Saturday Bollywood: Bimal Roy, known for unconventional themes and experimental filmmaking, long before Anurag Kashyap and Madhur Bhandarkar, made it hit the bull’s eye. Parakh. The director who had the ability to explore rural India and social issues with complete authenticity made a satirical social drama. As new wave cinema in Hollywood was on the rise during the 1950s and 1960s, Bimal Roy left no stone unturned to work on quality content in terms of storytelling. After being inspired by Italian neorealist cinema in Do Bigha Zamin, Bimal Roy moved into light-hearted, yet hard-hitting satirical drama. With Parakh he attempted a social drama as India’s answer to the likes of Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Cubrick and the dark comedies of Roman Polanski. A simple story of greed told against the backdrop of casteism, untouchability, class division and democracy creates a universal theme.Also Read – Bollywood Saturday: Do you know Guru Dutt’s Kaagaz Ke Phool is a tribute to his mentor Gyan Mukherjee?
BIMAL ROY WANTED PARAKH TO BE A FILM WITHOUT SONGS
The best part of Bimal Roy’s depiction of social realism is the lightheartedness displayed through the melodious music and traditional customs. Bimal Roy initially wanted to make a film without a song to stay true to the theme. He had trusted the lousy Salil Choudhary for the film’s story and music. While the legendary Shailendra had penned the dialogues for the film. As Salil and Shailendra completed their work Parakh, they explained to the filmmaker that the film should have song sequences. After hearing their perspective, Bimal Roy was convinced to add songs to his satirical drama. Also Read – Bollywood Saturday: Did you know that the song ‘Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate’ from ‘Bobby’ was penned by Raj Kapoor?
PARAKH HAS THE LEGENDARY PEACEFUL LATA MANGESKAR THE SOULFUL PERFORMANCE
O Sajana Barkha Bahar Aayi and Mere Mann Ke Diye The visuals in Sadhna are among the best songs in the film. Both are sung by none other than the nightingale late Lata Mangeshkar. Shailendra had also contributed his lyrics earlier Make Bighaa Zameen and Madhumati, Bimal Roy’s timeless classics. Salil Choudhary, on the other hand, was the music composer for these films as well. Bimal Roy’s films have also conveyed the intensity of the narrative through brilliant cinematography. Parakh was no different as the project was handed over to ace filmmaker Kamal Bose. Bose was the cinematographer on Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, Devdas and Sujatabefore Parakh. Also Read – Bollywood Saturday: Do you know Ashok Kumar starrer Naaz was the first Hindi film to be shot abroad?
The film received five Filmfare nominations and won three awards, including Best Director. Parakh features Sadhana, Motilal, Nazir Hussain, Durga Khote, Leela Chitnis, Basanta Choudhary and Keshto Mukherjee in pivotal characters.
Parakh it was a semi-hit at the box office.
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