>in</strong> this film,<br />
while Chadrabati Debi played the role of Sumitra. Kamal Mitra acted as Talwalkar, Jahar Ganguly<br />
as Shoshi and Sumitra Debi was <strong>in</strong> the role of Bharati. Debi Mukherjee (b.1916) the actor who<br />
played Sabyasachi died an untimely death on 10 December 1947. Pather Dabi was his last movie.<br />
A collage of different images of Debi Mukherjee which appeared <strong>in</strong> an old film magaz<strong>in</strong>e<br />
The plot of Sarat Chandra's Pather Dabi drew its <strong>in</strong>spiration from the struggle of <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
Revolutionaries outside India. The novel is set <strong>in</strong> South East Asia, particularly <strong>in</strong> Burma and<br />
Indonesia. A strong network of <strong>Bengali</strong> Revolutionaries was present <strong>in</strong> both the countries. Burma<br />
and Burmese lifestyle are important motifs <strong>in</strong> Pather Dabi. <strong>Bengali</strong>s are often nostalgic about<br />
Burma which offered economic support to them dur<strong>in</strong>g early 20th Century. Sarat Chandra's early
171|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
life was spent <strong>in</strong> Burma.<br />
The novel was considered seditious and was ultimately banned by the British. The central<br />
character of Pather Dabi is a doctor named Sabyasachi, a revolutionary who wants to free India<br />
from British rule. Today, people variously identify the character of Sabyasachi with Subhash Bose,<br />
with Bagha Jat<strong>in</strong>, with Rashbehari Bose and with M. N. Roy. These are <strong>in</strong>deed misconceptions. All<br />
these revolutionaries share some traits of Sabyasachi, but a historical study <strong>in</strong> the background of<br />
Sarat Chandra's novel reveals that this character is modeled on Dr. Jadugopal Mukhopadhyay. I<br />
have come to this conclusion after carefully read<strong>in</strong>g the texts related to our Revolutionary<br />
Movement. Biplobi Jibantara Haldar also established it <strong>in</strong> his writ<strong>in</strong>gs that the <strong>in</strong>spiration beh<strong>in</strong>d<br />
the characterization of Sabyasachi was Jadugopal.<br />
First of all, among the above mentioned revolutionaries, the only doctor was Jadugopal.<br />
Secondly, none traveled so much <strong>in</strong> South East Asia before 1920's except Jadugopal who was <strong>in</strong><br />
charge of Foreign Affairs Department of Anushilan Samiti. Thirdly, Sarat Chandra had close<br />
connections with Jadugopal and was familiar with his exploits. Lastly, the style of work<strong>in</strong>g and<br />
thoughts of Sabyasachi match with Jadugopal's thoughts and work<strong>in</strong>g style, as his character<br />
matches with that of Jadugopal's. Of the other characters, Apurva was modeled on M. N. Roy and<br />
Bharati on his wife ( later ). Sumitra, the President of the Organisation, was perhaps created without<br />
any model and was based on the abstract qualities of Bharat Mata, whom the revolutionaries<br />
respected. Most other characters were also based on real life personalities whom Sarat Chandra<br />
himself came across. Like Bankim, Sarat often created characters based on real life and events.<br />
Pather Dabi first appeared <strong>in</strong> Bangabani, a monthly journal, between February-March, 1922, and<br />
April-May, 1926. When it was published as a book by the editor of Bangabani on 31st Aug,1926,<br />
the first 5000 copies were sold <strong>in</strong> a week. In 1927, the British Govt. banned it for preach<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sedition under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. Fazlul Haque govt. lifted this ban on March
172|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
1, 1939. However, the Muslim League Govt, follow<strong>in</strong>g the Dramatic Performance Act, debarred<br />
any theatrical performance of Pather Dabi.<br />
Let us come back to the 1947 movie Pather Dabi. With Debi Mukherjee <strong>in</strong> the lead role,<br />
other actors and actresses of this movie <strong>in</strong>luded Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Jahar Gangopadhyay, Tulshi<br />
Chakraborty, kamal Mitra, Nitish Mukhopadhyay, Ashu Bose, Banibabu, Bechu S<strong>in</strong>gh, Kali Guha,<br />
krishnadhan Mukhopadhyay, Mihir Bhattacharya, Chandrabati Debi, Reba Debi, Maya Bose,<br />
Sumitra Debi, Bijoykartik Das, Malcom, Master keshab and Tapan Mitra. Music was given by<br />
Daksh<strong>in</strong>amohan Thakur. The film was produced by Associated Pictures. This film was a success<br />
and its success <strong>in</strong>spired a H<strong>in</strong>di version titled Sabyasachi <strong>in</strong> 1948, <strong>in</strong> which Kamal Mitra and Meera<br />
Mishra played the lead roles. Kamal Mitra was <strong>in</strong> the role of Sabyasachi. Director of the H<strong>in</strong>di<br />
version was Agradoot and Music Director was Rob<strong>in</strong> Chatterjee.<br />
However, for the <strong>Bengali</strong> viewers of today, the familiar movie adaptation of Pather Dabi is<br />
the Sabyasachi that was released <strong>in</strong> 1977, <strong>in</strong> which Uttam kumar and Supriya Debi played the lead<br />
roles. Other actors and actresses <strong>in</strong> this movie were Bikash Roy, Anil Chatterjee, Tarun kumar,<br />
Jayashree Roy, Sulata Chowdhury, Nripati Chatterjee, Haradhan Banerjee, Satya Banerjee. Directed<br />
by Pijush Bose, this film went on to become an Uttam-Supriya classic. The film was released <strong>in</strong> an<br />
atmosphere of change. 1970s witnessed a gradual rise of CPIM, and nationalist culture <strong>in</strong> Bengal<br />
was completely marg<strong>in</strong>alized. Henceforth <strong>in</strong> Bengal, nationalist film-mak<strong>in</strong>g would cease to exist.<br />
Apart from the act<strong>in</strong>g of Uttam Kumar, what else did make Sabyasachi a success, s<strong>in</strong>ce it was<br />
aga<strong>in</strong>st the tide of its times?<br />
As film is a medium through which any contemporary culture reflects itself, and as<br />
the armed politics of naxal period f<strong>in</strong>ds a strange resonance with Ogniju, so quite <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>gly the<br />
1977 Sabyasachi <strong>in</strong> fact appears with a greater revolutionary fervour than the 1947 Pather Dabi. It<br />
touched the spirit of the orig<strong>in</strong>al novel of Sarat Chandra, <strong>in</strong> which the touch of Congress brand civic
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Uttam Kumar <strong>in</strong> Sabyasachi<br />
nationalism (a hoax really) was absent. The smell of revolution was <strong>in</strong> the air, the thunderclaps of<br />
spr<strong>in</strong>g was heard. The Naxalite Period was felt <strong>in</strong> the films like Pratidwandi. Naxalite Movement<br />
was seen as a revival of the Revolutionary Movement except the ideal which never revived. In<br />
Sabyasachi, <strong>Bengali</strong>s found a lost world – a world which was magical and adventurous. The text of<br />
Pather Dabi was simple and yet vast. The <strong>Bengali</strong> revolutionaries shook the world <strong>in</strong> the first half<br />
of twentieth century. From Central Asia to Vietnam, the <strong>Bengali</strong>s roamed everywhere. The scene<br />
irreparably changed after the death of Sarat Chandra. By the end of 1940s, Bengal ceased to be a<br />
major power due to the weaken<strong>in</strong>g of <strong>Bengali</strong> nationalists. The strong ideals of revolutionary power<br />
