Palanka (film)

Palanka (English: The Bedstead) is a 1975 Bengali film directed by Rajen Tarafdar based on a short story of Narendranath Mitra. It was an India-Bangladesh joint production, with Utpal Dutt and Anwar Hossain in the lead roles. At the 23rd National Film Awards, India, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. .[1][2]

Palanka
Directed byRajen Tarafdar
Written byNarendranath Mitra
StarringUtpal Dutt
Sandhya Roy
Anwar Hossain
Music bySudhin Dasgupta
CinematographySailaja Chatterjee
Distributed byAnis Films (Bangladesh); D. S. Pictures (India)
Release date
  • 7 November 1975 (1975-11-07)
Running time
128 minutes
CountryIndia, Bangladesh
LanguageBengali

Synopsis

The film is set in the period immediately following the Partition of India. Rajmohan (Utpal Dutt), a Hindu aristocrat, decides to stay on in East Bengal, which is now part of Pakistan, rather than migrate to India with his family members. His companion in the village is Maqbool (Anwar Hossain), a poor Muslim. Rajmohan's family faces financial hardship in Calcutta. His daughter-in-law writes to him to sell a bed and send her the money. The bed,a huge ornate four-poster bed, which is famous in the village for its size and the quality of its craftsmanship, had been part of her dowry. Rajmohan is annoyed by this, and on an impulse he decides to sell the bed to Maqbool, who makes space for it in his dilapidated hut. This leads to an uproar among the upper-class Muslims in the village, who accuse Maqbool of trying to go beyond his class. Rajmohan too regrets his impulsive decision and wants the bed back. To Maqbool however, the bed has come to be a symbol of his liberation from feudal bondage. He would rather go hungry than sell the bed back. The issue is finally resolved to the satisfaction of all.

Cast

Crew
  • Direction -- Rajen Tarafdar
  • Music -- Sudhin Dasgupta
  • Cinematography -- Sailaja Chatterjee (as Sailaja Chattopadhyay)
  • Set design -- S. A. Q. Moinuddin

Reception

The film did not enjoy commercial success, but was critically well received at the time, winning one National Award and two BFJA Awards. According to one researcher, the film has now "faded into oblivion".[3]

Awards and honours

Preservation

The original negative of the film is either lost or damaged beyond restoration. Prints are also difficult to trace.[5]

References
  1. "23rd National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  2. "23rd National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. Partitioned Lives: Narratives of Home, Displacement, and Resettlement. Pearson Education India. 2008. p. 68. ISBN 9789332506206. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  4. "Fribourg Film Festival has focus on Bengal". Bulletin on Film (Vol XLIV, No. 4). RRTD, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. April 2000. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. Dasgupta, Priyanka (25 September 2011). "JEWELS LOST". Times of India (Kolkata Times City). TNN. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
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