Do Bigha Zamin

Do Bigha Zamin
Film poster
Directed by	Bimal Roy
Produced by	Bimal Roy
Written by	Salil Choudhury (story) Paul Mahendra (dialogue) Hrishikesh Mukherjee (scenario)
Starring	Balraj Sahni Nirupa Roy Ratan Kumar Jagdeep Murad Nana Palsikar Meena Kumari
Music by	Salil Choudhury
Cinematography	Kamal Bose
Editing by	Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Distributed by	Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd.
Release date(s)	1953
Running time	142 min.
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Do Bigha Zamin (meaning "two acres of land") is 1953 Hindi film, directed by Bengali film director Bimal Roy and star Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles. The film is known for its socialist theme, and is an important film in the early parallel cinema of India and is rightly considered a trend setter.^[1] Bigha is measure of land area but is not same as acre though translating the title as such serves the purpose.

Inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, Bimal Roy made Do Bigha Zameen after watching, Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). ^[2] Like most of movies by Bimal Roy, art and commercial cinema are merged to create a movie that is still looked upon as a benchmark and paved way for future cinema makers in the Indian neo-realist movement^[3] and the Indian New Wave, which began in the 1950s.^[4]

A moderate commercial success, it was the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award and the first Indian film to win the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.^[5] In 2005, Indiatimes Movies ranked the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.^[6]

Plot

The story revolves around a farmer Shambu Mahato (Balraj Sahni), who lives with his wife Parvati `Paro’ (Nirupa Roy) and son Kanhaiya (Rattan Kumar) in a small village that has been hit badly by a famine. After years of drought, the region finally gets rain, leading to the farmers to rejoice. Shambu owns two bighas (a unit of land measurement where 3 bighas is 1 acre) of land, which in the only means of live hood for the whole family. The local zamindar (landlord) Thakur Harnam Singh (Murad) partners with some city business men to construct a mill on his large parcel of land, which in return would profit them and bring prosperity to the village. The only problem is in the middle of Harnam singh's land, lays Shambu's meager two bighas of land.

Harnam Singh is very confident that he could buy Shambu's land. Shambu has borrowed money from Harnam Singh several times in the past and has not paid back his debt. Harnam Singh calls for Shambu and proposes Shambu to sell his land to him in exchange for his debt. Shambu disagrees to sell his only livelihood and Harnam Singh gets upset. Harnam Singh orders him to pay back his debt by the next day or risk auctioning his land.

Shambu comes back home to discuss the issue with his father, and with the help of his son, they figure out that the debt amounts to 65 rupees. Shambu wants to save his land by all means and sells all his household items including his wife's gold earrings. When Shambu meets Harman Singh's accountant to pay back his debt of 65 rupees, he's shocked to know that he actually owes 235 rupees. The accountant had forged the accounts and now refuses to consider the labor provided by Shambu's father Gangu as portion of debt payoff. The case goes to court and Shambu being an illiterate, has a tough time explaining to the judge how the accountant forged the numbers and how he took accountant's word of mouth and did not demand any receipt. Shambu loses the case, however the judge orders Shambu to pay back 235 rupees to Harnam Singh in three months. If Shambu is not able to pay back his debt, then his land would be auctioned off and the proceeds would go to pay off his debts.

Shambu now struggles to get the money and he is unable to get a loan because he has no collaterals. One of his village friends gives him an idea to go to Calcutta (now Kolkata) and try to get a job to earn enough money to pay off his debt. Shambu likes this idea, but faces resistance from his wife as she's pregnant and does not want to live away from him. Shambu persuades her that he'll be gone for three months only and it would benefit his family and the new born baby. Kanhaiya wants to join his father too, but Shambu refuses and scolds him. On the train to Calcutta, Shambu finds Kanhaiya hiding and hitchhiking with him and after a brief confrontation agrees to take Kanhaiya with him.

In Calcutta, Shambu and Kanhaiya face a harsh welcome. Nobody is willing to talk with them, let alone help them. Kanhaiya befriends a street side shoe shiner named Lalu `Ustad’ (Jagdeep). They hope for no prospective and even loose their last possessions while they are asleep on the street sides. Kanhaiya falls ill, and Shambu ends up renting a small room in the slums with the help of a tea vendor and the landlady's adopted grandchild rani. In order to pay the rent, Shambu works a coolie. Shambu befriends an old rickshaw-puller (Nasir Hussain), who helps him to get a license as a rickshaw-puller. Kanhaiya tries to help his family by taking up shoe shining with the help of old rickshaw-puller and Lalu `Ustad’. Back in the village, Parvati and Gangu survive on eating water chestnuts picked up from the local river. She's seeks help from Bahu (Meena Kumari) to write letters to Shambu and stay in touch.

