Mala Sinha and Uttam Kumar complimented each other in Shaharer Itikatha.

Mala Sinha and Uttam Kumar complimented each other in Shaharer Itikatha.

Mala Sinha and Uttam Kumar complimented each other in the film Shaharer Itikatha. Director Bishu Dasupta directed the film. It was released in the year 1960.

In the film Jiben Bose was send abroad by Pahari Sanyal, the father of Mala Sinha. The marriage between Jiben Bose and Mala Sinha had been fixed from the beginning. Mala Sinha used to live in the village near Kolkata, with father Pahari Sanyal and mother Chaya Debi.

When Jiben Bose came back from England, Pahari Sanyal asked him about the marriage, his uncle Ajit Banerjee outwardly rejected the proposal. The reason was that Mala Sinha had hardly any education, so being a village girl she was unfit to marry Jiben Bose. Pahari Sanyal was the diwan of the zamindar Uttam Kumar. He reported the matter to Uttam Kumar.

Uttam Kumar brought Mala Sinha to his house in Kolkata. A trainer played by Kajri Guha was kept in the house to train Mala Sinha. She learned English, Dance, the lifestyle of the elite section of Kolkata. Uttam Kumar asked his friend Tarun Kumar to throw a party where Mala Sinha danced with Jiben Bose. Jiben Bose got attracted to Mala Sinha. But one day when he took her for a drive, he misbehaved, Mala Sinha slapped him and returned back to her village.

Uttam Kumar convinced Jiben Bose to marry Mala Sinha, but Mala Sinha refused to marry him. One day when Mala Sinha argued with Uttam Kumar, she discovered that he made a statue of Mala Sinha. So being convinced about Uttam Kumar’s attachment, she married him.

Composer Robin Chatterjee composed excellent music in the film, with impressive songs of Shyamal Mitra namely “koto faguner”, “ei shaharer itikatha” and impressive songs of Sandhya Mukherjee. The film did excellent business. The film should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury's Bengali and hindi version of songs.

Salil Choudhury’s Bengali and hindi version of songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of rare class of intellectual who embraced Bengali and films with his eternal treasure of music. His words and tunes matched one another in both the versions.In the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s he experimented with many songs made both for Bengali modern version and gave the same song with a different version in bollywood films.

His song “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosa” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya composed by Salil Choudhury in the film Pasher Bari who remade in hindi with the title “jhir jhir jhirjhir” sung by Lata Mangeshkar with equal brilliance. Dhananjoy Bhattacharya’s classical touch was balanced by Lata Mangeshkar with her own unique style.

Shyamal Mitra’s brilliant modern song “Jodi kichu amare sudhao” was remade with the title “dil tarpe tarpaye” sung by Rafi in the film Poonam Ki Raat. In Shyamal Mitra’s version Salil Choudhury used music for half part of the song, the rest was blank version. In Rafi’s version chorus was used at the back of Rafi’s solo. If Shyamal Mitra’s pitch was unparallel, Rafi’s romantic rendition with slight classical alaap was outstanding. It was Salil Choudhury’s sheer brilliance that he used the immortal singers in style.

Salil Choudhury’s song “ganga gangar tarange prano paddo bhasailam” sung by Sabita Choudhury in the film Ganga was remade in hindi by Manna Dey. The film Ganga was directed by Rajen Tarafdar and won many awards for its excellence. The rhythm of fishermen sailing in boats was synchronized by Salil Choudhury’s own orchestration. Salil Choudhury’s outstanding music was one of the reasons for the success of the film Ganga. The hindi version sung with the title “ganga” sung by Manna Dey. Manna Dey brought the folk flavor in style. The other song in film Ganga sung by Manna Dey titled “uthali pathali amar book” was remade in the hindi by Hemant Kumar with the title “ganga aye kahan se”. Manna Dey’s version had folk title “bhatiyali” embedded in it.

Salil Choudhury’s song “aye brishti jhepe” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee was remade in hindi titled “bhaiya re bhaiya” sung by Shusma Shresth and others. Salil Choudhury’s song “ei duniyay bhai” sung by Manna Dey and picturised on Bengali actor Chabi Biswas in the film Ekdin Ratre was remade in hindi with the title “humko samajh baithe” sung by Mukesh.

