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43-462: Bimal Roy (12 July 1909 – 7 January 1966) was an Indian film director. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films such as Do Bigha Zamin , Parineeta , Biraj Bahu , Devdas , Madhumati , Sujata , Parakh and Bandini , making him an important director of Hindi cinema . Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, he made Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica 's Bicycle Thieves (1948). His work

86-598: A Komal Gandhara (Ga) lilt to make it softer. World cinema World cinema has an unofficial implication of films with "artistic value" as opposed to "Hollywood commercialism." Foreign language films are often grouped with " art house films " and other independent films in DVD stores, cinema listings etc. Unless dubbed into one's native language, foreign language films played in English-speaking regions usually have English subtitles . Few films of this kind receive more than

129-467: A documentary film shot on Nokia N90 , directed by Barbara Seghezzi and Marcello Mencarini in 2005 from Italy ; Why Didn't Anybody Tell Me It Would Become This Bad in Afghanistan , a docufiction film shot on Samsung , directed by Cyrus Frisch in 2007 from Netherlands ; SMS Sugar Man , a narrative film shot on Sony Ericsson W900i , directed by Aryan Kaganof in 2008 from South Africa ; Veenavaadanam

172-676: A limited release and many are never played in major cinemas. As such the marketing, popularity and gross takings for these films are usually markedly less than for typical Hollywood blockbusters . The combination of subtitles and minimal exposure adds to the notion that "World Cinema" has an inferred artistic prestige or intelligence, which may discourage less sophisticated viewers. Additionally, differences in cultural style and tone between foreign and domestic films affects attendance at cinemas and DVD sales. Foreign language films can be commercial, low brow or B-movies . Furthermore, foreign language films can cross cultural boundaries, particularly when

215-711: A movie that is still viewed as a benchmark. It has paved the way for future cinema makers in the Indian neo-realist movement and the Indian New Wave, which began in the 1950s. A moderate commercial success, it was awarded the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film , it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award and the first Indian film to win the International Prize at

258-553: A ride and is shocked to see that it is his own wife injured. Meanwhile, Kanhaiya, unable to withstand his father's condition, steals money from a lady and runs back to the slum. He learns of his mother's condition and rushes to the hospital. He cries after seeing his injured mother and claims that God has punished them because he stole money. He rips the money into pieces. The doctors tell Shambhu that he has to spend money on medicine and blood to save his wife. Poor Shambhu has no choice but to spend all his earnings to save his wife. Back in

301-456: A short story written by composer Salil Chowdhury . It revolved around a farmer who desperately pounds the streets of Kolkata to earn the Rs 235 needed to save his two acres of land, only to lose it to the industrialisation. Chowdhury agreed to Roy taking his idea, but on the condition that he would score the music. Initially Roy had planned to cast Paidi Jairaj , Trilok Kapoor and Nazir Hussain in

344-502: A wheel and Shambhu meets with an accident. Looking at the condition of his father, Kanhaiya joins a pickpocket to earn quick money. Shambhu gets angry on learning this and beats Kanhaiya. Meanwhile, Parvati gets worried since she receives no letters or money from Shambhu and the landlord's accountant accuses Shambhu of forgetting his family. She ends up working at a local construction site and is devastated when she receives news of Shambhu's accident. Finally, Parvati decides to visit Shambhu in

387-629: Is a 1953 Indian Hindi -language drama film directed by Bimal Roy . Based on Rabindranath Tagore 's Bengali poem " Dui Bigha Jomi " and Rickshawalla , a short story written by composer Salil Chowdhury , the film stars Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles. Known for its socialist theme, Do Bigha Zamin is considered an important film in the early parallel cinema of India, and a trend setter. Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, Bimal Roy made Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica 's Bicycle Thieves (1948). Like most of Bimal Roy's movies, art and commercial cinema merge to create

430-585: Is believed to have been the source of inspiration for many later works dealing with the theme of reincarnation in Indian cinema, Indian television , and perhaps world cinema. It may have been the source of inspiration for the American film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) and the Hindi film Karz (1980), both of which dealt with reincarnation and have been influential in their respective cultures. Karz in particular

