Chowringhee (film)

Chowronghee (Bengali: চৌরঙ্গী) is a 1968 Indian Bengali drama film by Pinaki Bhushan Mukherjee, starring Supriya Devi and Uttam Kumar. The film is based on the best-selling novel^[1] of the same name by Shankar and was a huge hit in its own right.

Plot

The movie revolves around the experiences of the characters the author Shankar (played by Subhendu Chatterjee) meets while working at one of the large and reputed hotels of Kolkata, Hotel Shahjahan. At the end of the movie, most of the characters experience tragedy, in one form or another.

The major characters Shankar encounters with are:

• Mr. Satyasundar (Sata) Bose is Shankar's co-worker and the receptionist at the hotel. Mr. Bose, played by Uttam Kumar, is shown to be extremely friendly, benevolent and loved by all. Being an efficient worker, he takes care of all the guests very well, including guarding their secrets, and earns the respect and admiration of his boss, Marco Polo (played by Utpal Dutt). He and Ms. Sujata Mitra (played by Anjana Bhowmick), an air hostess who visits the hotel frequently, become close and they decide to marry. Sata resigns from his profession as a receptionist in search for a better living after their wedding. Sujata too decides to resign from her work since married women can no longer be employed as air hostesses. Unfortunately, just as she was about to take her last flight as an air hostess, she meets with a trajic air crash while take off that leads to her death. Her death leaves Sata bereaved and at a huge loss. Unable to live with the fond memories of the past, he leaves Kolkata and goes to Africa where his former boss, Mr. Marco Polo has opened a new hotel and is more than willing to have him as his old fond worker. Thereafter, the fate of Sata Bose remains unknown.
• Ms. Karabi Guha, played by Supriya Devi, is a housekeeper and hostess at the guest house owned by Mr. Aggarwal who is apparently a friend of the Pakrashis (see below). She takes a leading role in helping to close an important deal with the German businessmen who are visiting Kolkata. When she comes to know about the conspiracy plot of Mrs. Pakrasi's (see below) brother in jeopardizing the business agreement, she alerts Anindya Pakrashi. Eventually, Anindya and Karabi fall in love. However, when Mrs. Pakrasi comes to know about this, she insults Karabi and warns her to leave Anindya in exchange for money. Eventually, in the middle of an intense altercation, Karabi shows the pictures of Mrs. Pakrasi with her boyfriends. This leaves Mrs. Pakrasi stunned and agrees to let Karabi marry Anindya. However, later, thinking about this incident, Karabi feels an intense sense of guilt for her actions. Unable to confront with her feelings, she decides to end up her life.
• Anindya Pakrashi, played by Biswajit is the son of the renowned business personality of Kolkata, Mr. Madhab Pakrasi. He is shown to be as well mannered, humble and friendly. After returning from the West, Madhab Pakrasi entrusts him with dealing with the German businessmen. In his effort, Anindya finds Karabi to be extremely helpful. Eventually, Karabi and Anindya fall in love. When unable to confront with her feelings, Karabi commits suicide, it leaves him heart-broken and dumbfounded. The fate of Anindya Pakrashi remains unclear after this incident.
• Madhab Pakrasi is a renowned business man of Kolkata. Remaining busy and out of town most of the time, he is unaware of his wife's infidelity. His only son, Anindya is educated from outside India. When his son returns to Kolkata, he entrusts Anindya with dealing with the German businessmen.
• Mrs. Pakrasi, wife of the renowned businessman Madhab Pakrasi leads a double life. In the morning, she devotes herself to social work appearing as a perfect Bengali woman. At night, she visits the hotel in disguise and spends nights with her then boyfriend. As per Sata Bose, she engages in short term sexual relationships with different men at different times. Apparently, as shown in the movie, only Sata Bose, Shankar and Karabi knows about her infidelity and double life.
• Sujata Mitra, played by Anjana Bhowmick, is an air hostess by profession. Her family lives in Mumbai. As an air hostess, she spends her nights serving the passengers on board and lives at the hotels in the various cities where her work takes her. Sata finds her simple minded, smart and attractive and falls in love with her. She too commits to Sata and buys him a new apartment where they would spend together once married. Unfortunately, at her last flight as the air hostess, before leaving her profession (married women can no longer be employed as air hostesses), she meets with a trajic air crash and dies in the process. This accident leaves Sata bereaved and heart-broken.

Soundtrack

Among the lyrics is a classic rendering of "Ai Kothati Mone Rekho" ("Remember These Words") ^[2] from Rabindra Sangeet. Besides that there were two popular solos sung by the legendary Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay('Kache Robe', (picturised on Biswajeet & Supriya Devi) and Manna Dey ('Baro Eka Laage', picturised on Uttam Kumar).

References

External links

• Chowringhee at The Complete Index To World Film
• Chowringhee on IMDb