Salil Choudhury’s song “guru guru meghero mondrobahare” sung by Sabita Choudhury was remade as “o sanyasi” sung by Asha Bhosle and Yesudas. Shyamal Mitra’s song “ja jare ja ja pakhi” was remade in hindi by Mukesh with the title “door bahut abadi”. Sabita Choudhury’s song “jhilmil jhiler jole jhikimiki” sung by Sabita Choudhury was remade in hindi with the title “naam mera nimmo” sung by Lata, Manna Dey and Dwijen Mukherjee. The list can go on.

The greatness of Salil Choudhury lies in utilizing all the singing talents in Bengal and India as a whole. Singing talents in Bengal like Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Hemant Kumar, Shyamal Mitra, Sandhya Mukherjee, Sabita Choudhury were used as against the giants in Bollywood industry like Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Talat Mehmood, Yesu Das and others.

Satinath Mukherjee and classical songs.

Satinath Mukherjee and classical songs.

Satinath Mukherjee was one of the versatile classical singers who did not get dues during the golden age. The 50s and 60s were categorized with notable classical and semi-classical singers in the Bengal arena where Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Akhil Bandhu Ghosh and other giants galvanized the world of modern songs.

Satinath Mukherjee, the guru of notable singer Shyamal Mitra, had a huge partnership with lyricist Shyamal Gupta and presented his flora of classical ragas in Bengali modern songs. His songs “pashaner buke likhona amar naam”, “bono patho majhe”, “jibone Jodi deep”, etc. were milestones of Bengali modern songs.

He sang separate private songs involving “raag pradhan” which described the movement of separate ragas like Imon, Baghesri, Darbari Kanada, Behag, Ashawari, etc. His song on raag bageshri included “elo jochona se tobu”. His song on raag bairagi included “dake na keno je banshi”. His song on raag behaag included “gelo je logon chole”. His song on raag bhairav included “jagiche bhore probhat robi”. His song on raag bhupali included “kotha je banshori baaje”. His song on raag darbadi kanada included “e bedona kemone sohi”. His song on raag desh thumri included “boroshar rate jagi”. His song on raag kalawati included “baje keno beena”. His song on raag komol ashavari included “modhu rati bhor hoi”. His song on raag madhab todi included “ke jano dake nishibore”. His song on raag manj khamaj included “tomare bhulite ogo”. His song on raag nandkauns included “kotha tumi ghanashyam”. His song on raag pahari thumri included “emono dine se kothay”. His song on raag patdeep included “kano janina baje”. His song on raag yaman included “na go na jeyona”.

Some of his classical songs included “bojhona keno ami je koto eka”, “jedin jibone tumi”, “baluka belay kurai jhinuk”, to name a few. Very significantly most of the songs were composed by himself.

As a composer he used to be considered a giant of giants. His compositions for other legendary singers included “tomar pother prante moner monideep jele rekhechi” and “bhule gechi kobe” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” sung by Shyamal Mitra, “ami cheyechi tomay” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, “tomar moto amiyoto koto soyechi” sung by Pannalal Bhattacharya, to name a few.

Besides his own student Dipak Maitra had sung few songs composed by Satinath Mukherjee included “koto kotha bola holona”. Satinath Mukherjee is associated with the compositions for the two maestros in Indian music namely Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata’s first record in Bengali namely “akash pradeep jale” and “koto tara” were the compositions of the genius Satinath Mukherjee. Satinath Mukherjee’s landmark compositions for Mohammad Rafi included “ekhono biday bolona”, “pakhitar buke jeno teer merona”, etc. It is very sad that Satinath Mukherjee’s immense musical talents were not used in Bengali films. He had sung rare songs like “majhe nodi bahe re” in Tapan Sinha’s film Atithi, songs in Uttam Kumar’s film Bon Palashir Padabali, etc.

Otherwise Satinath Mukherjee, the sincere student of Ustad Bare Ghulam Ali Khan was one of the revolutionary singers and composers who remained an institution by himself. His students included singer and composer Jotileshwar Mukherjee who carried on the legacy of Satinath Mukherjee. The songs and creations of Satinath should be preserved and restored.

Satinath Mukherjee was versatile classical singer.

Satinath Mukherjee was versatile classical singer.

Satinath Mukherjee was one of the versatile classical singers who did not get dues during the golden age. The 50s and 60s were categorized with notable classical and semi-classical singers in the Bengal arena where Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Akhil Bandhu Ghosh and other giants galvanized the world of modern songs.