473-600: Is particularly known for his mise en scène which he employed to portray realism . He won a number of awards throughout his career, including eleven Filmfare Awards , two National Film Awards , and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival . Madhumati won 9 Filmfare Awards in 1958, a record held for 37 years. Bimal Roy was born on 12 July 1909, to a Bengali Baidya family in Suapur, Dhaka , which

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516-418: Is picturised on her. The story revolves around a farmer, Shambhu Maheto, who lives with his wife Parvati, son Kanhaiya and father Gangu in a small village that is hit by drought. After years of drought and famine, the region finally gets rain, leading the farmers to rejoice. Shambhu owns two bighas of land (a bigha being the equivalent of two-thirds of an acre of land), which is the only means of livelihood for

559-797: The Cannes Film Festival , after Neecha Nagar (1946), which won the Palme d'Or (Grand Prize). It was also winner of the Social Progress Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival . In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films . The film was also released in China and in USSR. The film also marks Meena Kumari 's maiden guest appearance in her 33-year-long career. The lullaby, Aa Jaa Ri Aa

602-537: The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) at Pune. In July 2014, Prince of Wales Museum , Mumbai hosted an exhibition; Bimal Roy: Life & Times , organised in collaboration with his children. The exhibits included screening of the films; Madhumati , Sujata and Bandini , besides film posters, costumes and memorabilia, including an Arriflex camera used to shoot Devdas and Sujata . The Bimal Roy Memorial Trophy has been awarded every year since 1997, by

645-646: The 1940s and 1950s Roy was part of the parallel cinema movement in post-war India. He collaborated on Anjangarh (1948), one of the last major films of the New Theatres, however, the Kolkata-based film industry was now on the decline, thus Roy shifted his base to Bombay (now Mumbai), along with his team in 1950, which included Hrishikesh Mukherjee (editor), Nabendu Ghosh (screenwriter), Asit Sen (assistant director), Kamal Bose (cinematographer) and later, Salil Chaudhury (music director), and by 1952 he had restarted

688-585: The Bimal Roy Memorial & Film Society to honor both experienced artists and other contributors from the Indian film industry as well as new and upcoming outstanding young filmmakers. A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to honour him on 8 January 2007. Its story was written by Rwitwick Ghatak Do Bigha Zamin Do Bigha Zamin ( / ð oʊ b iː ˈ ɡ ɑː z ə m iː n / transl.  Two bighas of land )

731-526: The Bimal Roy Memorial Committee. and his great-granddaughter Drisha Acharya married Karan Deol Bimal Roy has received several awards. Won International Prize: Nominated for Grand Prize of the Festival : Nominated for Palme d'Or : Bimal Roy usually alternated between music directors Salil Chowdhury and S.D. Burman . His films featured beautiful and memorable songs, rendered by all

774-597: The English-dubbed versions of Shaolin Soccer and Hero in the United States cinemas, their English-dubbed versions scored badly in test screenings in the United States, so Miramax finally released the films in United States cinemas with their original language. After the launching of high pixel camera phones , these are being widely used for filmmaking. The early films, made with camera phones are: New Love Meetings ,

817-431: The age of 56. He was survived by four children: daughters Rinki Bhattacharya, Yashodhara Roy and Aparajita Sinha, and his only son, Joy Roy. His eldest daughter, Rinki Bhattacharya , married the director Basu Bhattacharya against the wishes of both their families. The marriage collapsed within a few years, but resulted in the birth of a son, the actor and screenplay writer Aditya Bhattacharya . Rinki Bhattacharya now heads

860-466: The city even though Gangu is bedridden and has a high fever. Parvati arrives in Calcutta and is taken in by a strange man, who claims he knows Shambhu and will take her to him. He takes her to his shed and tries to steal her belongings and rape her. She flees from him but gets hit by a car. A crowd gathers around her and they call for a rickshaw to take her to the hospital. Shambhu, who is passing by, offers

903-405: The debt amounts to Rs. 65/-. Shambu wants to save his land by all means and sells all his household items, including his wife's gold earrings. When Shambhu meets Harnam Singh's accountant to pay back his debt of Rs. 65/-, he is shocked to know that he actually owes Rs. 235/-. The accountant had fudged the accounts and now refuses to consider the labor provided by Shambhu's father Gangu as a portion of

