Ajoy Kar's Bardidi amazed the viewers.

Ajoy Kar’s Bardidi amazed the viewers.

Ajoy Kar used to be considered the Genius of Camerawork. He had used his imagination and innovation in crime-thrillers like Jighansha, social dramas like Shyamali, eternal romantic stories like Saptapadi.

Bardidi was the classic literature of Sarat Chandra Chatterji, one of the most respected writers of the country. Uttam Kumar was the model of Ajoy Kar and perhaps his range of acting was best used by the legendary director. In Bardidi, Uttam Kumar was the son of Pahari Sanyal, an eminent lawyer and zamindar of Pabna district in Bengal.

Uttam Kumar did MA and was told by his friends that he should stand on his own feet. He left his parent’s house and looked for a job. He got a job of tutor of girl in Chabi Biswas’s house. Chabi Biswas’s daughter Sandharani was widow, who lost her husband came back to paternal house and fulfilled the responsibilities there. Everyone called her as bardidi, meaning the elder sister.

Uttam Kumar got engrossed in studies hardly cared about the little girl’s tution. But Sandharani gave Uttam Kumar food three times a day and also provided him a separate room to continue his own studies. After 4 months, Sandharani came to know about Uttam Kumar’s act of hardly teaching anything to the girl and told his to leave the house.

Uttam Kumar left the house and met with an accident and got hospitalized. Sandharani came to see him in the hospital. Chabi Biswas contacted his father Pahari Sanyal and took him back to Pabna. After 5 years both Chabi Biswas and Pahari Sanyal died. Uttam Kumar married Dipti Roy and left the task of managing the zamindari to his clerk played by Dhiraj Bhattacharya.

Sandharani’s elder brother got married and his wife never like Sandharani’s control over the joint family. She returned back to her deceased husband’s house. But due to non-payment of rent to the zamindar the land was auctioned and sold.

Uttam Kumar came to know about it and called up bardidi (Sandharani) while she was returning back to her paternal house. Uttam Kumar drove on horseback to let Sandharani know about the fact that the land had been returned back. Uttam Kumar was very ill and died on the spot. Sarat Chandra Chatterji’s portrayal of village life in Bengal and the odds faced by young widow in the 30s and 40s had well depicted by Ajoy Kar. Uttam Kumar, Chabi Biswas and Sandharani were brilliant in their respective roles. The film did excellent business. It should be revived to show the excellence of classic films of the 50s.

Ajoy Kar took risk of making Shyamali with Uttam Kumar.

Ajoy Kar took risk of making Shyamali with Uttam Kumar.

Ajoy Kar, the classic director of 50s and 60s experimented with classic literature of Ashapurna Debi in the film Shyamali. The literature was read by entire Bengali community of the country.

The same story of Shyamali was played in Star Theatre in Kolkata for 4 years in the mid-50s. In the play Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji played the lead roles while Sarajubala Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Ajoy Kar picturised Shyamali with the team of Uttam Kumar and Kaberi Bose. And Malina Debi played the role of the mother of Uttam Kumar. Previously it had been seen that any play which was successful with the audience did not do well when picturised in film. Shyamali was an exception.

In the film Ahindra Choudhury had two daughters, Kaberi Bose being the elder one. Kaberi Bose was deaf and dumb. Her younger sister was proposed to be married to Uttam Kumar, but due to fulfillment of wishes of Kaberi Bose, the priest chanted mantras related to marriage with Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar accepted Kaberi Bose as wife while his friend married the younger sister Bijoli. But Uttam Kumar’s mother Malina Debi did not accept Kaberi Bose as her daughter-in-law. Uttam Kumar did not have any other option but to leave Kaberi Bose in her mother’s house.

Uttam Kumar and Malina Debi went for pilgrimage to Hrishikesh, Badrinath, Kedarnath and brought Anubha Gupta who lost her parents and served Uttam Kumar when he became extremely sick whiling to travelling to those places. Malina Debi wanted to marry Uttam Kumar with Anubha Gupta.

But Uttam Kumar tried to convince her that his wife Kaberi Bose was still alive. When Uttam Kumar heard that Kaberi Bose’s mother Aparna Debi died and she slept with the photo of Uttam Kumar, he went to her house and brought her back. Uttam Kumar finally convinced Malina Debi that although Kaberi Bose could not speak, she could react to human actions, had a human mind full of feelings. She required her blessings to start a journey in the new family.

