Rajkumari (film)

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Rajkumari
Rajkumari (1970) film poster.jpeg
Theatrical poster
Directed bySalil Sen
Screenplay bySalil Sen
Story bySalil Sen
Produced byDebesh Ghosh
Ranjana Ghosh
Starring Uttam Kumar
Tanuja
Chhaya Devi
Pahari Sanyal
Bhanu Banerjee
Jahar Roy
CinematographyKrishna Chakraborty
Edited byBaidyanath Chatterjee
Music by R. D. Burman
Production
company
Loknath Chitramandir
Distributed byShree Bishnu Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Release date
  • 2 October 1970 (1970-10-02)
CountryIndia
Language Bengali

Rajkumari (Bengali pronunciation: [rad͡ʒkumari] transl.Princess) is a 1970 Indian Bengali-language masala film written and directed by Salil Sen. Produced by Debesh Ghosh and Ranjana Ghosh under the banner of Loknath Chitramandir, the film stars Uttam Kumar and Tanuja in lead roles, [1] while Chhaya Devi, Pahari Sanyal, Bhanu Banerjee, Jahar Roy, Dipti Roy and Tarun Kumar play another supporting roles, with Helen in a guest appearance. The film plots a princess Manju, confined to the rules under his mother's supervision, falling in love with an insurance agent Nirmal, while things get unexpected when Nirmal meets with an accident and loses his eyesight, on the wedding day.

Contents

Written by Sen himself, the film is partially inspired by American film Roman Holiday (1953). [2] It marks the second collaboration between Sen and Kumar, and also is the third film of Kumar and Tanuja as the lead pair. [3] Predominantly shot in Kolkata, while portions of the filming took places in Mumbai. Music of the film is composed by R. D. Burman in his debut in Bengali cinema, [4] with lyrics penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder. Krishna Chakraborty handled its cinematography, and Baidyanath Chatterjee edited the film.

Rajkumari was theatrically released on 2 October 1970, coinciding with Durga Puja. After the release, it received negative critical reviews and a tepid commercial response, but favourable word-of-mouth publicity helped it to become a box office success. Each songs of the film were chartbuster upon its release, which were later reused by Burman himself in his Hindi albums. [5]

Cast

Music

Rajkumari
Soundtrack album to Rajkumariby
Released1970
Genre Feature Film Soundtrack
Length20:12
Language Bengali
Label Saregama
Producer R. D. Burman
R. D. Burman chronology
Raaton Ka Raja
(1970)
Rajkumari
(1970)
Kati Patang
(1971)
External audio
Nuvola apps arts.svg Rajkumari Audio Jukebox on YouTube

Music of the film is composed by R. D. Burman in his debut in Bengali cinema, [8] as well as first collaboration with Kumar. [9] The soundtrack consists six tracks penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder. [10] [11]

The tune of each song was later reused by Burman himself in his Hindi films, [8] such as "Gun Gun Gun Kunje Amar" into "Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai" in Kati Patang (1971), "E Ki Holo" into "Yeh Kya Hua" in Amar Prem (1972), "Ki Je Bhabi" into "Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani" in Jawani Diwani (1972), "Ki Bolite Ele" into "Dekho Yeh Mere Bandhe Haath" in Bandhe Haath (1973), "Bondho Ghorer Andhakare" into "Aapke Kamre Mein Koi" in Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), all of these regarded as chartbusters. [12]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Ki Bolite Ele" Kishore Kumar 3:10
2."Gun Gun Gun Kunje Amar" Asha Bhosle 3:09
3."Bondho Dwarer Andhakare"Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle4:31
4."Koto Naari Achhe E Gokule" Tanuja, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle2:37
5."Ki Je Bhabi Elomelo"Asha Bhosle3:22
6."E Ki Holo"Kishore Kumar3:23
Total length:20:12

References

  1. "কাজলের মা তনুজাকে জড়িয়ে উত্তমকুমার কেন বলেছিলেন, 'তুমি আমার বুকে থাকবে...'". TV9 Bangla (in Bengali). 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  2. "Rajkumari (1970)". Dustedoff. 4 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  3. "'I live in the present': Tanuja". The Hindu . 7 April 2016. ISSN   0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025. "I shared good vibes with both Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee", says Tanuja.
  4. "RAJKUMARI R D BURMAN BENGALI FILM N 77167 RARE 78 RPM RECORD 10" INDIA EX". eBay. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  5. "Bilingual E-archive Digital Platform for Bengal's Cinema". Bengal Film Archive. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  6. Sengupta, Somen (8 October 2023). "Kishore Kumar Sings For Uttam Kumar – A Short lived Golden Saga". The Statesman . Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025. Surprisingly when these songs were lipped by Uttam in Bengali a section of critics shown displeasure accusing Kishore a misfit in the voice of Uttam Kumar.
  7. "Tanuja Birthday: 5 Bengali Films Of The Actress Every Fan Should Watch | 🎥 LatestLY". LatestLY. 23 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025. With Uttam Kumar again, Tanuja makes a spectacular splash as an introverted girl at first and a woman who gets a chance at freedom thanks to her lover. There's heartbreak and loss and Tanuja makes them all seem relatable.
  8. 1 2 Ray Chaudhuri, Shantanu; Vittal, Balaji (4 January 2019). "25 Fun Facts And Trivia On R. D. Burman". Film Companion . Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025. Though he had firm north-eastern and Bengali roots, there was more than a ten-year gap between Pancham's first Bengali film album and his second. Rajkumari released in 1970 and Troyee in 1982.
  9. "He who brought back romance". The Telegraph . 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025. It also had a lot to do with a certain Shakti Samanta under whose directorial baton came everyone from Shammi Kapoor to Mithun Chakraborty, Uttam Kumar to Prosenjit Chatterjee.
  10. Banerjee, Subhadeep (27 June 2025). "বাংলা ছবিতে আর ডি বর্মণের হাতেখড়ি উত্তম কুমারের হাত ধরেই". TheWall (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  11. সংবাদদাতা, নিজস্ব. "Uttam Kumar: অনলাইনে দুই 'কুমার'! ১২ দিন ধরে রোজ রাতে উত্তম-কিশোর". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  12. Ghosh, Tanushree (27 June 2024). "R. D. Burman Birthday: Remembering Pancham and his seven Bengali 'puja' songs which became Hindi superhits". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.