The story behind Bengali director Tapan Sinha’s Hindi films

Even before making his first Hindi film, Tapan cast Hindi film leads Ashok Kumar and Vyjayanthimala in his Bengali film. Hayti BazariDilip Kumar and Saira Bano Sagina Mahato. This was long before Mrinal Sen started casting Hindi film actors in the Hindi films he made in the late 70s and 80s. Apart from two minor but important roles, Waheeda Rehman played the role of Gulabi in Gulabi. abidjan ” (“Expedition”, 1962) and Simi as Doo Ri Aranye Din RatriRay never cast Hindi stars in Bengali films.

However, Sharmila Tagore remained a part of the Ray crew ever since she made her debut in Ray. Apur Sansar. By casting stars from Bombay in Bengali films, Tapan actually broadened the horizons of Bengali films in particular and regional films in general. This tradition was continued by Rituparno Ghosh, whose Bengali films also featured some of the biggest stars in Hindi cinema.

Tapan’s first aesthetically fulfilling Hindi adventure was Aadmi Aur Aurat This work was created by him for Doordarshan, an autonomous public broadcaster set up by the Indian government and the only television channel in the country at the time. The film, which focuses on the journey of a pregnant woman and the young man who transports her to the hospital to give birth, was tense and accurate.

Since this was a television movie, Tapan was free to work without being constrained by commercial aspects. Therefore, there was no need to think about box office prospects. I decided to take advantage of this situation and make movies the way I wanted to, and decided to break away from the movies I had made up until now. For example, you’ll notice the economy of shots in this movie. Many times I wanted to try this, but never had the courage to keep the audience in mind… The most rewarding experience of making a different kind of film was Satyajit Ray. It received warm reviews from the audience, from everyone to the general public. ”

The film was highly praised by critics. Tapan said: Aadmi Aur Aurat, Satyajit Babu wrote to me and said that according to him, this is not only my best film, but one of the best films of all time in India. He took the initiative to write to BBC Channel 4 about the film and they reciprocated with an offer to screen it on Doordarshan…The film won the 32nd National Film Award for National Integration in 1985. It won the feature film award. ”

Despite the praise, Tapan was self-critical and always had doubts about his own work. “There are several aspects to a movie. After watching Aadmi Aur Aurat, I felt it would have been better without the background score. There was already a lot of sound and natural music. For example, the mountain cow had a small bell attached to its neck, and when it walked around, it made a gentle ringing sound. That chime alone might have been a great sound effect. Similarly, the flow of river water created a different and wonderful acoustic effect. Later I felt that maybe the story wasn’t told in the right way or maybe it was a problem with the cinematography (not the cinematographer’s fault). The mistake was my own, as I was particular about the type of lenses and filters I used, as well as the editing pattern of the film. ”

Mahua Roychowdhury gave a brilliant performance in this film as did Amol Palekar. Palekar’s role remains a distinct aberration in his diverse body of work.

He mentioned a small incident that showed Tapan’s perfectionist attitude. “When we shot the last scene of the movie, I didn’t even cry. I was so tired and emotionally drained.” So there were three or four retakes. Tapanda was okay with the last one, but I wasn’t satisfied. The next morning we were scheduled to shoot a scene in a different location with a crowd. As I was getting ready, Tapanda suddenly announced a retake of last night’s shot. I was surprised. He just said, “Amol, don’t think, don’t argue, don’t argue.” Try it. When the camera rolled, I managed to cry without using glycerin. He clapped for me and hugged me. His eyes were moist when he said, “How could I displease my hero?” ”

tapan remake Aadmi Aur Aurat into the manush (Human), the Bengali version will be submitted to the film category the following year.He cast various actors as central characters. manush.

There is no debate about Ek doctor ki maut Tapan’s best Hindi feature film.Based on the book by Ramapada Chaudhuri Abhimanyu, Tapan had earlier started work on a Bengali film of the same name, starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhavi Mukhopadhyay. The producer withdrew from the project, so it could not be completed. Chaudhry’s story is based on a physician-scientist modeled after the real-life Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay, whose pioneering research produced India’s first test-tube baby.

Dr. Mukhopadhyay committed suicide because national politics prevented him from sharing his discoveries and research with the international community. The news shocked the educated middle class, and newspapers of the time dug into it as well.never ending suffering Abhimanyu (Tapan’s only incomplete film) In the end, Ek doctor ki maut.

The fate of a dedicated and successful man who was marginalized because he refused to lead the battle line appealed to Tapan. “Despite the success of the test-tube baby research, the doctor did not receive the recognition it deserved and committed suicide. We did not want to show this tragic event. Instead, science I showed that the doctors migrated because I don’t think anyone will die. The work of all the scientists remains. What I wanted to say is that there is so much politics in Indian academia; This means that doctors have had to migrate. This migration is nothing but a brain drain and India is being deprived of the best talent. Over the past few decades, too many talented students have been They left West Bengal and moved to other states in India. Brain drain to foreign countries is not the only reality; similar things are happening between different states of India.”

Excerpted with permission Tapan Sinha movie theatersAmitava Nag, Om Books International.