With its core proposition ‘Woh Zamaana Kare Deewana’, Zee Classic aims at reviving nostalgic moments and memories while providing complete entertainment. The channel celebrates the journey of the renowned filmmaker, Bimal Roy, with an exclusive five-part series titled, ‘The Bimal Roy Festival presented by Boman Irani’. In its last week, the festival will showcase another visual treat from the filmmaker – ‘Bandini’ on Saturday, 5th March at 8 PM. Released in 1963, this movie was the Highest Grosser of the Year. Based on a Bengali novel titled Tamasi and written by Charu Chandra Chakraborty, Bandini is a female centric film and tells the story of a female prisoner, her suffering and sacrifice. This was the last movie made by Bimal Da and Bandini went on to win the National Film Award for Best Hindi Film (1963).
The music in Bandini was composed by S.D. Burman and lyrics were written by Kaviraj Shailendra. During the shooting of Bandini, Kaviraj and Burman Da had small arguments following which Kaviraj quit the movie with one song yet to be written. Bimal Da was impressed with the knowledge of literature of one of his assistants who was working on the movie. This assistant who was working out of a garage in Mumbai was none other than Gulzar Sahab. Initially, Gulzar Sahab refused to write the song because he never wanted to become a lyricist. But on Bimal Da and S.D. Burman insistence, he wrote the song ‘Mora Gora Rang Lai Le, Mohe Shyam Rang Dai De’ in five days, which was later sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The song was a huge hit. Another symbolism used in the movie is the occasional shouting of ‘All is well’ by the prison guard when nothing in the movie really is and just as Kalyani is leaving prison for good, she receives yet another ironic message from a jail official who says, ‘Ab ghar grihasthi ki jail mein kaid rahogi!’.
Bandini is considered one of the best films made by Bimal Roy and one of the crowning achievements of Indian Cinema. The film is based on Kalyani (Nutan), who poisons to death a patient at the hospital she works in. The patient happens to be the wife of a freedom fighter Bikash Ghosh (Ashok Kumar), Kalyani’s former lover who had jilted her. While this is narrated through a flashback, the film opens showing Kalyani serving imprisonment. Deven (Dharmendra), the jail doctor, falls in love with her seeing her caring attitude towards others. But, Kalyani is not ready for any relationship and stays away from him. What does the future hold for Bandini?
