Bimal Roy, noted for realistic and socialistic films, was a successful and revered Indian director. Inspired by Italian Cinema, he made meaningful films which made their audiences stop and think. Bimal Roy’s exceptional work earned him many awards, both nationally as well as internationally. Here are some of his gems that you must watch.
1. Devdas
Who doesn’t know of this classic starring Dilip Kumar in the lead role? Bimal Roy’s adaptation of the story was the first on-screen adaptation and won four awards. SRK’s glorious Devdas and Abhay Deol’s modern day Dev-D probably wouldn’t have existed had it not been for the original movie.
2. Do Bigha Zameen
This movie, about the struggles of a farmer father-son duo struck by the famine, was the first movie to have won the Best Movie Award. Not just this, it was the first Indian film that entered the Cannes Festival, and won the Prix International prize.
3. Madhumati
A story of finding true love in a reincarnated form, this movie was a huge success. It was Bimal Roy’s first commercial film and won a total of 10 awards including best dialogue, best music director and best director.
4. Parakh
Parakh is a satirical look at democracy. It touches upon the greed and manipulative behaviour of people, interspersed with a simple love story. During a time where people were too hesitant to question society’s evils, Roy laid it all out beautiful for the public eye. The movie won three awards, including best director.
5. Yahudi
Set in the era of Roman Empire (yes, you read it right), Yahudi is the story of a Jewish woman who is romantically involved with the Roman prince during the Jewish persecution in Rome.
6. Sujata
Winner of six awards, this bold movie is about a love affair between a Brahmin man and an untouchable woman. Even today, such a story is rare on the silver screen. Bimal Roy brought this serious issue to life with the utmost sensitivity back in 1979.
7. Bandini
Bandini is a love story between the inmate of a women’s prison and the visiting doctor. The story unfolds as they confide in each other their deepest secrets. This film won seven awards including best actress, best movie and best director.
8. Parineeta
Before Vidya Balan’s name became synonymous with Parineeta, Bimal Roy brought this classic Rabindranath Tagore story on the big screen with Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar playing the lead roles, and did so with the utmost finesse.
9. Kabuliwala
For this film, Bimal Roy took the producer’s seat. His production, directed by Hemen Gupta is considered the most successful adaptation of Tagore’s famous story.
Wondering where you can watch all this old gold? Zee Classic brings to you five key films of the legendary filmmaker every Saturday at 8 pm. The Bimal Roy Film Festival, presented by Boman Irani starts on the 6th of February, 2016. Grab a bowl of popcorn, and your next few weekends are sorted.