Saturday, June 12, 2010

Humkadam was not as successful as Mahanagar


Humkadam was not as successful as Mahanagar.

Director Anil Ganguly experimented with the same story which Satyajit Ray made his film Mahanagar in his film Humkadam. Satyajit Ray’s film was released in 1965, while Anil Ganguly’s one was released in 1980.

But the film did not receive either positive reviews or commercial benefits. In Humkadam, Parikshit Sahani played the role played by Anil Chatterji in the Bengali film Mahanagar. Anil Chatterji was a middle-class Bengali in Mahanagar, who was the sole bread-earner but struggled to fulfill the needs of his wife Madhabi Mukherjee, his father, mother, small child and younger sister played by Jaya Bacchan.

Parikshit Sahani in the film Humkadam, could not express the anxiety of the middle-class husband. At some stages he was harsh towards his wife played by Rakhee. Anil Chatterji was very adjusting and considerate towards his wife Madhabi Mukherjee in Mahanagar.

Rakhee had to look for employment and joined Biswajeet Chatterji’s firm which promoted women’s domestic products. There was strong resistance from the family. Just like in Mahanagar, Anil Chatterji’s father, a retired academician, never liked the housewife to do marketing and earn a living, in Humkadam, A. K. Hangal, the father of Parikshit Sahani was never liked Rakhee’s employment at all.

Additional characters were included in Humkadam, like the character of Helen, who played the role of the friend of Rakhee who helped her to be professional. Helen was also earning for her handicapped husband. Parikshit Sahani and his family members never liked it.

Dina Pathak did a decent job in her role of the mother of Parikshit Sahani. Anil Ganguly kept the ending of the film same as Mahanagar. When Madhabi Mukherjee went to give her resignation letter, Anil Chatterji asked her not to give it, as his company went for a lockout and he became jobless. Parikshit Sahani did the same thing in Humkadam.

Both the husband and the wife had to earn to meet the requirements of the present day. That was the message given by the writer Naren Mitra. Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar won many national and international awards. Anil Ganguly’s Humkadam was a sincere project, but did not get the recognition as an innovative work.

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