Palanka (film)

Last updated

Palanka
Directed by Rajen Tarafdar
Written byNarendranath Mitra
Starring Utpal Dutt
Sandhya Roy
Anwar Hossain
CinematographySailaja Chatterjee
Music by Sudhin Dasgupta
Distributed byAnis Films (Bangladesh); D. S. Pictures (India)
Release date
  • 7 November 1975 (1975-11-07)
Running time
128 minutes
Countries India, Bangladesh
Language Bengali

Palanka (English: The Bedstead) is a 1975 Bengali drama film directed by Rajen Tarafdar based on a short story of Narendranath Mitra. [1] It was an India-Bangladesh joint production under the banner of Film Art, with Utpal Dutt and Anwar Hossain in the lead roles. [2] At the 23rd National Film Awards, India, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. [3] [4]

Contents

Synopsis

The film is set in the period immediately following the Partition of India. Rajmohan (Utpal Dutt), a Hindu aristocrat, decides to stay on in East Bengal, which is now part of Pakistan, rather than migrate to India with his family members. His companion in the village is Maqbool (Anwar Hossain), a poor Muslim. Rajmohan's family faces financial hardship in Calcutta. His daughter-in-law writes to him to sell a bed and send her the money. The bed, a huge ornate four-poster bed, which is famous in the village for its size and the quality of its craftsmanship, had been part of her dowry. Rajmohan is annoyed by this, and on an impulse he decides to sell the bed to Maqbool, who makes space for it in his dilapidated hut. This leads to an uproar among the upper-class Muslims in the village, who accuse Maqbool of trying to go beyond his class. Rajmohan too regrets his impulsive decision and wants the bed back. To Maqbool however, the bed has come to be a symbol of his liberation from feudal bondage. He would rather go hungry than sell the bed back. The issue is finally resolved to the satisfaction of all.

Cast

Crew

Reception

The film did not enjoy commercial success, but was critically well received at the time, winning one National Award and two BFJA Awards. According to one researcher, the film has now "faded into oblivion". [5]

Awards and honours

Preservation

An almost complete copy of the movie is available in web.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geeta Dutt</span> Indian actress and singer

Geeta Dutt was an Indian classical and playback singer. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema and is considered as one of the best playback singers of all time in Hindi films. She also sang many modern Bengali songs in the non-film genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aparna Sen</span> Indian filmmaker, script writer and actress

Aparna Sen is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmfare Awards East and thirteen Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. For her contribution in the field of arts, the Government of India honoured her with Padma Shri, the country's fourth highest civilian award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suchitra Sen</span> Indian actress (1931–2014)

Suchitra Sen (Bengali pronunciation:[ʃuːtʃiːraːʃeːn] ; born Roma Dasgupta, widely known as the Mahanayika, was an Indian actress who worked in Bengali and Hindi cinema. The movies in which she was paired opposite Uttam Kumar became classics in the history of Bengali cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utpal Dutt</span> Indian actor, director, playwright (1929–1993)

Utpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the "Little Theatre Group" in 1949. This group enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period now known as the "Epic theatre" period, before it immersed itself completely in highly political and radical theatre. His plays became an apt vehicle for the expression of his Marxist ideologies, visible in socio-political plays such as Kallol (1965), Manusher Adhikar, Louha Manob (1964), Tiner Toloar and Maha-Bidroha. He also acted in over 100 Bengali and Hindi films in a career spanning 40 years, and remains most known for his roles in films such as Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome (1969), Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk (1991), Gautam Ghose’s Padma Nadir Majhi (1992) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's breezy Hindi comedies such as Gol Maal (1979) and Rang Birangi (1983). He also did the role of a sculptor, Sir Digindra Narayan, in the episode Seemant Heera of Byomkesh Bakshi on Doordarshan in 1993, shortly before his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goutam Ghose</span> Indian actor, director and screenwriter

Goutam Ghose is an Indian film director, actor, music director and cinematographer who works primarily in Bengali cinema. He is the only Indian to have received the "Vittorio Di Sica" Award, Italy, in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian People's Theatre Association</span> Indian theatre company organization

Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) is the oldest association of theatre-artists in India. IPTA was formed in 1943 during the British rule in India, and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle. Its goal was to bring cultural awakening among the people of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarun Majumdar</span> Indian film director (1931–2022)

Tarun Majumdar was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandalok Award. In 1990, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award. He is recognized as one of the greatest influential filmmakers of India. His few movies were restored and digitized by the National Film Archive of India, along with his Contemporaries Arabinda Mukhopadhyay, Goutam Ghose. He is Legendary filmmaker for Ganadevata in 1978, Nimantran in 1971,Palatak in 1963.

Saptapadi is a 1961 Indian Bengali-language Epic romantic drama film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Chhabi Biswas and Chhaya Debi. Music direction and playback singing for Kumar voice was by Hemanta Mukherjee and in Sen's voice by Sandhya Mukherjee. The story is based on a 1958 same name novel by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. This is regarded as one of the greatest romantic film in the history of Bengali cinema. The film become highest grossing Bengali film in 1961. It was featured retrospectively at the 45th IFFI in the "homage section" of Indian panorama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandhya Roy</span> Indian actress and politician

Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She is the recipient of BFJA Award for three times, and one Filmfare Awards East best actress for Ganadevata.

Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism and film industry.

Anil Chatterjee was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-nineties and is mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted or performed in about 150 movies, including a few in Hindi.

<i>Padma Nadir Majhi</i> 1993 film by Goutam Ghose

Padma Nadir Majhi is an Indo-Bangladesh joint production feature drama film directed by Goutom Ghosh from the novel of the same name, Manik Bandopadhyay's Padma Nadir Majhi, shows life of fishermen of the Padma River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudhin Dasgupta</span> Musical artist

Sudhin Dasgupta was a prolific Bengali music director, lyricist, and singer. He worked in various other Indian languages, such as Hindi, Assamese and Oriya. His contribution opened a new horizon to the Bengali music for both the arenas of Bengali basic song as well as Bengali film song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajen Tarafdar</span> Indian actor and film director

Rajen Tarafdar was an Indian film director, actor, and screenwriter. He was the recipient of two National Awards and two BFJA Awards.

Pijush Ganguly was a noted Bengali film, television and theater actor. In 2005 he received the Bengal Film Journalists' Association Award for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in Mahulbanir Sereng.

Nabyendu Chatterjee was an Indian Bengali and Hindi film director and producer. A director of twelve feature films and three documentaries, Nabyendu has curved out a sure niche for him in the field of serious and useful cinema of India.

Subir Sen was an Indian playback singer who sang modern songs in Bengali and Hindi. He was also one of the artists of Rabindra Sangeet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satya Bandhyopadhyay</span> Indian actor (1933–2006)

Satya Bandhyopadhyay was an Indian actor, known for his work in Bengali cinema. He acted in over 300 Plays, in numerous plays and performed frequently on the theatre.

References

  1. "Palanka (1975)". Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  2. "PALANKA (1975)". BFI. Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  3. 1 2 "23rd National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. 1 2 "23rd National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals . Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  5. Partitioned Lives: Narratives of Home, Displacement, and Resettlement. Pearson Education India. 2008. p. 68. ISBN   9789332506206 . Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  6. "Fribourg Film Festival has focus on Bengal". Bulletin on Film. Vol. XLIV, no. 4. RRTD, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. April 2000. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2017.