Satinath Mukherjee, the guru of notable singer Shyamal Mitra, had a huge partnership with lyricist Shyamal Gupta and presented his flora of classical ragas in Bengali modern songs. His songs “pashaner buke likhona amar naam”, “bono patho majhe”, “jibone Jodi deep”, etc. were milestones of Bengali modern songs.

He sang separate private songs involving “raag pradhan” which described the movement of separate ragas like Imon, Baghesri, Darbari Kanada, Behag, Ashawari, etc. Some of his classical songs included “bojhona keno ami je koto eka”, “jedin jibone tumi”, “baluka belay kurai jhinuk”, to name a few. Very significantly most of the songs were composed by himself.

As a composer he used to be considered a giant of giants. His compositions for other legendary singers included “tomar pother prante moner monideep jele rekhechi” and “bhule gechi kobe” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee, “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” sung by Shyamal Mitra, “ami cheyechi tomay” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, “tomar moto amiyoto koto soyechi” sung by Pannalal Bhattacharya, to name a few.

Besides his own student Dipak Maitra had sung few songs composed by Satinath Mukherjee included “koto kotha bola holona”. Satinath Mukherjee is associated with the compositions for the two maestros in Indian music namely Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata’s first record in Bengali namely “akash pradeep jale” and “koto tara” were the compositions of the genius Satinath Mukherjee. Satinath Mukherjee’s landmark compositions for Mohammad Rafi included “ekhono biday bolona”, “pakhitar buke jeno teer merona”, etc. It is very sad that Satinath Mukherjee’s immense musical talents were not used in Bengali films. He had sung rare songs like “majhe nodi bahe re” in Tapan Sinha’s film Atithi, songs in Uttam Kumar’s film Bon Palashir Padabali, etc.

Otherwise Satinath Mukherjee, the sincere student of Ustad Bare Ghulam Ali Khan was one of the revolutionary singers and composers who remained an institution by himself. His students included singer and composer Jotileshwar Mukherjee who carried on the legacy of Satinath Mukherjee. Renowned singer Utpala Sen was his wife. The songs and creations of Satinath should be preserved and restored.

Uttam Kumar was unparallel in Sakher Chor.

Uttam Kumar was unparallel in Sakher Chor.

Uttam Kumar was matchless in Sakher Chor. The film did excellent business in the early 60s. The film was directed by Prafulla Chakravarty.

Uttam Kumar played a bet with his friends to steal an item from a renowned person’s house. If he could establish himself as a thief he would win huge sum of money. He required a person to do it. He used Bhanu Banerjee to do it.

Bhanu Banerjee worked in the organization Kamal Mitra who was involved in unlawful activities. Kamal Mitra believed that Uttam Kumar was really a thief. When Uttam Kumar got involved in an affair with Basabi Nandi, the daughter of Kamal Mitra, Uttam Kumar was told not to mix with Basabi Nandi any more.

Basabi Nandi was supposed to be married to Tarun Kumar, the nephew of Chabi Biswas. Chabi Biswas called a lot of visitors in his place to celebrate the engagement ceremony of Tarun Kumar with Basabi Nandi. Uttam Kumar, Kamal Mitra and others were invited.

Tarun Kumar on the other hand never wanted to marry Basabi Nandi, but could not say it before Chabi Biswas. He told everything to Uttam Kumar. He made his work easy.

Uttam Kumar had the uphill task of explaining the situation to Kamal Mitra. He told the entire story about his bet with his friends. Kamal Mitra wrote a letter to Uttam Kumar and went away from the place.

Basabi Nandi was married with Uttam Kumar at the end of the film. Bhanu was absolutely amazed with the entire state of affairs. The music of the film was composed by Shyamal Mitra. The song “mon holo je majhi amar mon holo je majhi” sung by Shyamal Mitra became hit.

The film did not have any significant twist and turn. Inspite of everything it got box-office due to sheer brilliance of Uttam Kumar. He reached a level of excellence from where he could pull on any film on his own shoulders. Had Uttam Kumar acted in equal number of bollywood films he would have become a superstar of excellence at the same level as that of Raj Kapoor or Dilip Kumar. The film should be preserved.

Review of Uttam Kumar's Ami Se O Sakha.

Review of Uttam Kumar's Ami Se O Sakha.

Uttam Kumar’s Ami Se O Sakha was released in 1975 and created a great impact in the minds of the viewers. The director Mongol Chakravarty experimented with the literature of Ashutosh Mukherjee and the brilliant performances of the team of actors and actresses created a different dimension for the film.