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946-399: The debt payoff. The case goes to court and Shambhu, being illiterate, has a tough time explaining to the judge how the accountant fudged the numbers and how he took the accountant's word and did not demand any receipt. Shambhu loses the case and the judge orders Shambu to pay Rs. 235/- to Harnam Singh in 3 months. If Shambhu is not able to clear the debt, then his land would be auctioned off and

989-523: The exception of anime films). The 1982 United States theatrical release of Wolfgang Petersen's Das Boot was the last major release to go out in both original and English-dubbed versions, and the film's original version actually grossed much higher than the English-dubbed version. Later on, English-dubbed versions of international hits like Un indien dans la ville , Godzilla 2000 , Anatomy , Pinocchio and High Tension flopped at United States box office. When Miramax planned to release

1032-480: The film of plagiarism and threatening legal action against its producers. Bimal Roy discovered and gave a break to many children, such as Asha Parekh , Sona Mastan Mirza, Baby Farida , & Baby Sonu (Bablani), who would later become quite famous. Bimal Roy's films continue to be screened at major national and international film festivals in India, Europe and North America. His films are being restored and digitised by

1075-469: The first International Film Festival in Mumbai, director Bimal Roy saw Vittorio De Sica 's 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves (1954). In the train while he was returning home, he decided to make his next film as real as the film and shot on location. His wife, Manobina Roy, recalled her excited husband instructing his unit to come up with a story right after the screening. The film was based on Rickshawalla ,

1118-416: The footpath. Kanhaiya falls ill and Shambhu ends up renting a small room in the slums with the help of a tea vendor and the landlady's adopted grandchild, Rani. To pay the rent, Shambhu works as a coolie. Shambhu befriends an old Rickshaw Puller, who helps him get a license as a Rickshaw Puller. Kanhaiya tries to help his family by taking up shoe-shining with the help of the old Rickshaw Puller and Lalu. Back in

1161-468: The lead, then he saw the performance of Balraj Sahni in Hum Log (1951) and decided to cast him. This decision of Roy was criticised by his team as Sahni had mostly done rich roles. To better prepare for the role, Balraj Sahni actually rehearsed for the role by pulling a rickshaw on the streets of Calcutta. He interacted with many rickshaw pullers and some of them were facing the same situation as portrayed in

1204-415: The movie. Actress Nirupa Roy had mostly done the role of Hindu goddess in several mythological films till that time. She was cast in the role of Parvati. She wept in real for her scenes in the film, saying, "this is the first film I didn't use glycerine for tears." The films title is derived from a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore , called " Dui Bigha Jomi ". Bimal Roy distributed the film abroad with

1247-459: The name "Calcutta – The Cruel City". The measurement of Bigha varies from state to state. In Bengal , where the movie is based, 3 bigha is one acre (4,000 m ). Roy filmed Parineeta (1953) and Do Bigha Zamin at the same time in Kolkata . Hrishikesh Mukherjee was the film's editor and scenario writer. He asked Meena Kumari if she'd do a cameo in the film, on which she agreed after seeing

1290-406: The past and has not paid off his debt. Harnam Singh calls for Shambhu and proposes to Shambhu to sell his land to him in exchange for his debt. Shambhu disagrees to sell his only means of livelihood. Angered by the refusal, Harnam Singh orders him to repay his debt by the next day or risk the auctioning of his land. Shambhu returns home to discuss the issue with his father; father and son figure that

1333-490: The proceeds would go to pay off his debts. Shambhu now struggles to get the money. He is unable to get a loan because he has no collateral. One of his friends gives him an idea to go to Calcutta (now Kolkata ) and try to get a job to earn enough money to pay off his debt. Shambhu likes this idea but faces resistance from his wife as she is pregnant and does not want to live away from him. Shambhu persuades her that he'll be gone for only 3 months and it would benefit his family and

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1376-407: The second phase of his career with Maa (1952), for Bombay Talkies . He was famous for his romantic-realist melodramas that took on important social issues while still being entertaining. He was a filmmaker of great and in-depth understanding of human strengths and weaknesses. In 1959, he was a member of the jury at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival . He died of cancer on 7 January 1966 at