partly gave way to the <strong>in</strong>fluence of Mahatma Gandhi's Congress and partly got converted to<br />
communist agenda.<br />
Pather Dabi is a political text that yields a serious film which shows both the strong and<br />
weak sides of <strong>Bengali</strong> character. In a limited way, Sabyasachi can be compared with a films like<br />
Lawrence of Arabia, which was based on the life of Colonel T. E. Lawrence dur<strong>in</strong>g WW I. The<br />
character of Sabyasachi has similarities with that of Lawrence. In both the cases, patriotism, duty<br />
and discipl<strong>in</strong>e mark the characters. Both the characters are forgotten heroes. The portrayal of
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Sabyasachi was more dramatic because he worked secretly and trusted only chosen people and<br />
believed <strong>in</strong> a centralised organisation. This was the real image of a <strong>Bengali</strong> revolutionary from<br />
Ognijug. As the entire screenplay revolves around Uttam <strong>in</strong> Sabyasachi, he overwhelms the film's<br />
pace while other characters are only centered around him.<br />
Sabyasachi works alone. He could change his appearance if necessary as he was a master of<br />
disguise. He was a lover of adventure but he lived for his mission. He did not live either for himself<br />
or for others. The supreme goal of his life was freedom. It was such an era when all other people<br />
and th<strong>in</strong>gs were secondary to a revolutionary. His never end<strong>in</strong>g quest for freedom bestows an epic<br />
immortality on himself, like Khudiram's sacrifice rema<strong>in</strong>s an epic tale irrespective of whether the<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> revolutionaries succeeded <strong>in</strong> the end or not.<br />
Sabyasachi which one may argue is the best film based on the novel of Sarat Chandra so far,<br />
is centered around the personality of Bengal's mat<strong>in</strong>ee idol Uttam Kumar whose act<strong>in</strong>g made it a<br />
success. With spectacles on eyes, and a command<strong>in</strong>g appearance, Uttam matches the appearance of<br />
Dr. Jadugopal Mukhopadhyay. In his portrayal of Sabyasachi, we witness some essential qualities of<br />
a Biplobi – one who mixes easily with people and one who is serious about his country. In a famous<br />
scene, the character of Sabyasachi tells Bharati that his aim is freedom and not welfare of the<br />
people, which is a bold statement, if controversial. In another scene, we see Sabyasachi utter<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
prophetic words – “You want freedom, but I demand it. And I revolt if my demand is not met.”<br />
This is the supreme ideal of Pather Dabi that is skilfully depicted <strong>in</strong> Sabyasachi – freedom from<br />
foreign dom<strong>in</strong>ance – a th<strong>in</strong>g still relevant <strong>in</strong> our times. At one place <strong>in</strong> the movie Sabyasachi tells a<br />
fellow character that revolution is not necessarily bloodshed: it is a complete social change. That<br />
catches the true spirit of Revolutionary Nationalism.<br />
The last scene of Sabyasachi is memorable, <strong>in</strong> which Uttam promises to return and then<br />
walks towards uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty. It ends with the prophetic words of Sarat Chandra, and shows the
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uncerta<strong>in</strong>ty of a revolutionary's life. One major difference between the orig<strong>in</strong>al novel and the film is<br />
that the act<strong>in</strong>g of Uttam kumar first gave the character of Sabyasachi a human touch. Sarat<br />
Chandra's Sabyasachi is like a stone: hard, true and awe-<strong>in</strong>spir<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the present writer has seen a recent post by a <strong>Bengali</strong> boy <strong>in</strong> Amir khan's<br />
website: fondly recall<strong>in</strong>g the act<strong>in</strong>g of Uttam Kumar, the boy urged Amir khan to remake the film<br />
Sabyasachi. It establishes the popularity of Sabyasachi. It would certa<strong>in</strong>ly be a good idea to make a<br />
new H<strong>in</strong>di version of Sabyasachi, as India needs to recall the contribution of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s to India's<br />
freedom.<br />
Uttam's act<strong>in</strong>g, along with that of Supriya Debi, made Sabyasachi a classic. It has never<br />
been highlighted like some other films of Uttam, nor it had a mammoth popularity like his romantic<br />
cult-classics. However, <strong>in</strong> no other films Uttam Kumar portrays a Biplobi and <strong>in</strong> no other films we<br />
can see the magnanimous screen presence of Uttam Kumar br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g to life the ideals of the <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
revolutionaries. So Sabyasachi will cont<strong>in</strong>ue to yield a charm for us.<br />
Pather Dabi. Dir. Digambar Chattopadhay and Satish Dasgupta. Perf. Debi Mukherjee, Chandrabati<br />
Debi, Jahar Ganguly, Kamal Mitra. Associated Pictures. 1947.<br />
Sabyasachi. Dir. Pijush Bose. Perf. Uttam Kumar, Supriya Debi, Anil Chatterjee, Bikash Roy. Usha<br />
Films. 1977.<br />
Sujay Chatterjee is an <strong>in</strong>dependent researcher, writer and a social activist based <strong>in</strong> Kolkata. His<br />
area of <strong>in</strong>terest is studies <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong> history and culture, with a focus on the age of revolutionary<br />
nationalism commonly called Ognijug. He is associated with a number of heritage clubs of Kolkata.<br />
He is one of the Assistant Editors at Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies.
Promot<strong>in</strong>g Kolkata on a Global Scale: A Review of Kahaani<br />
Abhijit Mallick<br />
Kahaani is a H<strong>in</strong>di movie made <strong>in</strong> Kolkata, made by a <strong>Bengali</strong> director, by a <strong>Bengali</strong> cast and crew<br />
(well, mostly), and this film rem<strong>in</strong>ds us of the past glory of Tollygunge film <strong>in</strong>dustry when Bengal<br />
used to make a number of H<strong>in</strong>di movies and marketed them successfully all over North India. But<br />
Kahaani is not just a film made <strong>in</strong> Kolkata, it is a film about Kolkata. One can even say that<br />
Kolkata is a ma<strong>in</strong> character <strong>in</strong> this movie.<br />
Made on a tight budget of Rs 8 Crores, which is shoestr<strong>in</strong>g really <strong>in</strong> case of H<strong>in</strong>di movies,<br />
Kahaani delves deep <strong>in</strong>to the heart of Kolkata br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g out a certa<strong>in</strong> essence that was long lost even<br />
<strong>in</strong> the <strong>Bengali</strong> movies. The lanes and by-lanes of Central and North Kolkata, or Calcutta, as it used<br />
to be known once, appear <strong>in</strong> this movie with their sensual details. The commercial <strong>Bengali</strong> movies<br />
of the 90’s era neglected the city only to concentrate on melodrama that took place beh<strong>in</strong>d closed<br />
doors. The <strong>Bengali</strong> middle class was undergo<strong>in</strong>g huge crises, so did <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema of 80s and 90s.<br />
Jo<strong>in</strong>t families were break<strong>in</strong>g to give birth to nuclear families; values were redef<strong>in</strong>ed. Filmmakers<br />