Uttam Kumar belonged to a poor family in the family. His elder brother which was played by Uttam Kumar again with a different make up earned money by teaching students in the locality. One of such student Aroti Bhattacharya misbehaved with him, and her father thinking that the teacher had a bad character whipped him. Uttam Kumar’s brother turned insane and did spend the rest of the life in an asylum.

Uttam Kumar was brought up by Asitboron, the father of Anil Chatterji, who gave a new life to Uttam Kumar. Both Uttam Kumar and Anil Chatterji became doctors. They met Kaberi Bose, a writer in Lucknow and from that time got attached with her. Anil Chatterji married Kaberi Bose and all three of them remained friends. Anil Chatterji went abroad and returned to Kolkata and opened a nursing home.

Uttam Kumar met Aroti Bhattacharya, the wife of Tarun Kumar and ridiculed her in a party to take revenge about the ill-treatment done to his brother which compelled him to become insane. Uttam Kumar disclosed before Kaberi Bose about the entire event and the reasons for his action.

But Anil Chatterji got involved in unlawful practices. He took money for abortion of a child and the mother of the child died in the process. Uttam Kumar took Anil Chatterji’s blame on him and suffered imprisonment for seven years. He sacrificed his life to repay the contribution of Anil Chatterji’s father Asitboron who brought him up. Uttam Kumar lastly said he wanted to see a happy family of Anil Chatterji when he came out of prison, a family with a child.

The film was related to a serious subject and as such there was hardly any scope for songs. Even then Shyamal Mitra’s music was impressive. The two songs “emon sapna kokhone dekhini age” sung by Haimanti Shukhla and “ei hashi manay nato” sung by Shyamal Mitra were successful. Uttam Kumar, Anil Chatterji and Kaberi Bose were at their best in the film.

The film was remade with the title Bemisaal by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the late 70s. The film did excellent business in bollywood. Amitabh Bacchan played the role of Uttam Kumar in that film, while Vinod Mehra played the role of Anil Chatterji in the film and Rakhee played the role of Kaberi Bose. Ami Se O Sakha was a clear example Kolkata’s dominance in All India films and for those reasons the film should be preserved and restored.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2009. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s.

Other notable songs of Salil Choudhury in bollywood films include “tasveer teri dil me” from Maya, “zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai”, “kahin dur jab din dhal jaye” from Anand, “rajnigandha” from Rajnigandha, “jago mohan pyare” from Jagte Raho, to name a few.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Remembering Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary.

Remembering Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary.

Music lovers all across India remember Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary on 15th November, 2009. Shyamal Mitra was the one of the leading singers of Bengal during the golden age and for 40 years dominated the world of modern songs and film music along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar. His nasal tune, emotional base, high pitch and effortless stretch of voice had remained immortal over the last 50 years. His first song “sriti tumi bedona” was composed by his guru Sudhirlal Chakravarty in the early 50s.

From that time onwards his nasal tune suited songs related to pathos and songs like “emono din aaste pare”, “jodi dako opar theke”, “ei sundar prithibi chere mono jete nahi chay” flabbergasted the Bengali audience. Satinath Mukherjee, a leading classical singer of the 60s loved Shyamal Mitra and his composition for him titled “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” became super hit.

At that time Robin Chatterji, the leading composer of Bengali film music used Shyamal Mitra to sing film songs for Uttam Kumar, the greatest superstar of Bengal, and his songs “amar sapne dekha rajkonya” in the film Sagarika, 1956, “o mon kokhon shuru kokhon je shesh” in the film Kamal Lata, 1969, touched the souls of numerous listeners. Robin Chatterji experimented in the film Deeper Naam Tiya Rong with Portuguese folk music and the songs sung by Shaymal Mitra titled “o amar saat rajari dhaan” and “phiriti basakar kuye giya dishe” made the listeners speechless. The intonation of songs was in rural accent where Shyamal Mitra made an everlasting impact in the minds of the listeners.

Salil Choudhury was moved by the romantic appeal of Shyamal Mitra and used him in Dilip Kumar’s film Musafir with the song “ek aye ek jaye”. His basic discs sung by Shyamal Mitra include “aha oi ankabanka poth” which was remade in hindi titled “aha rimjhim ke” sung by Talat Mehmood, “jodi kichu amare shudhao”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, “dur nail beshi dur oi sajano sajano bokul baner dhare”, etc. By mid-60s Shyamal Mitra became a leading music composer and his composition for Manobendra Mukherjee and himself tilted “dole dodul dole jhulona” in Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya in 1963 became super hit.

