Saptapadi (1961 film)
Saptapadi | |
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Hemanta Mukherjee | |
Production company | Alochaya Production |
Distributed by | Chayabani Productions Pvt Ltd |
Release date |
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Running time | 163 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Bengali |
Saptapadi (transl. Seven Steps) is a 1961 Indian
Plot
This article needs an improved plot summary. (February 2024) |
The story takes place in pre-independence India (early 1940) when young Indian students were competing equally with
Most of the movie is presented in flashbacks with Krishnendu pondering over the past after unexpectedly encountering a drunk and passed out Rina in a military hospital in returns.
Cast
- Uttam Kumar as Krishnendu
- Suchitra Sen as Rina Brown
- Chhabi Biswas as Krishnendu's Father
- Chhaya Devi as Rina's maid
- Padma Devi as Krishnendu's mother
- Tarun Kumaras Krishnendu's friend
- Utpal Dutt as Othello (voice-over)
- Jennifer Kapooras Desdemona (voice-over)
Production
The film was adapted from Tarashankar's 1958 novel Saptapadi. In the novel's ending Krishendu dies, but for the audience point of view in the film ending Krishnendu doesn't die and again joins with Rina Brown because Bengali audience not accepted Uttam Suchitra separation.
Shooting commenced started in late 1959. But during the production Uttam's father is died. So film shooting was stopped. Later again in late 1960s shooting started again. This was the second film after Harano Sur produced by Uttam Kumar under his banner Alochaya Production along with Ajoy Kar. Suchitra Sen was again cast in the Rina Brown role. For the film Kumar and Sen practiced dance and reading Shakespeare. The Othello play scene in the film had Kumar's voice-over by Utpal Dutta and Sen's voice-over by Jennifer Kapoor.
Kumar was a
The famous bike sequence from the song Ei Path Jodi Na Sesh Hoe Uttam and Suchitra did not ride the bike at all that day. The BMW bike on which this song was shot was not on the star duo ar all. Vetaran film critic Swapan Kumar Mallick unearths the famous scene in his book Mahanayak Revisited : The World of Uttam Kumar said the director Ajay Kar manipulated the close-up shots to shoot the bike scene. Multiple dummies were used in long shots. Uttam Suchitra didn't ride that BMW bike.[3]
Music
Saptapadi | |||||
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Feature film soundtrack | |||||
Length | 0:11:11 | ||||
Label | Sa Re Ga Ma | ||||
Producer | Uttam Kumar | ||||
Hemant Kumar chronology | |||||
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Saptapadi's music was directed by Hemant Kumar, with lyrics by Gauriprasanna Mazumder.[4] The song "Ei Path Jodi Na" was sung by Hemanta for Kumar and by Sandhya for Sen.
Soundtrack
Track | Title | Artist | Lyricist | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ei Poth Jodi Na Shesh Hoy (If This Path Does Not End) | Hemant Kumar and Sandhya Mukherjee | Gauriprasanna Mazumder | |
2 | Ei Poth Jodi Na Shesh Hoy (If This Path Does Not End) | Sandhya Mukherjee | Gauriprasanna Mazumder | Repeated. Sandhya Mukherjee's solo |
3 | On The Merry Go Round | Suzi Miller | Gauriprasanna Mazumder |
Release and reception
During the advance booking there was long queue and police was lathi charged for the craze. The film was released at Durga Puja on 20 October 1961. There was huge craze for the film because this was the comeback of Uttam-Suchitra pair more than two years after Chaoa Pawa in 1959.
The film was massive success at the box office and breaking all the previous records. It's become all-time blockbuster and ran for 105 days in theater and collected over four times more from the budget. The film become
Saptapadi entered in Moscow Film Festival in July 1963 with english subtitle as Seven Steps and nominated for Grand Pix Award.[5]
Awards
- 9th National Film Awards, 1961: Certificate of Merit for Second Best Feature Film in Bengali[6]
- 1962: BFJA Award for Best Actor - Uttam Kumar
- 1962: BFJA Award for Best Actress - Suchitra Sen
- 1963: Grand Prix [Nominee] for Ajoy Kar at Moscow International Film Festival (1963)
Legacy
The song Ei Path Jodi Na Sesh Hoe become evergreen blast hit and most popular romantic song in the history of Bengali cinema and the iconic bike sequence from that song remembering as one of the greatest romantic scenes ever. The song still popular among the bengali audience and used many cultural event and social issues.[7]
References
- ^ "45th IFFI Homage section page 152" (PDF). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "সুচিত্রার জেদের কাছে হার মেনেই 'সপ্তপদী'তে ইস্টবেঙ্গল জার্সি পরেছিলেন উত্তম" (in Bengali). 3 September 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
- ^ tiyash (13 July 2022). "'সপ্তপদী'র সেই দৃশ্যে বাইকেই চড়েননি উত্তম-সুচিত্রা! কীভাবে হয়েছিল শ্যুটিং | Saptapadi". Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "Saptapadi – Film Album" (in Bengali). Saregama Bengali – via YouTube.
- ^ "Ajoy Kar | Apple TV (IN)". Apple TV. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "9th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
- ^ "ছবির দৃশ্য তুলে ধরে প্রচারে পুলিশ". EI Samay (in Bengali). Retrieved 13 November 2022.
External links
- Saptapadi at IMDb