had no time to waste on the cityscapes. They rather concentrated on the evolution of characters.<br />
The rise of Venkatesh films <strong>in</strong> the 21 st century changed this scenario of <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema to a<br />
large extent. The <strong>Bengali</strong> film directors started shoot<strong>in</strong>g song and dance sequences <strong>in</strong> locations that
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were out of India. The spectators actually saw a <strong>Bengali</strong> film hero danc<strong>in</strong>g amidst the Swiss Alps or<br />
ambl<strong>in</strong>g down the lanes of San Francisco. It was the dom<strong>in</strong>ant side of Globalization where we<br />
subscribe to the products of other cultures. But globalization also means that we highlight our<br />
cultural treasures on a global scale, a fact that rema<strong>in</strong>s conveniently forgotten <strong>in</strong> Bengal, and so a<br />
celebration of Kolkata was still miss<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> our films. Kahaani brought back the nostalgia of<br />
Kolkata, while it explored the city and the people liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> it. The Metro rail, the slums, the narrow<br />
North Kolkata lanes – they all hit our eyes. The film depicts the journey of a pregnant woman who<br />
comes to Kolkata <strong>in</strong> search of her husband, Arnab Bagchi. The film was shot <strong>in</strong> exact locations<br />
accord<strong>in</strong>g to the events depicted.<br />
On a superficial level, Kahaani portrays the eternal story of good versus the evil, where<br />
good gets the better of evil <strong>in</strong> the end. It belongs to the category of revenge tragedy, a really<br />
popular genre <strong>in</strong> Indian c<strong>in</strong>ema. Vidya Balan, the protagonist of the movie, is probably at her best <strong>in</strong><br />
br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g Mrs. Bagchhi alive. And as we already noted, the other protagonist of this film is its<br />
sett<strong>in</strong>g: Kolkata. As lights go off and the big screen unfolds its magic, the spectators are<br />
mesmerized to see their city come alive. As what they had thought to be petty and mundane now<br />
suddenly became important, it surprised them.<br />
Kolkata's magnitude surprises the spectators <strong>in</strong> Kahaani. The dim lights of Kalighat Metro<br />
Station are no more ord<strong>in</strong>ary; they are ooz<strong>in</strong>g of a thrill that the spectators have never imag<strong>in</strong>ed.<br />
Kolkata provides the ideal sett<strong>in</strong>g for the plot to flourish. The Monalisa Lodge where much of the<br />
film was shot was <strong>always</strong> there on the Sarat Bose road fac<strong>in</strong>g anonymity. No one knew it existed<br />
until Kahaani happened. The lanes of the cities were explored aga<strong>in</strong> through the eager eyes of the<br />
Kolkata spectators after watch<strong>in</strong>g the movie. The city became alive. In this way, though Kahaani is<br />
a H<strong>in</strong>di movie (its dialogues teem with plenty of <strong>Bengali</strong> words nonetheless), to many Kolkatans, it<br />
is more of a <strong>Bengali</strong> movie. Now, when the spectators experience a good movie, the feel good
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factor (mixed with a certa<strong>in</strong> excitement) stays with the audiences even though they leave the<br />
theatre. So the feel persists. Kolkata becomes <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g and ambiguous; the dim lights and streets<br />
evoke thrill which earlier were commonplace. Durgapuja, the biggest festival of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s<br />
suddenly comes alive on screen and stays fresh <strong>in</strong> our m<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
And what stays is the realization of the urban audience that watch<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>Bengali</strong> movie <strong>in</strong> an<br />
essential <strong>Bengali</strong> sett<strong>in</strong>g may be as excit<strong>in</strong>g as watch<strong>in</strong>g Kahaani! Box office reports will prove that<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> films that released post-Kahaani made good bus<strong>in</strong>ess, most notably Bhooter Bhobishyot.<br />
Those were no doubt good films on their own, but they carried forward the feel of Kahaani. A hit<br />
movie is like an event, a movement that charges its spectators so much that they feel like go<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
the theatres to experience the magic of film view<strong>in</strong>g more and more. And Kahaani has done this by<br />
promot<strong>in</strong>g Kolkata. Just the way different cultures have promoted their own products and<br />
globalized their uniqueness, <strong>Bengali</strong>s can successfully promote Kolkata, its colourful festivals like<br />
Durga Puja and the qu<strong>in</strong>tessential Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess of our excellent contemporary actors by mak<strong>in</strong>g<br />
movies like Kahaani. Needless to say, as someone associated with the <strong>Bengali</strong> film and television<br />
<strong>in</strong>dustry, I am hopeful at that prospect.<br />
Kahaani. Dir. Sujoy Ghosh. Perf. Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Saswata Chaterjee,<br />
Nawazudd<strong>in</strong> Siddiqui. Boundscript Motion Pictures. 2012.<br />
Abhijit Mallick completed his Masters <strong>in</strong> Film Studies from Jadavpur University <strong>in</strong> 2005. He also<br />
did a course on C<strong>in</strong>ematography. He has been associated with a number of non-fiction shows on<br />
Etv Bangla and Star Jalsha, direct<strong>in</strong>g and co-direct<strong>in</strong>g many of them. He directed a documentary<br />
film for Reliance Inc. He currently directs Rojgere G<strong>in</strong>ni, a daily reality show which is the longest<br />
runn<strong>in</strong>g non-fiction programme on any <strong>Bengali</strong> channel.
Kahaani and Bhooter Bhobishyot: Two Reviews<br />
Mousumi Biswas Dasgupta<br />
A Durga Comes to Kolkata to Slay the Asura: Kahaani and Fem<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>e Power<br />
All over the world, film <strong>in</strong>dustries churn out revenge sagas because of the mass appeal of this genre,<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce the general psychology of human be<strong>in</strong>gs is to mete out justice to the wronged and punishment<br />
to the wrongdoer. The process is however lost somewhere between the chaotic rules and regulations<br />
and loopholes of power that exit <strong>in</strong> every society. The end result therefore is the <strong>in</strong>dividual attempt<br />
to avenge the wronged, becom<strong>in</strong>g a court of law <strong>in</strong> itself. Kahaani presents a similar story. It is a<br />
revenge tragedy: a wife murders the terrorist who killed her husband; but <strong>in</strong> spite of it all, she<br />
cannot br<strong>in</strong>g back to life her husband or her miscarried child. In a patriarchal society, a woman out<br />
to avenge her family either conv<strong>in</strong>ces other men to fight for her, thus pitt<strong>in</strong>g one patriarch aga<strong>in</strong>st<br />
the other; or comes back to the familiar place <strong>in</strong> an unfamiliar form, disguised <strong>in</strong> a new identity so<br />
that no one recognizes her.