The notable films where his music was impressive include Bon Palashir Padabali, Raj Konya, Bhranti Bilas, Amanush, Ananda Ashram, etc. Some of the notable songs in Bon Palashir Padabali included “aha mori mori”, “dekhuk para porshite”, “udash bayul”, etc. His song “dil aisa kisi ne mera tora” sung by Kishore Kumar in the hindi film Amanush gave him filmfare award for the best singer. His composition for Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle in the film Anand Ashram titled “sara pyar tumhara” became super hit with the excellent lips of Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore.
My father, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, interviewed Shyamal Mitra in Scottish Church College in 1956, where he participated in a cultural night along with Manobendra Mukherjee and Satinath Mukherjee. Shyamal Mitra reiterated the contribution of Deep Narayan Bitholia in All India Radio who had composed songs under the head of Romyogeeti. His romantic stretch of voice in the song “boujhiuri go” had created a lasting impression in the minds of the listeners. Mr. Chitta Ranjan Chatterji was astonished with the humbleness of Shyamal Mitra who was down to earth and respectful towards his predecessors like Sudhirlal Chakaravarty and Satinath Mukherjee.

Shyamal Mitra’s brother Salil Mitra in TV interview emphasized Shaymal Mitra’s sense of respect towards legendary composer Robin Chatterji. While the shooting of the film Kamallata were taking place in bagan bari in rural West Bengal, Shyamal Mitra was playing badminton with Uttam Kumar. When Robin Chatterji heard his recording of the song “o mon kokhon shuru” he was unsatisfied and questioned Shaymal Mitra’s result of diksha in Naihati as the song lacked emotions in Bengali called “abeg”. Shyamal Mitra returned back and brought out the devotional andaz of his lifetime and Robin Chatterji gifted a perfume as a token of appreciation for the committed singer of Bengal.

His notable folk songs and romantic songs in basic discs include “o shimul bon”, “sediner sona jhora sondha”, “keno dako tumi more”, “keno tumi phire ele”, “kar monjiro baje”, etc. As composer he had composed evergreen songs for Manobendra Mukherjee like “o amar patralekha”, Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya “dole shal piyalir bon”, Sandhya Mukherjee “ami to tomari kache royechi” etc.

His voice suited Uttam Kumar a lot and his songs in the film Sokher Chor, Bhranti Bilas, Rajodrohi, Andha Atit had been landmarks in Bengali film history. He died in the mid-80s after becoming a legend along with Hemanta Kumar, Manobendra Mukherjee and Manna Dey and it is not possible to highlight his achievements in a small article. His songs and films should be restored.

Review of Uttam Kumar's film Kamallata.

Review of Uttam Kumar’s film Kamallata.

Harishadhon Dasgupta took a big challenge in making a film on Sarat Chandra Chatterji’s classic literature Kamallata. Uttam Kumar played the role of Sarat Chandra himself named (Srikanto) in the film. Suchitra Sen played the role of Kamallata while Nirmal Kumar played the role of a muslim poet called Gahar Goshai.

A farmhouse in the districts of West Bengal was used by Harishadhan Dasgupta to portray a baisnav akhra (the place where devotees of God Vishnu stay together). Suchitra Sen was subjected to unrest in her family after her relationship with Biren Chatterji had been criticized and joined the Baishnav Akhra. Nirmal Kumar, the poet, wrote Ramayana in new style, and also wrote songs devoted to God Vishnu inspite of being a muslim.

Pahari Sanyal and other elders in the akhra appreciated the literary work of Nirmal Kumar and his monetary contribution for the development of the charitable institution. Uttam Kumar was his friend and visited the place a number of times and came to know the story of Suchitra Sen. The other members of the institution were narrow minded and just because Suchitra Sen communicated with Nirmal Kumar, asked her to leave the place.

Nirmal Kumar died at the end of the film and gave all his property to the Institution. Uttam Kumar took Suchitra Sen from the place and reached her to safe place in Kolkata. Sarat Chandra Chatterji had shown that tolerance of every faith was the actual realization based on which the meaning of religion could be understood.