The film became super hit due to sheer brilliance of Ajoy Kar. Uttam Kumar, Kaberi Bose, Malina Debi, Anubha Gupta were all sublime in their respective roles. Kalipada Sen composed music for the film. The film should be restored to remind the viewers about a successful play being remade into film which featured the same level of excellence as depicted in the play.

Chabi Biswas is remembered on his birth anniversary.

Chabi Biswas is remembered on his birth anniversary.

The viewers of Indian cinema remembered Chabi Biswas, the towering actor on his birth anniversary on 12th July, 2009. The legend had been considered the greatest actor ever to grace Indian celluloid by Oscar Winning director Satyajit Ray. Had he not met with a fatal accident in 1962 and died, Ray could have experimented much more with the dignified actor.

Firstly Chabi Biswas was the pivot around whom the entire Bengali film industry revolved. Tapan Sinha relied on the majestic actor in playing the role of Kabuliwala in Tagore’s classic Kabuliwala. Ajoy Kar asked Chabi Biswas to present his dignity in the film Saptapadi where he played the role of the father of Uttam Kumar who could not accept his change of religion from being Hindu to Christian. At the end of the film Chabi Biswas acknowledged the greatness of Suchitra Sen who loved Uttam Kumar, yet sacrificed her affair as she gave word to Chabi Biswas about not meeting him in her entire life.

Chabi Biswas was equally majestic in Ajoy Kar’s classic Suno Boro Nari. His character of Udashin had the right combination of dignity, aristocracy and discipline. He was barrister of reputation who did not allow his daughter Supriya Choudhury to marry Uttam Kumar who was assumed to be a poor homeopathy doctor. But he was left speechless when the actual identity of Uttam Kumar was revealed as a renouned Professor of Literature.

Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar tested the range of performance of Chabi Biswas and delivered blood and flesh in the character of Biswambar Roy who was a feudal lord of West Bengal. In fact Chabi Biswas was an unparallel figure in the roles of zamindars during colonial regime. His performance in Karthik Chatterji’s Saheb Bibi Ghulam, Rajen Tarafdar’s Antarikha was equally brilliant, where critics argued that Chabi Biswas even did more than the expectation of the directors in portraying the aristocracy of the zamindars.

Chabi Biswas had acted in more than 250 films during a span of 25 years and articles after articles can be devoted on his different andaz that was displayed in celluloid. His performance in Shambhu Mitra’s film Manik could have brought him Oscar, had the film being send by India abroad. He played the role of a paralytic patient with such diction that the viewers and the directors thought the character from Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist had come out the pages of the book and appeared onscreen.

Raj Kapoor was astonished to see Chabi Biswas’s performance in his film Ekdin Ratre. The lips given by Chabi Biswas in Manna Dey’s song “ei duniyay bhai sabi hoi” compelled Raj Kapoor to agree that he was the greatest actor Raj Kapoor had seen in Indian films. He in fact regretted the absence of Chabi Biswas in bollywood films which could raised the standard of those films to another dimension.

Viewers still search Chabi Biswas in his unforgettable performances in films like Shashibabur Sangsar, Dada Thakur, Sabar Opore, Head Master, to name a few and never consider his death as a reality. His films should be preserved for the next generation to mark the level of excellence created by the greatest actor of Indian films ever.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar, one of the greatest superstars of Indian celluloid on his death anniversary on 24th July, 2009. He has died almost 29 years ago, yet the viewers had not forgotten his films and still his presence is felt in the life bengalies in different parts of the world.

Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray acknowledged the dynamic presence of the legendary superstar in Bengali films and made a film Nayak based on the story of Uttam Kumar. His original name was Arun Kumar Chatterji, who was a clerk in Port Commission before joining Bengali films.

When he joined films with Drishtidaan in 1948, he had to struggle to create his image as against he established heroes like Asit Boron, Bikash Roy and others. In 1952, his film Basu Paribar struck at the box-office and he overtook Bosonto Choudhury, Asit Boron and became the leading superstar of Bengali films. All the qualities of a romantic hero was possessed by him, including a standard height, good complexion, manly voice, romantic hairstyle and unique dialogue delivery. Any dress suited the legendary superstar including Punjabi, dhoti, coat, Bengali dresses, etc.

He had acted in the films of all the legendary directors of the golden age including Satyajit Ray’s Nayak, Chiriakhana, Tapan Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi, Upahaar and Jotugriha, Ajoy Kar’s Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Suno Bara Nari, etc., Agradoot’s Bipasha, Surjo Toron, etc., Agragami’s Sagarika, Shonkhobela, to name a few. Uttam Kumar acted opposite all the leading actresses of Bengali celluloid including Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Manju Dey, Sabitri Chatterji, Supriya Choudhury, Mala Sinha, and others. His combination with Suchitra Sen had given everlasting classics and both of them still remains the most romantic pair in Indian silver screen.

