Bandini(translation:Imprisoned) is a1963Hindidrama film directed and produced byBimal Roy.It starsNutan,Ashok KumarandDharmendra.The film tells the story of a woman prisoner serving life imprisonment for murder, Kalyani, the all suffering, selfless, sacrificing and strong, yet weak Indian woman. She must make a choice between two very different men, Devendra (Dharmendra), the loving prison doctor, and Bikash (Ashok Kumar), a man from her past.[1]
| Bandini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Bimal Roy |
| Written by | Nabendu Ghosh(screenplay) Paul Mahendra(dialogue) |
| Based on | Tamasi byCharu Chandra Chakraborty |
| Produced by | Bimal Roy |
| Starring | Nutan Ashok Kumar Dharmendra |
| Cinematography | Kamal Bose |
| Edited by | Madhu Prabhavalkar |
| Music by | Sachin Dev Burman |
Release date |
|
Running time | 157 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
The film is based on the Bengali novelTamasiby Jarasandha (Charu Chandra Chakrabarti), a former jail superintendent who spent much of his career as a jailor inNorthern Bengal,and wrote many fictional versions of his experiences.
Bandini was the tenthhighest grosser of the yearand was declared a 'Semi Hit' byBox Office India.[2]It received critical acclaim and swept that year'sFilmfare Awards,winning six awards in all, including the top awards of Best Film and Best Director, as well as Best Actress, and is still considered a landmark movie of the 1960s, especially being the last feature film of the director Bimal Roy.[3][4]
Plot
editThe film is set in a prison in around 1934 in pre-Independence India,[5]where Kalyani is serving life imprisonment prison for committing a murder, and we learn the circumstances of her crime in a series offlashbacksas she divulges it to the jailor. The film is set inBengalin the 1930s, during theBritish Raj,where Kalyani is the daughter of the postmaster of the village, who falls in love with a freedom fighter, Bikash, who later leaves her in the village promising to come back but never does. Society treats them harshly. Broken by her father's misery and that of her own, Kalyani moves to the city, while the song "O Jaanewale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana" plays. In the city, she works as a caretaker of an obnoxious and mentally unstable woman, who turns out to be the wife of Bikash. Kalyani learns that her father came to the city looking for her and died in an accident. This prompts her to poison her lover's wife, identifying her as the cause of her miseries in a moment of insane rage.
Back from the flashback in the jail, Deven, the jail doctor falls in love with her. Kalyani is not ready for it and starts to stay away from him. They are always shown with a partition in between after Deven proposes her. Another symbolism used in the movie is the occasional shouting of "All is well" by the prison guard when nothing in the movie is; and just as Kalyani is leaving prison for good, she receives yet another ironic message from a jail official, "Ab ghar grihasthi ki jail mein qaid rahogi!" (Now you will be imprisoned in the jail of household!) In the end, she finds Bikash at a ship harbour where she finds him in an ill condition. She then decides to take care of Bikash and her love is again reborn.
Cast
edit- Ashok Kumaras Bikash Ghosh
- Nutan Behlas Kalyani
- Dharmendraas Devendra (Prison Doctor)
- Raja Paranjpe as Kalyani's Father
- Tarun Boseas Mahesh Chandra
- Asit Senas Shambu
- Chandrima Bhaduri – Jail warden
- Moni Chatterjee – Inspector
- Kanu Roy as Dr. Verma, Manorama Nursing Home
- Sulochana Latkar
- Hiralalas Superintendent
- Iftekhar
- Bela Bose
- Satyendra Kapoor
- Sulochana Chatterjeeas Devendra's mother
- Raj Verma
Production
edit- Writing
The screenplay of the film was written byNabendu Ghosh,who had previously done theBimal RoyfilmsDevdas(1955) andSujata(1959). It was based on the storyTamasibyJarasandha,pen name of Charu Chandra Chakraborty, a former jail superintendent who wrote many stories based on his career as a jailor in Northern Bengal, including many fictional versions of his experiences,Louha-Kapat(1953),Tamasha(1958) andNyaydanda(1961), effective creating a new genre inBengali literatureof prison stories.[3][5][6]
The principal photography of the film took place at Mohan Studios in Mumbai, with some parts inNaini Central Jail,Yerwada Central JailandBhagalpurCentral Jail, and the climax scene on the banks of theGanga RiveratSahibganj,in present Jharkhand.[7]
Music
edit| Bandini | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack albumby | ||||
| Released | 1963 (India) | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Label | EMI Records | |||
| Producer | S. D. Burman | |||
| S. D. Burmanchronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack includes the following tracks, composed byS. D. Burman,with lyrics byShailendra.[8]The film also marks the debut ofGulzar,who was working as an assistant director on the film as a film lyricist, initially having refused Bimal Roy on the offering, saying that he didn't want to become a lyricist, Gulzar relented only after the film's music directorS.D. Burmanconvinced him so, and he wrote the song "Mora Gora Ang Lai Le", sung by Lata, in five days. The rest of lyrics are byShailendra,who gave classics like the haunting "Mere Sajan Hain Us Paar" in the bardic voice of S.D. Burman himself, Mukesh's sad song "O Jaanewale Ho Sake", where Burman usesBhatiyaliwith a variation.[9][6]
The songs depict the situation, like a prisoner singing an ode to an imprisoned bird, "O Panchhi Pyare", sung by Asha Bhosle and Asha Bhosle's "Ab ke Baras Bhej Bhaiya ko Babul" composed inRagaPilu,uses the folk idiom of a traditional song of a newly married girl longing for her maternal home, (maika), but being sung by a prison inmate of Kalyani, immediately conveys the irony in its placement.[10]
| Song | Singer |
|---|---|
| "Mora Gora Ang Lai Le" | Lata Mangeshkar |
| "Jogi Jabse Tu Aaya" | Lata Mangeshkar |
| "Ab Ke Baras Bhej" | Asha Bhosle |
| "O Panchhi Pyare" | Asha Bhosle |
| "O Janewale Ho Sake" | Mukesh |
| "Mat Ro Mata" | Manna Dey |
| "O Mere Majhi" | S. D. Burman |
Awards
editReferences
edit- ^Chatterjee, Saibal;Nihalani, Govind;Gulzar(2003).Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema.Popular Prakashan.p. 599.ISBN9788179910665.
- ^"Box Office 1963".Archived fromthe originalon 12 February 2010.Box Office India.
- ^abBhagwan Das Garg (1996).So many cinemas: the motion picture in India.Eminence Designs. p. 155.ISBN81-900602-1-X.
- ^"Landmark films of the 60s: Bandini".Rediff.Rediff. 26 November 2008.Retrieved4 October2023.
- ^abShoma A. Chatterji (3 March 2013)."Life behind bars".The Tribune.Retrieved28 April2013.
- ^abBandini ReviewUpperstall
- ^Film opening credits, 2:34.
- ^"Bandini 1963 songs".Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2010.
- ^Bandini (1963)The Hindu,1 October 2009.
- ^Ab Ke BarasHindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries,by Ashok Da. Ranade. Publisher:Bibliophile South Asia, 2006.ISBN81-85002-64-9.p. 371.
- ^Tad Bentley Hammer (1991).International film prizes: an encyclopedia.Garland. p.223.ISBN0-8240-7099-2.
- ^"11th National Film Awards".International Film Festival of India.Archived fromthe originalon 2 May 2017.Retrieved13 September2011.
Further reading
edit- Dinesh Raheja(28 February 2002)."Bandini: A woman's passion".Rediff.
- Rinki Roy Bhattacharya(2009).Bimal Roy: The Man who spoke in pictures.Penguin UK.ISBN978-8184758184.