Nirmal Kumar received BFJA award for his brilliant performance in the film. He gave excellent lips in Shyamal Mitra’s devotional song (baishnavgeeti) “o mon kokhon shuru” and “mane na e mon”. Robin Chatterji the music director of the film showed his brilliance in composing devotional songs as well.
The film did excellent business after release in 1969 and still remains an inspiration for new directors in making films with classic literature. The film and music of the film should be restored.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of the most gifted creators of Bengali modern songs during the golden age. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his base in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Review of Bengali film Deya Neya.

Review of Bengali film Deya Neya.

Deya Neya stands out as Uttam Kumar’s one of the biggest hit films in his career. The film was released in 1963. The story was related to the life of a talented singer whose father, being an industrialist never wanted his son to pursue his musical career.

Kamal Mitra played the role of the father of Uttam Kumar in the film. Uttam Kumar left his father’s home in Lucknow and returned to Kolkata. He was known by the outside world with the identity Abhijit Choudhury, a successful singer. He came to Kolkata and worked as driver cum mechanic in Pahari Sanyal’s house. Tanuja was the relative of Pahari Sanyal and interacted with Uttam Kumar in relation to the cars they had.

Although Uttam Kumar was known with the identity Abhijit Choudhury, he never performed in public function, so his face was unknown to the listeners. Tanuja and her friend Sumita Sanyal were also fans of Abhijit Choudhury, but both of them could not recognize Uttam Kumar. Uttam Kumar took shelter in Tarun Kumar’s house, a friend of him and Lili Chakravarty, his wife attended Uttam Kumar like his own brother’s wife.

As the lyricist of Uttam Kumar’s songs played by Premangshu, was suffering from serious sickness, Uttam Kumar organized a musical program at the end of the film and appeared before the crowd in a charity show. His identity was revealed and Kamal Mitra, his father took him back after marrying Tanuja.

The music of the film was extraordinary. Shyamal Mitra’ s composition touched the hearts of millions of music lovers all across the country. Shaymal Mitra’s own songs “jiban khatar proti patay”, “ami cheye cheye dekhi saradin”, “ganer bhubon bhariye debo”, made the viewers speechless. The duet song “dole dodul dole jhulona” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee and Shyamal Mitra stands out as one of the greatest duet songs of the last 50 years.
Deya Neya was remade in hindi with the title Anurodh. Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Mehra and Simple Kapadia had the lead roles. But they miserably failed to level the standard of excellence attained by Uttam Kumar in Deya Neya.

Deya Neya should be preserved for the young generations who had not seen the romantic andaz of Uttam Kumar during the golden age of Bengali cinema, that is the 50s and 60s.

Uttam Kumar and Shyamal Mitra.

Uttam Kumar and Shyamal Mitra

By: CR Chatterji.

Uttam Kumar became a phenomenon in the life of Bengalies, during 50s, 60s and 70s. Whenever he had given lips in the songs of noted singers, the singers gained popularity, prestige and honour. Shymal Mitra composed all the songs for Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya in 1963.

All the songs in the film including “ami cheye cheye dekhi saradin”, “dole dodul dole jhulona”, “jiban khatar proti patay”, “ganer bhubon bhoriye debo” became landmark hits. Incidentally the same film was remade in hindi with the title Anurodh, where Rajesh Khanna played the role of Uttam Kumar.

Shaymal Mitra composed music for hit films of Uttam Kumar like Bhrantibilas, (whose hindi version was Angoor), and also Bonpalasir Padabali. In Kamallata, a film based on the life of writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee, Shaymal Mitra’s song “omon kokhon shuru kokhon je shesh ke jane” touched the hearts of every Bengali in the country.

Shyamal Mitra made the biggest contribution in Uttam Kumar’s film Amanush, directed by Shakti Samanta both in Bengali and hindi and Anand Ashram. In Amanush, Kishore Kumar’s song “dil aisa kisi n mera tora” picturised on Uttam Kumar and composed by Shyamal Mitra brought him filmfare award for the best singer in that year.

The other notable songs in Amanush include “ki asay bandhi khelaghar”. In Anand Ashram, Shyamal Mitra’s composition for Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore tiled “sara pyar tumhara” became extremely successful. The song was sung by Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. In Bengali film Ananda Ashram, Shyamal Mitra’s own song “kotha kichu kichu”, became a big hit.

The legendary combination of Uttam Kumar and Shyamal Mitra ended with the death of Uttam Kumar in 1980. But whenever viewers see films like Rajodrohi, Suno Boro Nari, the pleasant memories of Uttam Kumar and Shyamal Mitra appears in their mind. The films and the songs should be preserved.