Uttam Kumar’s films were based on rich literature including Tagore’s Khokababur Protyaborton, Subodh Ghosh’s Suno Bara Nari, Samaresh Bose’s Kuhak, Sorodindu Bondhopadyay’s Chiriakhana, Shankar’s Chourangi. The films were related to different types of stories including comedy stories, tragic stories, soft romantic stories, etc.

Uttam Kumar had acted in around 205 films (including bollywood films like Amanush, Anand Ashram, Choti Si Mulakat, Dooriyan, Kitaab etc., ) in a span of 35 years, and all his films had remained everlasting treasures.

Even the singers who had sung for him including Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Hemanta Mukherjee, etc., agreed that they did not find any actor who was parallel to Uttam Kumar in giving lips in songs. He made the viewers feel that he only sang the songs.

Articles after articles can be devoted to Uttam Kumar who was one –man –industry in Bengali films. His films should be revisited to create motivation for making better quality films in future.

Chabi Biswas in Ajoy Kar's films.

Chabi Biswas in Ajoy Kar’s films.

Chabi Biswas, the greatest actor of Bengali cinema had shaped the destiny of renowned directors of the golden age including Satyajit Ray, Hritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha and others. Ajoy Kar learned photography from abroad and used the talents of the leading actors and actresses of celluloid with style.

Ajoy Kar had a great admiration for the legendary actor Chabi Biswas whose dignified appearance created a special dimension in silver screen. In Ajoy Kar’s epic film Saptapadi, Chabi Biswas played the role of the father of the central character Krishnendu Mukherjee that was played by Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar entered into an affair with Rina Brown, an Anglo Indian Christian character played by Suchitra Sen in the film.

Ajoy Kar displayed the social barriers that were led down in the marriage between two communities during the age of orthodox people. Chabi Biswas was an orthodox Brahmin and a devotee of Goddess Kali. He could not accept the transformation of Uttam Kumar from a Hindu to a Christian for marrying Suchitra Sen. He came to Suchitra Sen’s house and explained to her that if Uttam Kumar would have married her he would have been isolated from his family, his neighbours, the society, as a whole.

Suchitra Sen promised Chabi Biswas that she would leave Uttam Kumar and never meet him in her life. Uttam Kumar converted himself to Christian, became a doctor and never got a scope of marrying Suchitra Sen. At the end of the film when Suchitra Sen was injured due to bombing during second world war, Uttam Kumar while treating her, showed the letter written by Chabi Biswas where he realized that the way she sacrificed her life it was possible only from a noble soul and the criteria of good or bad lied in human soul, not religion, or caste, or creed, which were created by human being.

The astounding personality of Chabi Biswas converted the romantic film into a cine-classic which has been displayed a number of times in Film Institute in Pune, where Ajoy Kar trained young directors during the 70s, in the art of film making. It was one of the greatest blockbusters and remains one of the greatest Bengali films ever made by any director.

Whenever Chabi Biswas played any memorable character, the character was memorized by the audience for generations. It happened in Ajoy Kar’s film Suno Boro Nari.

Chabi Biswas played the role of an eminent barrister in the film with the name of Charu Babu of the firm titled “Udashin”. He was the father of Supriya Choudhury, and asked Uttam Kumar to reach her to Giridih where she was engaged with Dipak Mukherjee, a rich industrialist.

Supriya Choudhury communicated with Uttam Kumar during the train journey from Patna to Giridih, a number of times and entered into an affair with him. Due to that relationship the marriage got hauled up and Chabi Biswas wanted Uttam Kumar to leave Giridih. He wrote a letter and disclosed his identity of a Professor of Literature who had left Kolkata and settled in Giridih due to a past relationship which could not mature into marriage. Uttam Kumar boarded a train to leave Giridih when Supriya Choudhury entered the train after abandoning all her ties with her family. But the aristocracy of Chabi Biswas was reflected all along the film. The film was based on the literature of Subodh Ghosh and the classic literature was transformed into a classic film.

The unfortunate demise of Chabi Biswas in a road accident in 1962, ended the dream combination of Chabi Biswas with Ajoy Kar, and the viewers could not see him in classic films in the following period like Sat Pake Bandha, Dutta, etc. The films should be preserved and shown in the film and television institutes of the country.