Synopsis
Set in World War II, the reverend Krishnendu
(Uttam Kumar) runs a military hospital in
Bankura. A drunken Anglo-Indian woman soldier
is brought to him for treatment and he recognises
her as his former love Rina Brown (Suchitra
Sen). The two of them were fellow medical
students who initially clashed with each
other but fell in love following a stage
performance of Othello where Krishnendu
played Othello to Rina's Desdemona. Rina's
father agrees to the match providing Krishnendu
converts to Christianity. Rina doesn't want
him to change his religion for her but Krishnendu
is willing to do anything for her. His orthodox
father (Chhabi Biswas) visits Rina and tells
her he will never accept this marriage and
pleads with Rina to let Krishnendu go. Rina
sacrifices her love even as Krishnendu converts
to Christianity. Rina discovers that she
is the illegimate daughter of her maid (Chhaya
Devi) with whom her father ahd an affair.
She becomes an alcoholic and joins the army.
Back in the present when Rina realizes the
doctor who treated her is Krishnendu, she
tries to kill herself. Ultimately the lovers
are united in the midst of the war.
The film
The great foursome of Harano
Sur (1957) - cinematographer/ director
Ajoy Kar, music director Hemanta
Mukherjee and actors Uttam
Kumar and Suchitra
Sen reunite in one of the most popular
Bengali films ever, Saptapadi.
The film, based on a story by Tarashankar
Banerjee, is undoubtedly one of the most
memorable films of the magical Uttam Kumar
- Suchitra Sen combination. It is easy to
see looking at this film as to why why this
pair was regarded as the epitome of romance
on the Bengali screen.
Admittedly, the film takes its time to
get into high gear. The conflicts of the
hero and heroine before they inevitably
fall in love are now embarassingly dated
and have not held up well at all. This is
true especially in the football match and
later in the songs On The Merry Go Round
Let Us Ride and Roll versus the well-known
devotional song Eibar Kali Tomai Khabo
used extremely interestingly here as the
two songs become a clash of cultures of
the Anglo-Indians (them) versus the Bengalis
(us) with of course the Bengalis 'winning'.
Suchitra Sen's scenes establishing her as
the English speaking Anglo-Indian Rina Brown
are over the top and unintentionally funny
as she mouths the You Brute...You Scoundrel
types of dialogue. Even in the Othello sequence
where though her lines were dubbed by a
fine Shakespeare artist like Jennifer Kapoor,
Jennifer's voice just doesn't suit Suchitra
making her performance as Desdemona appear
all the more stilted. (As a contrast Utpal
Dutt's dubbing for Uttam Kumar playing Othello
comes off much better in this sequence and
all credit to Uttam Kumar whose lip sync
for the scene appears perfect). But following
the Othello sequence, once they realize
that something has changed and they have
fallen in love, Saptapadi takes
off beautifully and holds it own right through
to the happy ending as the lovers are united
in the midst of World War II even if Tarashankar's
original story ended in tragedy.
 As
in their films together the Uttam Kumar
- Suchitra Sen chemistry supercedes everything
else. The pair create magic on screen making
even the smallest gestures as when she does
his packing appear to be the ultimate in
romance! Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen had
the knack of drawing the viewer into the
story and making him/her genuinely care
about what happens to them. Romantic clinches
aside, the two stars respond with finely
shaded performances. Uttam Kumar's hypnotic
screen presence, mellow voice and dazzling
smile make him the perfect hero. And yes,
apart from those earlier scenes, Suchitra
too comes into her own and is at her matchless
best, even carrying off the drunken scenes
of Rina Brown rather well. In fact, such
was the popularity of the film and the impact
that the character of Rina Brown had, in
a recent opinion poll every contemporary
Bengali actress was unanimous in her choice
of Rina Brown being the dream role she wanted
to play. Both Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen
won the Bengal Film Journalists' Association's
(BFJA) Awards for Best Actor and Actress
respectively for Saptapadi, while
the film itself was 5th on the list of 10
Best Indian Films of the year. Strong support
comes from Chhabi
Biswas as Uttam Kumar's father who opposes
his marriage to Suchitra and Chhaya
Devi playing Suchitra's maid even if
they have just a handful of scenes in the
film. They both prove that a good artist
can make an impact even in the smallest
of roles.
But what makes Saptapadi go beyond
Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen is really Ajoy
Kar's fine handling of the story. Here was
a director who clearly understood cinematic
language as was apparent in the earlier
Harano Sur as well. Several sequences
stand out on the sheer strength of their
wonderful treatment and execution. For example
the meeting of the two lovers for the first
time after they have broken up. Rina Brown
sees Krishnendu in the mirror as he avoids
facing her and as she recognises him, a
train goes past, rattling the hut and his
image in the the mirror. All done by simulation
of light on Krishnendu's image in the mirror
and sound of the train. Or the scenes of
where Kar holds on to Kumar and Sen individually
following their staging of Othello as they
struggle to come to terms with their feelings
for each other. This makes the viewer connect
with them and see what they are going through.
With Kar being a cinematographer/ director,
the film boasts of some extremely fine black
and white camerawork by him thus heightening
the mood of the film with exquisite use
of light and shade like the play of light
and shadow on Uttam Kumar's face in the
brilliantly low-key lit Othello scene. In
fact, Kar too was a recipient of the BFJA
Award for his splendid camerawork. Special
mention must also be made of the well thought
sound design of the film - in particular
the splendid use of offscreen sound as in
the use of the wind in the Othello sequence
or the train going by in the above mentioned
sequence of the two estranged lovers meeting
again.
Though Saptapadi is a big commerical
film with the top stars of the day and the
films boasts of a music director of the
status of Hemanta Mukherjee, the film sticks
to good, simple storytelling and uses songs
just where necessary. The film has just
4 songs. The clash of East versus West -
On the Merry Go Round versus Eibar
Kali Tomai Khabo (a cult devotional
song in Bengal) and two versions of the
all time hit Ei Path Jadi Na Shesh Hoi.
The version picturised on the motorcycle
in particular acquired cult status (even
if the rear projection is a big no-no) as
it caught the fancy of the Bengali public.
Every young man wanted to be like Uttam
Kumar on the bike while every young girl
dreamed of sitting like Suchitra Sen behind
her hero! The second version of the song
too is beautifully used in the film as Rina
hums to herself and goes about her house
from vase to vase arranging flowers. Incidentally
Mukherjee reworked the song as Ek Baar
Zara Phir Keh Do in the Biswajeet -
Asha Parekh starrer Bin Baadal Barsaat
(1963) but like his earlier adaptation
of Tumi Je Amar from Harano
Sur into Chale Hum Kahaan in
Police (1958), the Hindi version did
not quite have the same impact.
All in all, Saptapadi is a great
example of the golden age of Bengali Cinema,
a time when Bengali Cinema had its distinct
identity.
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