Subarnarekha (1962 film)

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Subarnarekha
Directed by Ritwik Ghatak
Written by Ritwik Ghatak (screenplay, story),
Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala (story)
Starring Abhi Bhattarcharya,
Madhabi Mukherjee,
Satindra Bhattacharya,
Bijon Bhattacharya,
Rambilas,
Indrani Chakrabarty,
Sriman Tarun
Release date(s) 1965
Running time 143 min.
Language Bangla
IMDb profile

Subarnarekha is a Bengali-language Indian film by Ritwik Ghatak. It was made in 1962 but was only released in 1965.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The film tells the story of Ishwar Chakraborty (Abhi Bhattacharya), a Hindu refugee from East Pakistan after the 1948 partition of India. He goes to West Bengal with his little sister Sita (Indrani Chakrabarty) where he tries to start a new life. In a refugee camp, they see the abduction of a low-caste woman and Ishwar takes her little son Abhiram (Sriman Tarun) with him. He gets a job at a factory in the province, near the river Subarnarekha.

Abhiram is sent to England for his studies. Upon his return, he (Satindra Bhattacharya) and Sita (Madhabi Mukherjee) fall in love with each other and want to marry. But at this moment, Ishwar's fear of prejudice emerges, as he does not want his sister, a Brahmin, to marry a lower caste boy. During Sita's wedding with another man, the girl and Abhiram elope and go to Calcutta. Ishwar is angry and heartbroken.

Sita and Abhiram live in the slums of Calcutta and try to make ends meet. They have a little son (Sriman Ashok Bhattacharya). One day, Abhiram gets a new job as a bus driver, but this leads to tragedy: when he accidentally hits and kills a little girl, he is lynched by the crowd. In her desperate situation, Sita decides to become a prostitute.

In the meantime, Ishwar is living a lonely and sad life in the province. When his relative Haraprasad (Bijon Bhattacharya) comes to visit him, they decide to go to Calcutta on a binge-drinking tour. They finally end up in a brothel, both completely drunk. When Ishwar staggers into one of the bedchambers, he is faced... with his own sister, whose first "client" he should become. Sita immediately recognizes him and rather cuts her own throat than submit to incest. She dies. When Ishwar realizes what has happened, he breaks down.

At the end of the film, the now completely broken Ishwar meets Sita's little son, who is now his closest relative. He brightens up and decides to take the little boy into his house.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Credits

  • Story: Ritwik Ghatak, Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala
  • Screenplay: Ritwik Ghatak
  • Cinematography: Dilip Rajan Mukherjee
  • Editing: Ramesh Joshi
  • Sound: Satyen Chatterjee
  • Art Direction: Rabi Chatterjee
  • Music: Ustad Bahadur Khan

[edit] External links

          History of Motion Picture in Bengal              
Notable Directors     Artists    

Buddhadev Dasgupta
Ritwik Ghatak
Gautam Ghose
Rituparno Ghosh
Tarun Majumdar
Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Satyajit Ray
Bimal Roy
Aparna Sen
Hiralal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Tapan Sinha
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• Victor Bannerjee
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• Sabitri Chatterjee
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• Rabi Ghosh
• Uttam Kumar
• Kajol
• Madhabi Mukherjee
• Konkona Sen Sharma
• Suchitra Sen
• Sharmila Tagore
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