Rajkumari | |
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![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Salil Sen |
Screenplay by | Salil Sen |
Story by | Salil Sen |
Produced by | Debesh Ghosh Ranjana Ghosh |
Starring | Uttam Kumar Tanuja Chhaya Devi Pahari Sanyal Bhanu Banerjee Jahar Roy |
Cinematography | Krishna Chakraborty |
Edited by | Baidyanath Chatterjee |
Music by | R. D. Burman |
Production company | Loknath Chitramandir |
Distributed by | Shree Bishnu Pictures Pvt. Ltd. |
Release date |
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Country | India |
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.
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]
Rajkumari | |||||
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Soundtrack album to Rajkumariby | |||||
Released | 1970 | ||||
Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack | ||||
Length | 20:12 | ||||
Language | Bengali | ||||
Label | Saregama | ||||
Producer | R. D. Burman | ||||
R. D. Burman chronology | |||||
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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]
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
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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 Bhosle | 4:31 |
4. | "Koto Naari Achhe E Gokule" | Tanuja, Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle | 2:37 |
5. | "Ki Je Bhabi Elomelo" | Asha Bhosle | 3:22 |
6. | "E Ki Holo" | Kishore Kumar | 3:23 |
Total length: | 20:12 |
"I shared good vibes with both Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee", says Tanuja.
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.
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.
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.
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.