Synopsis:
Kedar (Tapas Pal), a dim-witted
simpleton, is exiled to his uncle’s
house in a small town in Bihar by his father,
who is extremely angry with him for being
unable to pass his BA exams even after three
attempts. The simple minded Kedar becomes
the butt of all jokes of his cousin Santu’s
(Ayan Mukherjee) gang of friends led by
Bhombolda (Anup Kumar). He falls in love
with Saraswati (Mohua Roychoudhury) a girl
with a strong no-nonsense character who
is also the elder sister of Santu’s
betrothed Bini (Debashree Roy). Saraswati’s
parents too are also impressed by Kedar’s
decency and simplicity and she also softens
up to Kedar. However, Bhombolda and his
gang create misunderstandings between the
two. An extremely disappointed Saraswati
decides to get married with a rich boy from
Bhagalpur. But all is well at the end and
true love conquers all …
The film:
Entertainers with a strong storyline and
competent craftsmanship have been the forte
of Tarun
Majumdar throughout his long and distinguished
innings in Bengali cinema. Dadar Kirti,
one of his most popular works, explores
the theme of falling in love of a young
man and a woman – a theme he had earlier
explored in two of his major films Balika
Badhu (1969) and Sriman Prithviraj
(1972).
Dadar Kirti is the story of Kedar,
the dimwit with a golden heart, who overcomes
his failures and weaknesses and wins the
heart of the Saraswati, a girl who is somewhat
tomboyish and puritan and who is feared
by all because of her strong and no-nonsense
personality. At the same time, it also depicts
the process of Saraswati maturing into womanhood
and realizing her true love and happiness
with Kedar. The interplay between the growth
of these two protagonists who are like chalk
and cheese in terms of personality provides
the film with its distinctive appeal and
poise. The growth of their romance –
from their first meeting where the naïve
Kedar flees the admonishing gaze of the
stern Saraswati and he then being mesmerized
by her performance as the warrior princess
Chitrangada in the production of the dance
drama by Rabindranath Tagore, to the happy
finale of Saraswati refusing marriage with
a affluent suitor from Bhagalpur –
is sketched in very clear terms. The antics
of Bhombolda and the his cohorts which start
off as innocent jokes on the foolishness
of Kedar take an ominous turn just by sheer
bad luck and throw obstacles in the path
of the two lovers. In the end as with all
romantic films all misunderstandings are
cleared up and the lovers are united in
bliss.
 Given
the somewhat predictable storyline, the
enduring quality of the film lies in its
breezy screenplay that concentrates on the
essentials and is extremely strong in characterization.
Kedar’s idiocy is established at the
very prologue that comes before the title
sequence when his father almost has a heart
attack on hearing about his son’s
failing thrice in his exams. His innocence
is more exposed when he easily accepts that
his cousin Santu was having his “botany
practicals” with his “lady professor
clad in a sky-blue sari” when in reality
he was having a romantic tryst with his
fiancée Bini. And to top it all Kedar
confesses his unabashed admiration for Saraswati
in front of Bhombolda and all the other
members of the local Boy’s Club without
an iota of an idea the hilarity such a confession
can generate. However the film is never
harsh on his shortcomings; even in the scene
when Bhombolda dupes him to take a three-hour
dip in the icy stream in the middle of the
night, the attitude is not to make fun of
Kedar’s sheer gullibility. Instead
the act is portrayed as Kedar’s fervent
prayer to the Goddess of learning, Saraswati
(!), to overcome his phobia of studies.
The stupid and naïve Kedar is however
redeemed by one great quality – his
innate talent for singing. It is this quality
which is presented as a surprise element
much to the chagrin of Bhombolda (and also
the audience) that initially deeply impresses
Saraswati, who is almost a polar opposite
to him. The scene where Kedar bursts into
the Rabindra sangeet song Chorono Dhorite
Diyo Go Aamare in the drawing room
is masterfully composed with the stress
on the reactions of Saraswati who accompanies
Kedar on the piano is definitely one of
the highlights of the film.
In fact, references to Rabindranath Tagore’s
works are meaningfully integrated in the
screenplay of Dadar Kirti and this
adds a touch of class to the film. Kedar
is mesmerized by Saraswati’s brilliance
as Chitrangada – the warrior princess
who realizes her womanhood with the legendary
Pandava Arjun. E Bodhu Kon Alo Laaglo
Chokkhe the song to which Saraswati
dances on the stage captures the first emotions
of love in Chitrangada’s mind and
is portrayed in the film with the liberal
use of close–ups of the eyes and faces
of the protagonists. Extremely literal but
absolutely on the mark for the Bengali middle-class
audience fed on a heavy diet of literary
cinema. Kedar’s acceptance of his
fallacy of falling in love in Saraswati
with her deciding to accept the marriage
proposal of her rich suitor comes out through
his rendition of another Tagore song with
a somewhat fatalist tone Ei Korechho
Bhalo Nithur Hey, again somewhat
literal but then…
One of the major plus points of the film
is the acting by a pretty large cast comprising
of a mix of newcomers, young actors and
veterans of Bengali cinema. Tapas Pal makes
a stunning debut in an author backed role;
he is extremely believable as the naïve
simpleton who steps into adulthood and is
able to pull at the heartstrings of the
viewer. Sadly though, such was the impact
he made with this film, he got typecast
and had to struggle for a long time to get
out of the predicament. Mohua Roychoudhury,
an actor of real talent who tragically died
young, gives one of her best known screen
performances. The scene where Saraswati
confesses her love for Kedar, Mohua is able
to change her emotional state from anger
and sternness to passionate emotional turmoil
with a degree of effortlessness that speaks
volumes of her histrionic abilities. One
must also mention Debashree
Roy who plays Saraswati’s younger
sister Bini. In her first major role as
and adult she is brilliant as a frivolous
teenager betrothed to Kedar’s cousin
Santu. In the scene where she has a spat
and then reconciliation with her elder sister,
the young Debashree actually manages to
steal the scene from the more experienced
Mohua. Anup Kumar Das, mostly seen as a
comedienne in mindless potboilers, is also
reasonably competent as the scheming and
smart-alecky Bhombolda but it must be admitted
that in some scenes especially in the one
he disguises himself as a sadhu from the
Himalayas he goes over the top by a long
way. The rest of cast does able jobs in
portraying typical characters. In its technical
aspects the film is competent without being
flashy. The soundtrack is pleasing with
Hemanta
Mukherjee’s inimitable rendition
of the two Rabindra sangeets sung by Kedar
being the highlight.
Dadar Kirti operates at an extremely
stereotypical level both in terms of the
overall narrative, characterisation and
cinematic technique. However despite its
clichés the film overall has a charming
feel good quality and provides unpretentious
entertainment with a certain degree of poise,
honesty and competency.
Monish K Das is an alumnus of the
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII),
Pune with specialization in Film Editing,
1992. He now lives and works as a documentary
filmmaker and social communication consultant
in Kolkata. |