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But Vidya Bagchi does not solicit male assistance, nor she goes <strong>in</strong> disguise. She just<br />
assumes a new name and returns to the city of Kolkata that she is well acqua<strong>in</strong>ted with, though not<br />
liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> it currently. From the m<strong>in</strong>ute she enters the police station, she formulates a series of<br />
mis<strong>in</strong>formations none of which are substantiated upon verification. Still, the police believe her, the<br />
spectators believe her because she cleverly manipulates certa<strong>in</strong> societal norms and perceptions.<br />
Instead of accumulat<strong>in</strong>g power to strike back at the right moment, (as we have seen <strong>in</strong> H<strong>in</strong>di films<br />
like Khoon Bhari Maang and Army), she assumes the most helpless state for a woman or at least<br />
what the society believes to be the most helpless state of a woman, a lone woman heavily pregnant<br />
look<strong>in</strong>g for her husband who has <strong>in</strong> all likelihood deserted her (most of the police men believe that).<br />
Therefore most of the people are sympathetic to her and even those who are not (Khan) at least do<br />
not disbelieve her. Vidya therefore wages an <strong>in</strong>tellectual war aga<strong>in</strong>st the patriarchal system.<br />
Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, the women <strong>in</strong> this film, Agnes D'Mello (played by Colleen Blanche) and Sapna<br />
(played by Pamela Bhuttoria) assist her <strong>in</strong>stead of oppos<strong>in</strong>g her, thus thwart<strong>in</strong>g the notion<br />
popularized by some films and soaps that women are unsympathetic to their own k<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
Kahaani moves at a fast pace offer<strong>in</strong>g many twists and turns. The spectator watch the<br />
pursuer becom<strong>in</strong>g the pursued not once but twice – first when Milan Damji consider<strong>in</strong>g himself the<br />
hunter comes to retrieve some files and f<strong>in</strong>ish a helpless pregnant prey but ends up becom<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
victim himself, and the next time when the IB and police realized that they had been used while<br />
they had assumed that they were smartly utiliz<strong>in</strong>g Mrs Bagchi. The fight between Vidya Bagchi<br />
(who is actually Mrs Arup Basu) and the hardened crim<strong>in</strong>al Damji would have seemed ludicrous <strong>in</strong><br />
the film had it not employed the shock technique. Damji fells Vidya with a kick on her abdomen<br />
and aims the gun to wipe out the last piece of liv<strong>in</strong>g evidence, but what happens next stupefies him.<br />
He sees the weak woman pull<strong>in</strong>g out a prosthetic abdomen and while he tries to figure out why she<br />
would fake a pregnancy, Vidya strikes the gun away from his hand, pulls out her hair p<strong>in</strong> and thrusts
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it first <strong>in</strong>to his left foot and then his neck, almost like Goddess Durga spear<strong>in</strong>g the Asura. The image<br />
of the hair p<strong>in</strong> recurs aga<strong>in</strong> and aga<strong>in</strong> throughout the film. Vidya gives it to Rana to unlock the door<br />
of the old NDC office and also Milan's deserted residence. She searches for it when Bob Biswas<br />
threatens to throw her <strong>in</strong> front of an approach<strong>in</strong>g metro tra<strong>in</strong> but realises that her hair was plaited<br />
that day. She keeps fiddl<strong>in</strong>g with it while hack<strong>in</strong>g Shridhar's computer for the second time. Like<br />
Vidya, the hair p<strong>in</strong> represents a th<strong>in</strong>g which appears <strong>in</strong>nocent and harmless but conta<strong>in</strong>s enormous<br />
potential. Damji bewildered by Vidya's attack asks her, “who are you?” but gets a “how does it<br />
matter?” and a couple of bullets <strong>in</strong> reply. In tak<strong>in</strong>g out her prosthetic abdomen, she symbolically<br />
recreates the violence that was once committed on her, almost crystalliz<strong>in</strong>g the moment to form a<br />
new k<strong>in</strong>d of div<strong>in</strong>ity.<br />
Towards the end of the film, Rana gives a packet with his name on it to Khan, conta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation about Bhaskaran. The packet was left to him by Vidya, who chose to write Satyaki on it<br />
though she had throughout the film called him Rana. When she heard his good name for the first<br />
time, she remarked that he was “Arjun's charioteer” and Rana actually accompanied her and drove<br />
her around most of the time <strong>in</strong> the film. In a way, therefore, Vidya is Arjun; or more properly<br />
Brihannala, an Arjun <strong>in</strong> disguise. If Arjun had disguised himself as Brihannala, Vidya disguises<br />
herself as a mother. In a reversal of roles, <strong>in</strong> Kahaani, the men have to bow down before Vidya. The<br />
police (Rana, because of his guilt consciousness), the IB (Khan pleads with her to access Shridhar's<br />
computer) and even the terrorist (Milan Damji) accept defeat before the movie ends. However,<br />
Vidya's supreme adversary <strong>in</strong> this film is not Milan Damji, but Bob Biswas (a chill<strong>in</strong>g performance<br />
has been given by Saswata Chatterjee). And while Milan is killed by Vidya, Bob dies <strong>in</strong> an accident<br />
before Vidya can punish her.<br />
Kahaani is a movie about a strong woman. The police force is shown as rather conta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
and restra<strong>in</strong>ed. Their limited power is exposed more than once <strong>in</strong> the film. When Khan comes to
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meet Vidya the first time, he rudely orders everyone out of their own P.S.; aga<strong>in</strong> when Rana goes to<br />
NDC to make some enquiries regard<strong>in</strong>g Agnes D'mello's death, he is rem<strong>in</strong>ded by Khan that he<br />
cannot do so without prior permission of the IB. Most of the force of Kali Ghat police station work<br />
under the fear of be<strong>in</strong>g transferred to the traffic section! The most pathetic picture however would<br />
be the one where Rana the Assistant Sub-Inspector hides from Bob Biswas the serial killer <strong>in</strong> the<br />
old NDC build<strong>in</strong>g, almost like a thief, fear<strong>in</strong>g discovery. But if Kahaani did not have a twist <strong>in</strong> its<br />
plot, the facts would turn scary. If Vidya was <strong>in</strong>deed a pregnant lady search<strong>in</strong>g for her miss<strong>in</strong>g<br />
husband, then her plight would be unimag<strong>in</strong>able. As a citizen she does not get any help or assistance<br />
from the police and is <strong>in</strong>stead sacrificed to tie up their loose ends. When Rana, enraged at Khan's<br />
<strong>in</strong>tention to let Vidya be the bait for Damji asks him what the difference is between the police and<br />
the terrorist, Khan replies, “Noth<strong>in</strong>g. We work for the law and they, aga<strong>in</strong>st it.” The rest is collateral<br />
damage.<br />
Some m<strong>in</strong>or weak po<strong>in</strong>ts however rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> the story. The IB needs Vidya to reopen the<br />
case. It should however not come to mean that she solvea it herself. She should only have provided<br />
the much required excuse to officially go after Damji, but is allowed to become the medium herself.<br />
Vidya assisted by Rana sneak <strong>in</strong>to Milan's abandoned residence and by question<strong>in</strong>g the errand boy<br />
of the nearby tea-stall, trace “the man with the briefcase”, Shridhar. One keeps wonder<strong>in</strong>g why it<br />
had not occurred to the IB earlier. Khan requests Vidya to hack Shridhar's computer as without her<br />
help they would not be able to proceed. It simply implies that both the IB and police (Vidya helps<br />
Rana with the computer at Kali Ghat P.S.) are partially computer literate and electronically<br />
challenged, who don't have hackers <strong>in</strong> their system and have no <strong>in</strong>tentions of hir<strong>in</strong>g some either. We<br />
just hope they cont<strong>in</strong>ue to get assistance from the compla<strong>in</strong>ants. The <strong>in</strong>competency of the police is<br />
brought out glar<strong>in</strong>gly when Inspector Chatterjee forgets to get Vidya's signature <strong>in</strong> the F.I.R.<br />
registrar even after her numerous visits to the P.S.; one then has to presume that Vidya's case was
183|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
the last to be recorded <strong>in</strong> their register because had it been opened aga<strong>in</strong>, Chatterjee would surely<br />
have noticed the miss<strong>in</strong>g signature.<br />
Inspite of these weak po<strong>in</strong>ts (which are relatively fewer given the weak narrative logic <strong>in</strong><br />
most Bollywood blockbusters), this film stands apart as excellent enterta<strong>in</strong>ment. Vidya Balan<br />
<strong>always</strong> had a special connection with <strong>Bengali</strong> films, and she does absolute justice to the<br />
expectations of the Bengal audience. She not only just symbolises Ma Durga (Like Ma Durga she<br />
came to Kolkata for a few days, slayed the Asura, provided justice to millions who suffered at the<br />
hands of evil, and then she went back to her place), but through her character, a certa<strong>in</strong> spirit of<br />
Kolkata has been foregrounded. Vidya Bagchi walk<strong>in</strong>g along the roads and lanes of Kolkata will be<br />
a memorable image for the viewers for a long time to come.<br />
Kahaani. Dir. Sujoy Ghosh. Perf. Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Saswata Chaterjee,<br />
Nawazudd<strong>in</strong> Siddiqui. Boundscript Motion Pictures. 2012.
