If you are an ardent follower of old Indian cinema, you should know that Bimal Roy is one of the pioneers of the parallel cinrma movement. He inspired many more directors like Gulzar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee. Roy’s films offer a unique blend of realism and imagination in his stories. He started telling the stories of the common man. Here is a short list of two films directed by Bimal Roy that you may like. If you do not know much of his filmography, these two films are a nice start.
Do Bigha Zameen (1953) – Youtube:
Balraj Sahani, Nirupa Roy and Meena Kumari’s cult classic has a screenplay from Hrishikesh Mukherjee and is adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s poem. It tells the story of a poor farmer, Shambhu, fails to pay his debts and the local zamindar threatens to annex the little piece of land owned by him. Shambhu goes to Calcutta to work as a rickshaw puller to collect more money to pay the debts. It is a heartfelt tale that will make you look for tissues. With amazing music from Salil Choudhury, ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ is a complete watch and if you are a cinephile, don’t Miss it.
Madhumati (1958) – Amazon Prime Video:
A classic thriller with Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthinala and Pran in the cast, ‘Madhumati’ is an engaging watch. The story is written by the legendary Ritwik Ghatak. It tells the story of Anand, a city dweller who gets a job in the hills and falls in love with a tribal woman. The love story does not have a very good ending. Years laterr, a man named Deven takes shelter in an old building during a landslide and strange events follow. He soon understands that the building looks impossibility familiar.