As the three months end date nears by, Shambu becomes aggressive about earning and saving more money. One day, a man asks Shambu to chase another rickshaw that is carrying his girlfriend. Shambu is insisted to pull the rickshaw very fast for more money. The rickshaw loses a wheel and Shambu meets with an accident. Looking at the condition of his father, Kanhaiya joins a pick pocketer in order to earn quick money. Shambu gets mad and beats Kanhaiya when he comes to know about his dirty earnings. Meanwhile, Parvati gets worried since she receives no letters or money from Shambu and the Zamindar's accountant accuses Shambu that he has forgotten his family. She ends up working on a local construction site and gets devastated when she receives the news that Shambu has met with an accident. Finally, Parvati decides to visit Shambu in the city even though Gangu is on bed rest suffering of high fever.

Parvati arrives in Calcutta, and is taken by a strange man, who claims he knows Shambu and will take her to him. He takes her to his shed and tries to steal and force her. She flees from him, but comes under a car. The crowd gathers around her and they call for a rickshaw to take her to the hospital. Shambu who was passing by offers a ride, and is shocked to see his injured wife. Meanwhile, Kanhaiya not able to withstand his father's condition steals money from a lady and runs back to the slum. He comes to know about his mother's condition and rushes to the hospital. He cries after seeing his injured mother and claims that God has punished them because he started stealing money. He rips the money into pieces. The doctors tell Shambu that he has to spend money on medicine and blood in order to save his wife. Poor Shambu has no choice but so spend all his earnings to save his wife.

Back in the village the land is auctioned because Shambu fails to pay back the debt and Gangu develops a mental disorder. The land is now owned by Harman Singh and the mill construction has begun. Shambu and his family come back to the village only to see their land sold and a factory being constructed over it. He then tries to get a handful of dirt from his land, but is stopped and forced to throw away by a security guard. The film ends as Shambu and his family walks away from their land.

Awards and nominations

7th Cannes Film Festival (1954) ^[5]

• Winner - Prix Internationale (International Prize)
• Nominated - Grand Prize (Best Film)

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ^[3]

• Winner - Prize for Social Progress

1st Filmfare Awards (1954)

• Winner - Best Film
• Winner - Filmfare Best Director Award - Bimal Roy

National Film Awards (India)

• Winner - Certificate of Merit

Development

The Title

The movie got the name from a famous poem by Rabindranath Tagore, called "Dui Bigha Jomi". Bimal Roy distributed the film abroad in the name "Calcutta - The Cruel City". In the name of the movie "Two Bigha of Land" or Two Acres of Land, Bigha or Acre is a unit of measuring land. Bigha varies from state to state. In Bengal, where the movie is based, 3 bigha is one acre (4,000 m²). Therefore, Shambhu owns only 2,700 m².

Rickshaw-Puller Rehearsal

In order to better prepare for the role, Balraj Sahni actually rehearsed for the role by pulling a rickshaw on the streets of Calcutta. He interacted with many rickshaw pullers and some of them were facing the same tough situation as portrayed in the movie.^[7]

Songs

"Aaja ri aa nindiya tu aa" - Performed by Lata Mangeshkar

"Ajab tori duniya ho mere raaja" - Performed by Mohammed Rafi

"Dharti kahe pukaar ke" - Performed by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar & chorus

"Hariyaala saawan dhol bajaata aaya" - Performed by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar & chorus

References

1. ^ Trends and genres
2. ^ Anwar Huda (2004). The Art and science of Cinema. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 100. ISBN 8126903481. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=HiA3X6RLLnYC&pg=PA100&dq=Bandini+%281963+film%29&hl=en&ei=ocYZTvvEN8q3rAf3wNjPAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Bandini%20%281963%20film%29&f=false. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Do Bigha Zamin at filmreference
4. ^ Srikanth Srinivasan (4 August 2008). "Do Bigha Zamin: Seeds of the Indian New Wave". Dear Cinema. http://dearcinema.com/review-do-bigha-zamin-bimal-roy. Retrieved 2009-04-13. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b} "Festival de Cannes: Do Bigha Zamin". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3829/year/1954.html. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
6. ^ 25 Must see Bollywood Films
7. ^ Vinay Lal (2008). "Manas: Culture, Indian Cinema: Do Bigha Zamin:". http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/southasia/Culture/Cinema/dobigha.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-13. 

External links

• Do Bigha Zamin at the Internet Movie Database
• Review from Rediff.com's Classics revisted series
• upperstall.com review