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Bhooter Bhobishyot: The Past Stages a Revolution<br />
Anandabazar Patrika <strong>in</strong> a report published on 1 st June 2012 (“Chhutir Shujog: Nirjib Shohor”)<br />
ruefully states that <strong>Bengali</strong>s are too much under the grip of bandh and Bhooter Bhobishyot as the<br />
previous day (31 st May) they all celebrated the bandh and watched Bhuter Bhobishyot at home<br />
(orig<strong>in</strong>al DVDs of this recently released film were launched <strong>in</strong> the market a couple of days back).<br />
There may be certa<strong>in</strong> obvious reasons why Anandabazar may dislike this film, let us consider them.<br />
The film takes an <strong>in</strong>direct pot shot at Anandabazar when we hear of a certa<strong>in</strong> (imag<strong>in</strong>ary of course)<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustrialist O.K Dhar, (when sounded <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong>, this name means literally “grab him”,<br />
metaphorically, “make a deal with him” or “f<strong>in</strong>d favours with him”) who was awarded Shera<br />
Bangali (the best <strong>Bengali</strong>), a signature award from Anandabazar group that is offered annually to<br />
the <strong>Bengali</strong>s worldwide who please Anandabazar. The story of O.K Dhar <strong>in</strong> the film is not exactly<br />
an exalted one. His daughter committed suicide because he did not allow her to be with her gym<br />
<strong>in</strong>structor who is a Christian – Dhar made his daughter home-<strong>in</strong>tern and vanished her lover.
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Then the episode <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g Sandeep Bhutoria, a Marwari promoter is deeply communal at<br />
heart, another reason of unease for Anandabazar who do not want to differentiate between <strong>Bengali</strong>s<br />
and non-<strong>Bengali</strong>s <strong>in</strong> an open market. This film not only attacks vote-centric politics, but it attacks<br />
consumerism as well. Ghosts are <strong>in</strong> a sorry state – we are told a number of times <strong>in</strong> this film –<br />
because they are not voters or consumers. Neither the political parties not the forces of capitalism<br />
bother for them. The film is anti-liberal and anti-openmarket. One very pert<strong>in</strong>ent concern may be<br />
this: if <strong>Bengali</strong>s take <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> their history, if <strong>Bengali</strong>s read their history, then who will read<br />
Anandabazar?<br />
Marked by an overwhelm<strong>in</strong>g presence of Satyajit Ray, this film offers <strong>in</strong>nuendos to Ray's<br />
Feluda classics. Sandeep Ray's Feluda (Sabyasachi Chakraborty) and Topshe (Parambrata<br />
Chatterjee) constitute the narrator-listener duo whose conversations facilitate the entire storytell<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Sandeep Ray's Jatayu (Bibhu Bhattacharya) is the caretaker of the haunted mansion<br />
(Chowdhury Palace) who first <strong>in</strong>troduces us to the house and its haunted history. Then, talk<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
rhymes <strong>in</strong> certa<strong>in</strong> parts of the movie is a take on Ray's Hirak Rajar Deshe. The budd<strong>in</strong>g director<br />
Ayan Sengupta receiv<strong>in</strong>g lots of money (left by Bhutoria <strong>in</strong> panic after he was scared to hell by the<br />
ghosts of Chowhury Palace) and gold co<strong>in</strong>s of the Raj from the ghost leader Biplob Dasgupta (a<br />
directly casteist angle may be found here, aga<strong>in</strong> to the discomfiture of Aandabazar; a dead Dasgupta<br />
is help<strong>in</strong>g out a liv<strong>in</strong>g Sengupta, and let us confess here, that is <strong>in</strong> tune with the general <strong>Bengali</strong><br />
impression of the Boddi/Baidya caste) resemble Goopi and Bagha receiv<strong>in</strong>g boons from the K<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Ghosts. And who can deny that Satyajit Ray was closer to the pulse of popular c<strong>in</strong>ema than popular<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema itself <strong>in</strong> his Goopi-Bagha and Feluda films?<br />
In a blend of fantasy and reality, the oppressed and helplessly tortured ghosts reclaim their<br />
world, <strong>in</strong> the manner of the wretched of the earth claim<strong>in</strong>g its revolutionary victory, or the Biblical<br />
hope of the poor <strong>in</strong>herit<strong>in</strong>g the heaven. Towards the end of the movie, this victory of the ghosts is
186|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
compared by the narrator (Sabyasachi Chakraborty) to the mak<strong>in</strong>g of a history, the way a revolution<br />
makes history. This is the victory of the unnoticed and downtrodden who are neither consumers nor<br />
voters. An archetypical <strong>Bengali</strong> sentiment, that pre-dates the communist take-over of Bengal, that<br />
was present <strong>in</strong> our revolutionary freedom struggle, further back <strong>in</strong> Chaitanya and still further back<br />
<strong>in</strong> our Buddhist past, is thus stated at the end of this movie: that the disempowered will f<strong>in</strong>d their<br />
voice and claim their world. This immediately strikes a cord with the audience.<br />
The open<strong>in</strong>g song and the clos<strong>in</strong>g song of the film have the same refra<strong>in</strong>: malls are com<strong>in</strong>g<br />
up, promoters are fast chang<strong>in</strong>g the face of our city, heritage is be<strong>in</strong>g steadily lost <strong>in</strong> an atmosphere<br />
of neo-liberalism, and ghosts (who symbolise a Bengal<strong>in</strong>ess that <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly becomes marg<strong>in</strong>al and<br />
is on its way to be ousted) face the threat of be<strong>in</strong>g refugees. Contemporary political discourses are<br />
ridiculed: Era Ora (These and Them), Shushil Shomaj (Civil Society), Mounomichhil (Silent<br />
Procession) are terms frequently heard <strong>in</strong> Bengal <strong>in</strong> last 5-6 years s<strong>in</strong>ce the days of Nandigram and<br />
S<strong>in</strong>gur, and these terms are shown to be conceptually apathetic to the question of preserv<strong>in</strong>g our<br />
history. The script of Ayan Sengupta titled “Badly Bangali” is a satire on Anjan Dutta's Madly<br />
Bangali. Aga<strong>in</strong> there is a h<strong>in</strong>t that <strong>Bengali</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema is clueless, plotless, and is churn<strong>in</strong>g out clichés<br />
which do not address the crisis of a people with a vanish<strong>in</strong>g past and a doomed future.<br />
This film is made as a protest aga<strong>in</strong>st the systematic uproot<strong>in</strong>g of the ghosts, the open<strong>in</strong>g<br />
song tells us (so does the clos<strong>in</strong>g song). A formal <strong>in</strong>troduction that is self-consciously c<strong>in</strong>ematic (a<br />
practice that orig<strong>in</strong>ated <strong>in</strong> ancient Indian theatre: before a play started the audience was <strong>in</strong>troduced<br />
to its story by a Sutradhar) announces beforehand that this film is made as a protest aga<strong>in</strong>st the<br />
current socio-economic order that fosters rootlessness among the bengalis and robs them of their<br />
history. Not exactly <strong>in</strong> these terms, but the audience <strong>in</strong>terprets the symbolism of the ghosts easily.<br />
The masterm<strong>in</strong>d of the ghostly revolution is Biplobda, a Naxalite professor who was<br />
