Sujata is a 1959 Hindi language Bimal Roy film. It stars Nutan and Sunil Dutt in lead roles, supported by Shashikala, Lalita Pawar, Sulochana Latkar and Tarun Bose. Based on a Bengali short story of the same name by writer Subodh Ghosh,[1] the film explored the situation of caste in India.[2] The music is by S. D. Burman and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri.[3] It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.[4]
| Sujata | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Bimal Roy |
| Written by | Nabendu Ghosh (screenplay) Subodh Ghosh (story) Paul Mahendra (dialogue) |
| Produced by | Bimal Roy |
| Starring | Nutan Sunil Dutt Shashikala |
| Cinematography | Kamal Bose |
| Edited by | Amit Bose |
| Music by | S. D. Burman |
Release date |
|
Running time | 145 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Plot
editSujata is a romance between a Brahmin young man, Adheer and an untouchable woman, Sujata. It's also a story of the intense emotional conflict a mother faces in fully accepting an adopted daughter. The film has Mahatma Gandhi's fight against untouchability and the myth of Chandalika in Hinduism as its subtexts, based on which it tries to criticize the practice of untouchability in India.
Brahmin couple, Upen and Charu bring up an orphaned child and name her Sujata. Although Upen is fond of the adopted child, his wife Charu and Aunt (Adheer's mother) can never fully embrace Sujata because she was born in an untouchable's family. They keep hinting to Sujata at times that she doesn't belong amongst Brahmins. Adheer falls in love with Sujata but Charu and Aunt want Adheer to marry Charu's real daughter Rama. Sujata also admires Adheer but finding her reality of being untouchable by birth feels uncomfortable. One day, Upen's wife falls down the stairs and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors tell the family that to save Charu, they need the rare group of blood. Only Sujata's blood matches and she willingly donates blood. When Charu become aware that her life was saved by Sujata, she realizes her mistake and accepts her as her daughter. Sujata and Adheer are then married happily by everyone's consent.
Cast
edit- Nutan as Sujata
- Sunil Dutt as Adhir
- Shashikala as Rama Chowdhury
- Lalita Pawar as Giribala
- Tarun Bose as Upendranath Chowdhury
- Sulochana Latkar as Charumati Chowdhury
- Asit Sen as Pandit Bhavani Shankar Sharma
- Cuckoo Moray as Rama's friend singing the song "Tum Jeeoo Hazaaron Saal"
Awards
edit- Golden Palm - Cannes Film Festival - Nominated
- Filmfare Best Movie Award - Bimal Roy - Won
- Filmfare Best Director Award - Bimal Roy - Won
- Filmfare Best Actress Award - Nutan - Won
- Filmfare Best Story Award - Subodh Ghosh - Won
- National Film Awards (1959) All India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Film[5]
Soundtrack
edit| Song | Singer |
|---|---|
| "Suno Mere Bandhu Re" | S. D. Burman |
| "Jalte Hain Jiske Liye" | Talat Mahmood |
| "Kali Ghata Chhaye" | Asha Bhosle |
| "Tum Jeeo Hazaaron Saal" | Asha Bhosle |
| "Bachpan Ke Din Bhi Kya Din The, Udte Phirte Titli Banke" | Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt |
| "Nanhi Kali Sone Chali" | Geeta Dutt |
| "Wah Bhai Wah" | Mohammed Rafi |
References
edit- ^ Gulzar; Govind Nihalani; Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 337. ISBN 81-7991-066-0.
- ^ "Bollywood Rewind | Sujata: When Bimal Roy took on caste discrimination and disguised it with a love story". 9 October 2021.
- ^ "Asha Bhosle dedicates 'Sujata' song to her didi Lata Mangeshkar : The Tribune India".
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Sujata". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- ^ "7th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 4 September 2011.