Uttam Kumar and comedy films like Mouchak.
Uttam Kumar, the most versatile superstar of Bengali films became one man industry in the 70s. Viewers were not that bothered about who was his heroine in the film or the co-actors or actresses. The moment the name of Uttam Kumar flashed in the silver screen the viewers knew that he had the potentiality of pulling on the film alone.
Arun Kumar Chatterji, better known as Uttam Kumar acted in Arobindo Mukherjee’s film Mouhak in 1975. Aurobindo Mukherjee had experimented with Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji in the films Nishipadda and Dhanni Meye. In Mouchak, Uttam Kumar was the elder brother of Ranjit Mullick who got a job outside Kolkata.
When he came to his workplace, he found that right from the CEO of the company to the different officers, people were looking for qualified men to get married to their daughters. Even the house that was rented to Ranjit Mullick was in the vicinity of all these persons who wanted to keep him in close watch and convince him to marry their daughters.
The situation became so worst that Uttam Kumar had to come to that place and artificially campaign about the bad character of Ranjit Mullick. He told all the officers that Ranjit Mullick was a drunkard, gambler and anti-social. Even after that the fathers of these girls never stopped coming to his house and convincing him about marrying their daughters.
At the end of the film Ranjit Mullick entered into an affair with Mithu Mukherjee, and after the acceptance of her both from Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji, the marriage was solemnized. The film showed the crude reality of fathers of unmarried daughters in Bengal in the mid-70s who generally were in need of qualified bachelors to get their daughters married to them.
Even the lips given by Uttam Kumar in Manna Dey’s songs like “Jodi jagai madhai”, “ebar mole suto hobo”, “paglagarod kothay ache”, etc., was equally brilliant.
Uttam Kumar died almost 29 years back. Bengali films these days get lot of sponsorship and technical development had taken place in the film industry. Yet the vacuum created by superstar Uttam Kumar neither had been filled up, nor can be filled up by anyone else. Comedy films like Mouchak should be restored to show the contribution of Uttam Kumar in those types of films.
Uttam Kumar, the most versatile superstar of Bengali films became one man industry in the 70s. Viewers were not that bothered about who was his heroine in the film or the co-actors or actresses. The moment the name of Uttam Kumar flashed in the silver screen the viewers knew that he had the potentiality of pulling on the film alone.
Arun Kumar Chatterji, better known as Uttam Kumar acted in Arobindo Mukherjee’s film Mouhak in 1975. Aurobindo Mukherjee had experimented with Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji in the films Nishipadda and Dhanni Meye. In Mouchak, Uttam Kumar was the elder brother of Ranjit Mullick who got a job outside Kolkata.
When he came to his workplace, he found that right from the CEO of the company to the different officers, people were looking for qualified men to get married to their daughters. Even the house that was rented to Ranjit Mullick was in the vicinity of all these persons who wanted to keep him in close watch and convince him to marry their daughters.
The situation became so worst that Uttam Kumar had to come to that place and artificially campaign about the bad character of Ranjit Mullick. He told all the officers that Ranjit Mullick was a drunkard, gambler and anti-social. Even after that the fathers of these girls never stopped coming to his house and convincing him about marrying their daughters.
At the end of the film Ranjit Mullick entered into an affair with Mithu Mukherjee, and after the acceptance of her both from Uttam Kumar and Sabitri Chatterji, the marriage was solemnized. The film showed the crude reality of fathers of unmarried daughters in Bengal in the mid-70s who generally were in need of qualified bachelors to get their daughters married to them.
Even the lips given by Uttam Kumar in Manna Dey’s songs like “Jodi jagai madhai”, “ebar mole suto hobo”, “paglagarod kothay ache”, etc., was equally brilliant.
Uttam Kumar died almost 29 years back. Bengali films these days get lot of sponsorship and technical development had taken place in the film industry. Yet the vacuum created by superstar Uttam Kumar neither had been filled up, nor can be filled up by anyone else. Comedy films like Mouchak should be restored to show the contribution of Uttam Kumar in those types of films.