murdered by the police <strong>in</strong> the 70s. His very name stands for revolution. The revolution turns out to
187|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
be bloodless but very effective. Here is a silent revolt aga<strong>in</strong>st the unfeel<strong>in</strong>g and callous treatment<br />
meted out to the ghosts by the promoter who has been out to destroy Chowdhury Palace. It stands<br />
for the demolition of the past by the liv<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
There is a melange of ghosts <strong>in</strong> this haunted mansion called Chowdhury Palace: there is a<br />
Bangal (and a Ghoti, the owner of the palace zam<strong>in</strong>dar Darpanarayan himself), a Khan, a Bihari and<br />
an Englishman. Death is not a leveller, as the ghosts carry their pasts <strong>in</strong>to their future. Zam<strong>in</strong>dar<br />
DarpaNarayan does not want to allow Atma Ram to the upper storey of the palace because he is low<br />
born. After his death Atma Ram keeps pull<strong>in</strong>g rickshaw, Khan is still a cook, the Major is given the<br />
charge of security, and Pablo is still a s<strong>in</strong>ger. They are a microcosm of a society <strong>Bengali</strong>s are<br />
familiar with. There is an immediate reaction when the villa<strong>in</strong> Bhutoria (brilliantly played by Mir)<br />
enters the frame and tries to demolish this house.<br />
Witty dialogues and play of words (united we stand, divided we misunderstand) mark the<br />
script of this film. There are hilarious and bawdy puns at times (photo is mispronounced as phooto<br />
which means hole <strong>in</strong> <strong>Bengali</strong>; Promode, a name is uttered like pnod, which means arse).<br />
When it comes to scare the liv<strong>in</strong>g people, it is <strong>always</strong> the ghosts of the women who step <strong>in</strong>,<br />
as we can see <strong>in</strong> this movie. Kadali scares a film actress who has come to Chowdhury Palace for<br />
shoot<strong>in</strong>g, while Bhutoria's murdered wife volunteers to scare Bhutoria. Perhaps there is someth<strong>in</strong>g<br />
ghostly and scary about women that erupts even <strong>in</strong> a hilarious movie like Bhooter Bhobishyot.<br />
Bhhoter Bhobishyot is a spoof and cont<strong>in</strong>ually refers back to the subject of the mundane<br />
world it parodies. “Bhr<strong>in</strong>gigram” is one such reference, “Badly Bangali” is another. It refers back to<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ema as well by call<strong>in</strong>g itself a potboiler with all the elements of a hit film: it has got crime,<br />
passion, thrill, songs and dances (with an item number as well). It refers to these subjects <strong>in</strong> a<br />
postmodern way: this film simulates these subjects (belong<strong>in</strong>g to liv<strong>in</strong>g men and women) and yet<br />
stands outside their world <strong>in</strong> a gesture of deferral. Ghosts are neither voters nor consumers and
188|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
therefore stand outside the established discourses of politics and economy, the categories of left and<br />
right, the systems of capitalism and socialism.<br />
Ghosts are the real proletariat, the absolute dispossessed who are powerless to participate <strong>in</strong><br />
the ways of the world; it is the world of shopp<strong>in</strong>g malls and political opportunism; it is the world of<br />
moneyed <strong>in</strong>terests which are out to destroy our culture and identity; it is the world that is<br />
systematically eras<strong>in</strong>g our history. The past of the <strong>Bengali</strong>s is the real marg<strong>in</strong> that needs<br />
representation; the past is what demands a revolution <strong>in</strong> our present world and worldl<strong>in</strong>ess.<br />
Bhooter Bhobishyot. Dir. Anik Dutta. Perf. Parambrata Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakraborty,<br />
Saswata Chatterjee. Satya Films and Mojo Productions. 2012.<br />
Mousumi Biswas Dasgupta holds a first class masters <strong>in</strong> English from Jadavpur University (2005)<br />
and was awarded both NET-Lectureship and SLET even before she completed her masters. She is<br />
an Asstistant Professor <strong>in</strong> the Dept of English of Sri Aurob<strong>in</strong>do College, University of Delhi. Her<br />
ma<strong>in</strong> research <strong>in</strong>terest lies <strong>in</strong> Dalit fem<strong>in</strong>ism and the history of the oppressed castes of Bengal,<br />
while she also specialises <strong>in</strong> Victorian literature. She is one of the assistant editors of Journal of<br />
<strong>Bengali</strong> Studies.
Creative Workshop: Theory <strong>in</strong> Practice<br />
Script Adaptation of a Poem<br />
Debanjan Das<br />
C<strong>in</strong>ema and poetry have been buddies for a long time, though the <strong>in</strong>itial relation of c<strong>in</strong>ema was with<br />
fiction. Gradually poetry made its dent <strong>in</strong>to c<strong>in</strong>ema. Generally, <strong>in</strong> various discussions, poetry's loans<br />
from c<strong>in</strong>ema are mentioned – montage, parallel cut, jump cut etc., but films took a lot from poetry<br />
too. Particularly dur<strong>in</strong>g the 60s, there were attempts to oust narrativity from c<strong>in</strong>ema that <strong>in</strong> turn took<br />
to the play of subjectivity of poetry. That is why film and poetry are repeatedly compared <strong>in</strong> the<br />
c<strong>in</strong>ematic works of Bunuel and Godard. Now the question is, s<strong>in</strong>ce the primary unit of film is scene,<br />
its free <strong>in</strong>direct subjectivity is capable anyway to establish a communication, but as sound is the<br />
unit of poetry, does it erect a steep wall of subjectivity <strong>in</strong> front of us?<br />
S<strong>in</strong>ce poetry dissociated myths from words and went on to advance with sounds, it moved<br />
away from simple communication and moved towards a complex and subjective expression. That<br />
process <strong>in</strong>volves its own problems which film has been able to avoid by virtue of visuals and<br />
polyphony. But the dependence on image <strong>in</strong> c<strong>in</strong>ema presents the most challeng<strong>in</strong>g problematics for<br />
any poetry-to-film adaptation.<br />
I have prepared a screenplay from a poem. Let us see for ourselves what the advantages and<br />
disadvantages are.
190|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Morn<strong>in</strong>g, you called me … when it was<br />
The Poem:<br />
Sun-stuck city<br />
Wait<strong>in</strong>g rays on the river stairs coloured the shoes<br />
F<strong>in</strong>e tape moth and bits of sun on the sleep-bound street<br />
The sky is the nick-name of the lemon woods<br />
Straight chimney's peak spread<strong>in</strong>g its limbs<br />
The way some bosom some rhythm some march past<br />
a lake on my ch<strong>in</strong>s and a palm full of Chilka<br />
R<strong>in</strong>g road talks with the traffic gate<br />
shoe polish is over<br />
I bailed myself to the r<strong>in</strong>g road<br />
Sunny purse and navel<br />
Exactly two morn<strong>in</strong>gs have had a tremor<br />
One is apple another's orange<br />
Morn<strong>in</strong>g’s slow arrangements are on skirts ,<strong>in</strong> tiff<strong>in</strong> box and with<strong>in</strong> steps of hair<br />
body wash<strong>in</strong>g greet<strong>in</strong>gs had sounds of munch<strong>in</strong>g the sun<br />
The bus came<br />
I got up from the mattress of this social system<br />
Now horn sounds of request and cannon shots of huge prote<strong>in</strong>s<br />
I walked and you were startled<br />
But isn't this how man will talk to science?<br />
(This poem is taken from Swapan Ray's collection of poetry, Kuasha Cab<strong>in</strong>, 1995).
