Uttam Kumar's Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha.

Uttam Kumar’s Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha.

Uttam Kumar’s Bikele Bhorer Phool propagated the tourist spot Digha. Digha became an important tourist spot with allied spots like Talsari, Shankarpur, Jhargram, etc., in the recent times. Lot of films are shot in the romantic place. But in the early 70s, the tourist spot was on the making. Uttam Kumar’s film gave it a great launching pad. Uttam Kumar became a living God in the 70s in Bengali cinema. Bikele Phorer Phool was released in the early 70s, at a time when producers used to consider that the moment Uttam Kumar appeared in any film the film became hit automatically. He was one man industry. The film was directed by Pijush Basu.

The film was entirely shot at West Bengal’s biggest tourist attraction Digha. It was released in 1974, and director Pijush Bose in one way discovered the place. Uttam Kumar was a renowned novelist in the film. He was old aged and came to Digha to pass his leisure time. Sumitra Mukherjee with her friends were college girls who were brought by the college teacher from Kolkata on a trip to Digha.

When the college teachers knew about the presence of Uttam Kumar, they called him in the guest house to address the college students. Sumitra Mukherjee sang a rabindra sangeet, “ki gabol ami”. Uttam Kumar then told them a horror story. Most of the girls became fan of Uttam Kumar.

Sumitra Mukherjee got especially attached with him, as she had a bad parentage and her parents quarreled against each other daily. She went to Kapal Kundala Mandir near Digha with Uttam Kumar. That was the place where Novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterji got the plot of the novel Kapal Kundala.

Sumitra Mukherjee wanted to marry Uttam Kumar. But Uttam Kumar explained to her that his days were over, he was old like twilight and Sumitra Mukherjee was a young flower, so marriage between unequal age groups could not blossom. He advised Sumitra Mukherjee to forget her past, concentrate on singing and live a better life.

Utpal Dutt did a great job in role of District Magistrate. He showed his comedy instincts as his speeches and song made the young girls laugh. Kalyan Chatterji played the role of a loafer who wanted to seduce Sumitra Mukherjee and got a slap from Uttam Kumar for that.

Hemant Kumar’s music was super hit, with Arati Mukherjee’s song “ei jhaupata” becoming very popular in the early 70s. In the song “ei jhaupata” the entire forests (jhaubon) fringing the Bay of Bengal in Digha was shown. Uttam Kumar’s mere presence in a film used to create storms in the Bengali arena during that time.

So the film of Pijush Bose ended up being a super hit project. The film and the music should be preserved.

Uttam Kumar showed his excellence in his last film Ogo Bodhu Sundari too.

Uttam Kumar showed his excellence in his last film Ogo Bodhu Sundari too.

Bengali superstar Uttam Kumar dominated Bengali cinema from the late 40s and for 35 years remained the uncrowned king of Bengali cinema. Even in his last film Ogo Bodhu Sundari released in 1980, he showed his excellence. He died at the set of Ogo Bodhu Sundari after suffering heart attack.

Uttam Kumar played the main role in Pijush Bose’s film Ogo Bodhu Sundari based on Bertrand Russell’s classic literature Pygmalion. He was married to Sumitra Mukherjee in the film. She met Meenakshi Goswami and her new husband Haradhon Banerjee in parties. Uttam Kumar brought Moushumi Chatterji from the streets and taught her Bengali and English.

Uttam Kumar’s assistant Santosh Dutta told him that it was not possible to reform Moushumi Chatterji as she spoke absolutely rustic language. She used to show games with two monkeys on streets. Uttam Kumar taught her horse riding, motor driving, swimming and made her modern.

Sumitra Mukherjee got irritated with Uttam Kumar and went to her grandfather Bikash Roy’s house. Her brother Ranjit Mullick fell in love with Moushumi Chatterji. Uttam Kumar proved that if proper training is given to even an uneducated person, that person can be trained.

Bappi Lahiri composed music for the film and all the songs of Uttam Kumar were sung by Kishore Kumar. The songs like “shudhu tumi nou abalakanto”, “ami ekjon shantoshishto”, “ei to jiban” became super hit. The most striking factor was that it was Uttam Kumar’s last film. He was in his 50s. Even then his glamour and dynamism still played a huge role.

The coloured film became super hit due to sheer brilliance of Uttam Kumar. The comedy sequences in the film were well portrayed by Moushumi Chatterji, Santosh Dutta and Sumitra Mukherjee. It is sad that Uttam Kumar died at such an age, otherwise he could have given super hits for more years later.

Review of Uttam Kumar's Bikele Bhorer Phool.

Review of Uttam Kumar’s Bikele Bhorer Phool.

Uttam Kumar became a living God in the 70s in Bengali cinema. Bikele Phorer Phool wa released in the earlier 70s, at a time when producers used to consider that the moment Uttam Kumar appeared in any film the film became hit automatically. He was one man industry. The film was directed by Pijush Basu.

The film was entirely shot at West Bengal’s tourist attraction Digha. It was released in 1974, when Digha did not become a romantic beach resort. Uttam Kumar was a renowned novelist in the film. He was old aged and came to Digha to pass his leisure time. Sumitra Mukherjee with her friends were college girls who were brought by the college teacher from Kolkata on a trip to Digha.

When the college teachers knew about the presence of Uttam Kumar, they called him in the guest house to address the college students. Sumitra Mukherjee sang a rabindra sangeet, “ki gabol ami”. Uttam Kumar then told them a horror story. Most of the girls became fan of Uttam Kumar.

Sumitra Mukherjee got especially attached with him, as she had a bad parentage and her parents quarreled against each other daily. She went to Kapal Kundala Mandir near Digha with Uttam Kumar. That was the place where Novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterji got the plot of the novel Kapal Kundala.

Sumitra Mukherjee wanted to marry Uttam Kumar. But Uttam Kumar explained to her that his days were over, he was old like twilight and Sumitra Mukherjee was a young flower, so marriage between unequal age groups could not blossom. He advised Sumitra Mukherjee to forget her past, concentrate on singing and live a better life.

Utpal Dutt did a great job in role of District Magistrate. He showed his comedy instincts as his speeches and song made the young girls laugh. Kalyan Chatterji played the role of a loafer who wanted to seduce Sumitra Mukherjee and got a slap from Uttam Kumar for that.

Hemant Kumar’s music was super hit, with Arati Mukherjee’s song “ei jahaupata” becoming very popular in the early 70s. Uttam Kumar’s mere presence in a film used to create storms in the Bengali arena during that time.

So the film of Pijush Bose ended up being a super hit project. The film and the music should be preserved.