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Journalism of Courage
Of the innumerable tributes to the late Uttam Kumar this year,one is in celluloid form. Its called Ogo Bodhu Sundari,the name of his last film starring Sumitra Mukherjee as his wife,Moushumi Chatterjee as the rustic girl he takes on to polish and Ranjit Mullick as the friend who helps him in his endeavour to make the rustic girl sophisticated and falls in love with her. This is the umpteenth rehash of Bernard Shaws Pygmalion turned into My Fair Lady starring Audrey Hepburn followed by Dev Anands Tina Munim-starrer Man Pasand.
Babul Supriyo has rendered three musical hits from the original film,along with a couple of Tagore songs beautifully,backed by the wonderful musical score of Bappi Lahiri. But Supriyo should stick to singing. His good looks do not translate into a notable screen presence or strong acting. The directors desperate attempt to bring out a merger between Uttam Kumar,who acted in the 1981 film and Kishore Kumar,who sang the songs,has flopped miserably. Monami is good as Phoolmani,but it is noneagarian Haradhan Banerjee who should bag the best acting trophy with Sabitri Chatterjee. While you are watching the film,a massive black-and-white photograph of a bespectacled Uttam Kumar keeps smiling at the proceedings. Its good that the director did not make the portrait come alive because if he did,the late Uttam Kumar would have rolled in his grave!
The film deserves two stars,one for the lilting and wonderful musical score and one for Haradhan and Sabitris acting.