191|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
The Script:<br />
Scene 1<br />
Shot1<br />
Wide angle/long<br />
shot/steadycam<br />
Shot 2<br />
High angle/long shot<br />
Shot 3<br />
mid shot<br />
Shot 4<br />
mid shot<br />
Outdoor. Dawn.<br />
A man's <strong>in</strong>dist<strong>in</strong>ct silhouette<br />
wear<strong>in</strong>g w<strong>in</strong>ter dresses is<br />
walk<strong>in</strong>g along the shadowy<br />
orchards on a riverside.<br />
Steadycam is follow<strong>in</strong>g that<br />
silhouette.<br />
light effect resembl<strong>in</strong>g a tube<br />
light flicker<strong>in</strong>g at low voltage<br />
The sun rises.<br />
Aga<strong>in</strong> flicker<strong>in</strong>g light effect.<br />
Orange colour of sunrise on the<br />
river water<br />
A young man wear<strong>in</strong>g pull-over<br />
is sitt<strong>in</strong>g by the riverside. We<br />
see his back. The orange colour<br />
of sunrise on the river water<br />
deepens. A stream of orange<br />
colour follow<strong>in</strong>g the reflection<br />
of the sun rapidly moves<br />
towards the young man.<br />
Tankari of Bhairavi is play<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong> fast rhythm<br />
Slowly the Bhairavi Tankari<br />
fades out.<br />
The sound of flow<strong>in</strong>g river<br />
fades <strong>in</strong>.<br />
Fast rhythmic fade <strong>in</strong> of<br />
Bhairavi
192|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Shot 5<br />
close shot<br />
The effect of colour spill<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
a pallet is made on the screen<br />
where the ma<strong>in</strong> colour is<br />
Shot 6<br />
mid shot<br />
orange.<br />
The young man is seen from the<br />
front. The scarf on his neck and<br />
long hair are gently sway<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
the w<strong>in</strong>d. The orange colour<br />
rapidly proceeds to almost<br />
Shot 7<br />
close shot<br />
sweep away the boy.<br />
Aga<strong>in</strong> the effect of colour<br />
spill<strong>in</strong>g on a pallet is made on<br />
Shot 8<br />
high angle/long shot<br />
Shot 9<br />
high angle/long shot<br />
Shot 10<br />
high angle/long shot<br />
the screen where the ma<strong>in</strong><br />
colour is orange.<br />
There are bunches of orange<br />
clouds on the sky. The clouds<br />
are overlapp<strong>in</strong>g with each other<br />
rapidly. Orange hue on the sky.<br />
The shadowy factory chimney<br />
is stand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the backdrop of<br />
an orange sky, and there is a<br />
hazy l<strong>in</strong>e of smoke.<br />
The same orange sky but <strong>in</strong><br />
place of the hazy chimney there<br />
is a tree spread<strong>in</strong>g its brunches.<br />
The siren of a factory at a<br />
distance overlaps with Bhairavi<br />
Bhairavi fades out<br />
Jamm<strong>in</strong>g of guitar is heard.<br />
Gradually the pace of jamm<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>in</strong>creases.
193|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Scene 2<br />
Outdoor. Dawn.<br />
Shot 11<br />
steadycam/ mid shot<br />
The light and shadow of the<br />
morn<strong>in</strong>g and a rocky road<br />
Shot 12<br />
eye level/mid long shot<br />
Shot 13<br />
eye level/mid long shot<br />
where the camera descends fast.<br />
Camera crosses a turn and<br />
suddenly stops.<br />
An orange orchard. Bunches of<br />
ripe oranges on the trees.<br />
The camera moves up and<br />
down like fast breath<strong>in</strong>g after a<br />
run, the scene also moves up<br />
and down.<br />
Sudden stop of jamm<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
guitar.<br />
Scene 3<br />
Shot 14<br />
steadycam/eye level/mid-long<br />
shot<br />
Outdoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
A young woman comes runn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
along the empty road of a<br />
mounta<strong>in</strong>ous village. She stops.<br />
She breathes fast. Drops of<br />
sweat on face. Stoop<strong>in</strong>g a little,<br />
she looks down.<br />
A boy's hand approaches and<br />
holds her ch<strong>in</strong>. The girl looks<br />
up. Sweat from her ch<strong>in</strong> comes<br />
dripp<strong>in</strong>g on to the palm of the<br />
boy.<br />
Guitar's jamm<strong>in</strong>g beg<strong>in</strong>s at a<br />
fast pace.
194|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Shot 15<br />
close up<br />
A close of multiple water drops<br />
on face of the boy from the first<br />
scene. The water drops roll and<br />
Shot 16<br />
low-angle/mid shot<br />
mix with each other.<br />
The boy, stoop<strong>in</strong>g, dr<strong>in</strong>ks water<br />
from a roadside water tap.<br />
(after this, scenes come one<br />
after another <strong>in</strong> rapid<br />
succession)<br />
Scene 4<br />
Shot 17<br />
mid-long shot<br />
Shot 18<br />
mid shot<br />
Shot 19<br />
mid shot/axis break<br />
Outdoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Workers walk towards factory<br />
gate.<br />
That young man also walks. His<br />
pull-over has the rhythm of<br />
walk and w<strong>in</strong>d. Long hairs are<br />
swayed <strong>in</strong> light w<strong>in</strong>d. Cigarette<br />
on his lips emit mild smoke.<br />
A middle aged man by the side<br />
of the young man chuckles “hey<br />
ya brat, you couldn't help<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g today!”<br />
Jamm<strong>in</strong>g of guitar fades out.<br />
Bells of bicycles,, horns of<br />
scooters, chatter<strong>in</strong>g of workers<br />
fade <strong>in</strong>.
195|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Scene 5<br />
Indoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Shot 20<br />
mid shot<br />
A newly married girl <strong>in</strong><br />
unkempt sari stands beh<strong>in</strong>d the<br />
doors. The young man is ty<strong>in</strong>g<br />
shoelace sitt<strong>in</strong>g on a stool. The<br />
newly married girl says: “leave<br />
it today. You don't have to go.”<br />
The young man stands up after<br />
Shot 21<br />
mid shot<br />
ty<strong>in</strong>g shoelaces.<br />
The young man looks smil<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
at the girl. Night is still seen all<br />
over her sari and her face. The<br />
young man bends his head and<br />
enters the room. The girl keeps<br />
Darbari Kanada fades <strong>in</strong><br />
stand<strong>in</strong>g at the door. Cross<strong>in</strong>g<br />
the bit of a garden, sunlight is<br />
on the doors of the employee<br />
quarter. Half of her body<br />
receives sunsh<strong>in</strong>e. The w<strong>in</strong>d<br />
makes the locks of her hair<br />
tremble.<br />
Scene 6<br />
Outdoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g.
196|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Shot 22<br />
close shot<br />
That middle-aged man and the<br />
young man are hav<strong>in</strong>g tea at a<br />
shanty tea-stall by roadside.<br />
Middle-aged: Why do you have<br />
tea before enter<strong>in</strong>g the factory<br />
every morn<strong>in</strong>g?<br />
Young man: I crave, that's<br />
why...<br />
middle-aged: And why do you<br />
crave tea?<br />
Young man: everybody back<br />
home used to have it, a<br />
childhood habit...<br />
middle-aged: hmmm,, don't you<br />
th<strong>in</strong>k that tea is for your<br />
arrang<strong>in</strong>g of the words <strong>in</strong> the<br />
factory?<br />
The rest of this conversation,<br />
that is, the middle-aged man<br />
say<strong>in</strong>g “like, the bicycles are<br />
com<strong>in</strong>g along the r<strong>in</strong>g road. will<br />
pass the traffic gate and take a<br />
turn to the factory. Will halt a<br />
little at the time of cross<strong>in</strong>g the<br />
gate. Will look to and fro. And<br />
<strong>in</strong> the meantime as if the<br />
bicycle will speak with the<br />
road.” These words pass as<br />
voice-over. With voice-over,<br />
there is a mild play<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
Darbari Kanada <strong>in</strong> the<br />
background.
