Calcutta 71

''Calcutta 71'' is a 1972 Bengali film directed by noted Indian art film director Mrinal Sen. This film is considered to be the second film of Mrinal Sen's ''Calcutta'' trilogy, the other two being ''Interview'', and '' Padatik''. The film is a collection of stories depicting the 1970s. The Naxalite movement, starvation of common people, and social and political corruption are shown. There are four disjunct subplots shown in the film.

Plot

The prologue of the film follows after the plot of ''Interview''. The main protagonist Ranjit Mallick is brought to trial in a "metaphorical" courtroom, for he undressed a mannequin wearing a suit in a tailoring shop, because he was provoked by the "audience" for his failure to ace the interview as he couldn't manage to get a suit. What follows is a satirical courtroom session, which initially concludes, that the fault is imbued in the society itself; but finding it impossible to punish the society at large, he is executed instead.

First Subplot

It's about a lower middle-class family, as they struggle with rainfall while their stay in a cottage witihin a slum. Past midnight, when situations become completely inhabitable, they're forced to leave the cottage and move to another safe shelter. When they reach, they find out many others had already taken shelter there before them.

Second Subplot

It's about another lower middle-class family, consisting of a single mother, and her two daughters. The family unable to cope with their impoverished conditions due to famine, the mother have pimped her daughters. It was based on the timeline Bengal famine of 1943 due to the World War II. Their cousin brother Nalinakhya, who lives in Delhi, comes to visit them, and confronts the hard reality; uneased and afraid of a blackout, he leaves for Delhi. This subplot is adapated from a short story ''Angar'' by Probodh Kumar Sanyal.

Third Subplot

It's of a rural middle-class family, where the elder son of a family is involved in smuggling rice to the city forsaking his school and education. The boys, including him, insult an abrasive bourgeoisie man for his belittling of them, by taunting he'd marry his sister. He violently lashes out on that boy, beating him to the point of nosebleed; and as a revenge, the boy pushes that man off from the train, breaking the accessories he carried. Afraid of being caught by authorities, he shelters within a narrow space of the train.

Fourth Subplot

It's about a corporate concert party of the Kolkata's bourgeoisie. An hypocrite buisnessman discusses profound philosophies, feigning concern about the 1942 Famine of Bengal. His employee, whom he mocks by calling him thick-skinned, later scornfully remarks to other attendees that he exploits the workers of his factory. It is a sardonic portrayal of the elites.

In the final scene, confession and the encounter of a Naxalite is shown. The story is continued in Sen's film Padatik, the last film of the Calcutta Trilogy.

Cast

* Debraj Roy
* Ranjit Mullick as himself.
* Utpal Dutt as the defense attorney of the mannquein.
* Haradhan Bandopadhyay
* Asit Bandopadhyay
* Ajitesh Bandopadhyay
* Satya Bandyopadhyay
* Madhabi Mukherjee
* Gita Sen
* Mithu Nandi

Awards

National Film Awards for Best Second Feature Film.

References

External links

*

On the Mrinal Sen website

1972 films
1972 drama films
Bengali-language Indian films
Indian drama films
Films directed by Mrinal Sen
Films set in Kolkata
Second Best Feature Film National Film Award winners
1970s Bengali-language films
Films based on works by Samaresh Basu
Films based on works by Manik Bandopadhyay

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