Film director Bimak Roy’s photo.
Film director Bimak Roy’s photo.
News2News.in Explainer: Bimal Roy Birth Anniversary is the name of that great director of Hindi cinema, whose one film only created panic all over the world. Bimal Roy has made many films in Bengali and Hindi language. Bimal Roy’s films also include Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, Parakh, Bandini. These films have received awards in different categories. Bimal Roy was born on 12th July in the year 1909. So let us tell you the special things of director Bimal Roy through News2News.in Explaner on the occasion of his birth anniversary.
Bimal Chandra Roy was born on July 12, 1909 in the village of Suapur in East Bengal, now in Bangladesh. Bimal was the fourth among seven brothers. He belonged to a landlord family. Bimal Roy began his education at home until he moved to Dhaka. After going to Dhaka during his studies, Bimal used to come home to spend the school holidays. During these travels, he used to see many beautiful scenes, the reflection of which was found in many of his films.
Was fond of photography since childhood
Bimal Roy was an avid photographer since his boyhood days. After high school he chose science as his stream. Economic disruption came upon the family after his father’s demise, forcing everyone to look for a means of livelihood. By the late 1930s, all seven brothers had moved to Calcutta, still the second city of the British Empire. The transport business brought the family back to the good times, while some of the brothers joined British firms.
Journey from cameraman to director
Roy’s interest in photography on the one hand and cinema on the other often took him on long walks to the film studios in Tollygunge. To pursue a career in cinema, he got a job at the renowned film company New Theatres, first as an apprentice and later as an assistant cameraman. From assisting Nitin Bose as cameraman, Bimal Roy became full-fledged cameraman for PC Barua in the Hindi version of Devdas (1936). While working as a cameraman, he pleaded with the studio owner to ask for the director’s role, the studio owner asked him to work with the remaining reels and then Bimal made the film a hit by working with the remaining reels. Thus Bimal became a director from cameraman and then directed successful films one after the other. These include two bighas of land, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, Devdas and Bandini. Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen created a stir in the entire film world.
Let us now know some special things about them
1. Worked with leftover reels
Early in his career, Bimal Roy worked as a cameraman for New Theaters Studio in Calcutta. Since he had a desire to play the director’s role, he met the studio owner BN Sarkar and sought his permission. Sarkar agreed, but on one condition – Roy could only use leftover reels from other films. Roy actually accepted the challenge and made the film with only the cut pieces of the remaining reel. The year was 1944 and the film, Udayar Pathe was a runaway hit despite the newcomers. Roy later remade it in Hindi as Humrahi.
2. Jana Gana Mana was used before becoming the national anthem
Rabindranath Tagore’s Jana Gana Mana was passionately used by Bimal Roy in Udayar Pathe and the Hindi version Humrahi, long before it became the country’s national anthem in 1950.
3. Inspired by Rashomon
Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon is partly responsible for the formation of Bimal Roy Productions. After watching the film at Eros Cinema in Bombay, some members of his team including Bimal Roy and Hrishikesh Mukherjee were returning to Malad in a double-decker BEST bus. The film surprised him so much that Mukherjee actually asked Roy about the possibility of making such a film.
When Mukherjee immediately offered the job, Roy wondered where he would find a writer of such caliber. All the members of the unit also decided that they would have a stake in the production company. This is how a Bimal Roy production came alive inside a bus.
4. Sujata Shot
There is a scene in Sujatha where Adhir (Sunil Dutt) tells Sujatha (Nutan) in the greenhouse that the main purpose of his visit is to see her, which turns out to be Lajwanti’s (mimosa) turn with the leaves off. This scene has an interesting history. Roy shot the scene over four days, taking repeated takes to portray Sujatha blushing through the leaves. On the fourth day when a giant propeller fan was used, the leaves stopped.
By then 50,000 feet of film had been used. When it was handed over to editor Amit Bose, he had to bring to life barely one and a half minutes of footage from 50,000 feet. When Bose’s efforts reached the brink of failure, Roy, along with his assistant Sakharam, completed the sequence in less than two days.
5. Made Balraj Sahni cry
In the last shot of Do Bigha Zameen, Balraj Sahni’s Shambhu had to sit on his hunch, hold the landlord’s feet and beg for his piece of land. Director Bimal Roy secretly asked Murad to jerk his feet away from Sahni’s grip and then move himself out of camera range, but Sahni was not aware of this. However, during the take, Murad’s foot landed on Sahni’s face. Humiliated and hurt Sahani was sobbing after the cut. Murad came running, apologised, took Sahni in his arms and narrated the previous story. The shot turned out to be excellent and Roy climbed even higher in the eyes of Sahni.
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