197|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Shot 23<br />
steadycam/long shot<br />
Wipe <strong>in</strong>.<br />
The young man rides downhill<br />
on a bicycle. He wears the<br />
w<strong>in</strong>ter dress of the first scene.<br />
The scarf on his neck is slightly<br />
float<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the w<strong>in</strong>d. After a<br />
turn, an orange orchard is seen<br />
by the road. Bunches of ripe<br />
Shot 24<br />
steadycam/low angle/long shot<br />
Shot 25<br />
steadycam/mid long shot<br />
oranges on the branches.<br />
Bunches of orange clouds on<br />
the morn<strong>in</strong>g sky as well.<br />
When the bicycle moves<br />
forward a little, a girl from the<br />
hills is seen pick<strong>in</strong>g oranges<br />
from a heap and keep<strong>in</strong>g them<br />
Shot 26<br />
close shot<br />
<strong>in</strong> a basket.<br />
That flicker<strong>in</strong>g tube-light effect<br />
is seen aga<strong>in</strong>.<br />
Scene 7<br />
Shot 27<br />
mid shot<br />
Shot 28<br />
mid shot<br />
Outdoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The middle-aged man and the<br />
young man are sitt<strong>in</strong>g on a tree<br />
trunk that lies by the wayside.<br />
Both are laugh<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The young man walks towards<br />
a water tap by the roadside.<br />
A trembl<strong>in</strong>g sound of the<br />
factory siren is heard.
198|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Scene 8<br />
Outdoor. Morn<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Shot 29<br />
mid long shot<br />
Shot 30<br />
close shot<br />
Shot 31<br />
close shot<br />
A mounta<strong>in</strong>ous spr<strong>in</strong>g flows.<br />
That girl from the orange<br />
orchard <strong>in</strong>serts tiff<strong>in</strong> box <strong>in</strong>to<br />
schoolbag <strong>in</strong> front of a house.<br />
Takes the bag on shoulder,<br />
tidies up scarf and skirt.<br />
Goes out on a bicycle.<br />
The sound of mounta<strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
fades <strong>in</strong>.<br />
The sound of the spr<strong>in</strong>g ceases.<br />
Scene 9<br />
The same place, time and characters as seventh scene.<br />
Shot 32<br />
high angle/close shot<br />
Shot 33<br />
low angle/close shot<br />
Shot 34<br />
low angle/close up<br />
The young man goes to the tap<br />
to dr<strong>in</strong>k water.<br />
The young man is dr<strong>in</strong>k<strong>in</strong>g<br />
water from the tap.<br />
The water drops on the face of<br />
the young man m<strong>in</strong>gle with<br />
each other and enlarge<br />
Sound of that mounta<strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
That fast rhythm of guitar<br />
jamm<strong>in</strong>g from Shot 14 fades <strong>in</strong>.<br />
Scene 10<br />
Shot 35<br />
high angle/close shot<br />
Indoor. Late afternoon.<br />
Locks of wet hair come<br />
splash<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Jamm<strong>in</strong>g of guitar fades out.
199|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Shot 36<br />
high angle/mid shot<br />
Shot 37<br />
high angle/mid shot<br />
Shot 38<br />
close shot<br />
That newly married young<br />
woman wear<strong>in</strong>g a sari is wip<strong>in</strong>g<br />
her hair dry with a towel.<br />
Orange coloured glimmer<strong>in</strong>g of<br />
the dusk from skylight is there<br />
on her body.<br />
She walks from the front of the<br />
bathroom to her room. Closes<br />
the doors. The rays from<br />
skylight are seen and sound of<br />
bangles is heard<br />
simultaneously.<br />
Over the young man's shoulder,<br />
he is seen stirr<strong>in</strong>g sugar <strong>in</strong> tea<br />
cup with his head slightly<br />
lowered. The twilight on the<br />
closed doors rema<strong>in</strong>s the same.<br />
The young man comes with<br />
teacup.<br />
The young man goes walk<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
the room with teacup. Light<br />
comes from an yellow bulb<br />
<strong>in</strong>side the room. The young<br />
woman is not there. Nobody is<br />
there.<br />
Sound of bangles fades <strong>in</strong>.<br />
The sound of bangles is<br />
overlapped by sound of stirr<strong>in</strong>g<br />
sugar <strong>in</strong> teacup.
200|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Scene 11<br />
Outdoor same as Shot 25. Morn<strong>in</strong>g<br />
Shot 39<br />
mid long shot<br />
Shot 40<br />
close shot<br />
Shot 41<br />
close shot<br />
Shot 42<br />
close shot<br />
The girl from the hills is<br />
pick<strong>in</strong>g out oranges from the<br />
heap and keep<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>in</strong>side<br />
the basket. The young man<br />
stealthily comes close to the girl<br />
from beh<strong>in</strong>d.<br />
The young man has come to<br />
stand beh<strong>in</strong>d the girl.<br />
The girl startles and looks<br />
turn<strong>in</strong>g her neck.<br />
The girl gets up smil<strong>in</strong>gly<br />
before the boy. The young man<br />
is smil<strong>in</strong>g too.<br />
Sound of mounta<strong>in</strong> spr<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
Scene 12<br />
Shot 43<br />
close shot<br />
Indoor. Night.<br />
Light from a read<strong>in</strong>g lamp<br />
illum<strong>in</strong>ates the room. Halfly<strong>in</strong>g<br />
on the bed, the young man<br />
munches an apple and talks<br />
over phone “Is it ra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g there<br />
at your end?”<br />
Sound of storm and ra<strong>in</strong> from<br />
outside.<br />
Note: The poem and the script are translated from the orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>Bengali</strong> by Tamal Dasgupta.
201|Journal of <strong>Bengali</strong> Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2<br />
Further Read<strong>in</strong>g<br />
1. “Otichetonar Katha: A Collection of Essays on Geopoetics” by Bar<strong>in</strong> Ghoshal / Kaurab<br />
Prakashani / Jamshedpur/ 1996.<br />
2. “Kabitar Adhikar : A Collection of <strong>Bengali</strong> Poetics on Natun Kabita” by Bar<strong>in</strong> Ghoshal /<br />
Natun Kabita / Kolkata / 2009.<br />
3. “Novel to Film : An Introduction to the Theory of Adaptation” by Brian McFarlane.<br />
4. “Modernity and the Logic of the Remnant <strong>in</strong> Film Narration” by Mo<strong>in</strong>ak Biswas /<br />
Thoughts / Kolkata Book Fair / 2002.<br />
5. “The C<strong>in</strong>ema of Poetry” by Pier Paolo Pasol<strong>in</strong>i. Web.<br />
. Accessed 1 Aug<br />
2012.<br />
6. “Kuasha Cab<strong>in</strong> : A Book of <strong>Bengali</strong> Poems” by Swapan Roy / Kabita Campus / Kolkata /<br />
1995.<br />
Debanjan Das completed M.A. <strong>in</strong> Film Studies (2003) from Jadavpur University, Kolkata . He<br />
worked as a film critic and columnist <strong>in</strong> Kalantar, a <strong>Bengali</strong> daily newspaper from Kolkata (2001-<br />
2004). He worked as an Assistant Director <strong>in</strong> Zee Bangla television channel <strong>in</strong> 2004. He has been<br />
the editor of a <strong>Bengali</strong> Little Magaz<strong>in</strong>e, BOIKHORI BHASHYA s<strong>in</strong>ce 2001. He worked as a<br />
researcher <strong>in</strong> documentary film projects and directed a documentary on Nadia, a district of West<br />
Bengal <strong>in</strong> 2008. He is the writer of a book of <strong>Bengali</strong> poems, Chena Unframe published by Boikhori<br />
Bhashya, from Kolkata <strong>in</strong> 2009.
Read us, reach us, post your comments and f<strong>in</strong>d<br />
the Call for Papers at<br />
http://bengalistudies.blogspot.<strong>in</strong>/<br />
Contact us at<br />
journalofbengalistudies@gmail.com,<br />
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