1419-500: The soon-to-be-born baby. Kanhaiya wants to join his father too, but Shambhu refuses and scolds him. On the train to Calcutta, Shambhu finds Kanhaiya hiding in it, hitchhiking or as a stowaway and after a brief confrontation agrees to take Kanhaiya with him. In Calcutta, Shambhu and Kanhaiya have a harsh welcome. Nobody is willing to talk with them, let alone help them. Kanhaiya befriends a street-side shoe-shiner named Lalu Ustad. They even lose their last possessions while they are asleep on

1462-406: The stills of the film. The music for the film was composed by Salil Chowdhury , with lyrics written by Shailendra . In an interview with All India Radio, Chowdhury described the tune for " Apni Kahani Chod Ja – Dharti kahe pukaar ke " having been inspired by a Red Army march song as well as influenced by Bhairavi (hence the added stanza and Aalap at the beginning of the song), thus giving it

1505-408: The top playback singers of the day. Some of the notable songs from Roy's films include: Bimal Roy's influence was far-reaching, both in Indian cinema and world cinema . In Indian cinema, his influence extended to both mainstream commercial Hindi cinema and the emerging Parallel Cinema . His film Do Bigha Zamin (1953) was the first film to successfully straddle art and commercial cinema. It

1548-433: The village, Parvati and Gangu survive on eating water chestnuts picked from the local river. She seeks help from Thakurain to write letters to Shambhu and stay in touch. Near the end of the third month, Shambhu becomes desperate about earning and saving money. One day, a man asks Shambhu to chase another rickshaw that is carrying his girlfriend. Shambhu is asked to pull the rickshaw very fast for more money. The rickshaw loses

1591-473: The village, the land is auctioned because Shambhu could not pay back the debt and Gangu becomes insane. The land, now owned by Harman Singh, sees the beginning of mill construction. Shambhu and his family return to the village, only to see their land sold and a factory being constructed on it. He then tries to get a handful of dirt from his land but is stopped by a security guard. The film ends as Shambhu and his family walk away from their former land. In 1952, at

1634-517: The visual spectacle and style is sufficient to overcome people's misgivings. Films of this type became more common in the early 2000s, as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Amélie , Brotherhood of the Wolf , Y Tu Mama Tambien and Talk to Her enjoyed great successes in United States cinemas and home video sales. The first foreign and foreign language film to top the North American box office

1677-456: The whole family. The local landlord Thakur Harnam Singh partners with some businessmen to construct a mill on his large parcel of land, which in return, he opines, would bring them profit and bring prosperity to the village. The only problem is that in the middle of Harnam Singh's land lies Shambhu's meager two bighas of land. Harnam Singh is very confident that he can buy Shambhu's land. Shambhu has borrowed money from Harnam Singh several times in

1720-483: Was Hero in August 2004. "The rule for foreign-language films is that if you've done $ 5 million or better (in United States cinemas), you've had a very nice success; if you do $ 10 (million) or better (in United States cinemas), you're in blockbuster category," Warner Independent Pictures ex-president Mark Gill said in 2009. On the other hand, English-dubbed foreign films rarely did well in United States box office (with

1763-477: Was a commercial and critical success, winning the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival . As a result, the film's success paved the way for the Indian New Wave . In commercial cinema, the most influential film he directed was perhaps Madhumati (1958), his first and only collaboration with Ritwik Ghatak (who wrote the screenplay), and one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation . It

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1806-563: Was remade several times: as the Kannada film Yuga Purusha (1989), the Tamil film Enakkul Oruvan (1984), and more recently the Bollywood film Karzzzz (2008). Karz may have also inspired the American film Chances Are (1989). The most recent film to be directly inspired by Madhumati is the hit Bollywood film Om Shanti Om (2007), which led to Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya accusing

1849-518: Was then part of the Eastern Bengal and Assam province of British India and is now part of Bangladesh . He produced many movies in Bengali and Hindi . Bimal Roy moved to Calcutta and entered the field of cinema as a camera assistant with New Theatres Pvt. Ltd. During this time, he assisted director P.C. Barua as Publicity Photographer, on the hit 1935 film Devdas , starring K.L. Saigal . In

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