Mahanayak Uttam Kumar: An Actor Sans Frontiers
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The most popular pair of Bengali cinema, Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, in a shot from the film ‘Saptapadi’
An exhibition in New Delhi marking the centenary of Mahanayak Uttam Kumar evokes nostalgia of the golden period of cinema in West Bengal
As Mahanayak Uttam Kumar is being celebrated profoundly on his centenary (1926-1980), we commemorate not only an actor but also an institution of affect, an empire of poise, whom history would coronate as a superhero and remember very fondly as Mahanayak. His filmography of more than two hundred offerings, from the tentative dawn of Drishtidaan to the valedictory glow of Ogo Bodhu Shundori is not a list but a liturgy of longing.
As I walked through ‘Cinema of Uttam Kumar’, an exhibition of posters, lobby cards, synopsis of songs, watercolour paintings and lithographs at The Centre of Art in Greater Kailash II, New Delhi, a sharp sketch of the works of Mahanayak was delineated in front of my eyes.
A view of the exhibition on Mahanayak Uttam Kumar
Whenever we recall Uttam Kumar, an inevitable retrospection comes to mind. That is nothing but the Uttam-Suchitra duo. The cinema, Sharey Chuattor in 1953 was the first temple where the Uttam-Suchitra priesthood was anointed, a hostel comedy that taught Calcutta how to fall in love in the tiffin room. Harano Sur in 1957 was a memory itself made cinematic where a famous doctor struck by amnesia, rediscovering his own wife, a narrative that permitted Bengal to forgive and weep in the same breath. In the year 1961, in Saptapadi, as Krishnendu, Uttam Kumar transmuted romance into a dialectic of religion, class, and colonial hangover. It remains his most chiseled performance, honoured in Moscow, preserved in reverence.
The 1959 was classic. In Obak Prithibi, Uttam Kumar has been cast in a rare anti-hero mold as Arjun, a lonely petty thief who prefers jail because food is assured. After failing to get re-arrested, he drifts to a missionary residential school run by a father. There he meets Miss Chatterjee. Sabitri Chatterjee’s performance in the role of Miss Chatterjee has been well acclaimed. She plays a teacher who first despises him then discovers his innate goodness and melodious singing voice.
Again, if we look back to 1956, there were two massively popular cinemas that hit the box office which are Shilpi and Ekti Raat. The cinema Shilpi was a tragic artist parable. Dhiman, a poor village boy brought to Kolkata by a servant, was given shelter in a rich person’s house and admitted to the Art College after his drawing talent was discovered. The rich man’s daughter Anjana falls for his art and then for him, but her father wants her married to his friend’s son. Threatened that Dhiman will be destroyed, Anjana tells him she never loved him; heartbroken, Dhiman returns to his village to sculpt her image as his last work before dying of poverty and illness. Obak Prithibi tells a totally different story. It was a one-night farce based on Banaphool’s Bhimpalashree. Sushovan Dutta and his wife Anita are invited to Digbijoy Babu’s house; Anita misses the train. Now, Sushovan is forced to travel with Santana, wife of a political leader, and because Gosaiji’s Harimatar Panthashala allows only married couples, they must pose as husband and wife, chasing a lost puppy through the night while both families suspect infidelity.
The posters of Haar Mana Haar, Naborag and many other brilliant pieces by Mahanayak Uttam Kumar have been showcased with utmost artistic yet creative flair at the exhibition. Hopefully, lots of Uttam-dilettantes across Delhi-NCR will visit the gallery in person to honour this legendary actor’s 100 years.
*The exhibition is on view through September 25, at Vision–The Centre of Art, S 71, Lower Ground Floor, G.K. 2, Opp K. R. Mangalam School, New Delhi – 110048. 11 am to 6 pm, Tuesday closed.
*The writer is currently working as Senior Scientific Associate at the International Division of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA), New Delhi. He holds an MTech in Materials Science and Nanotechnology from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, and an MSc in Applied Chemistry from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur Math. A connoisseur of art and culture, he is a theatre artiste who also performs Rabindra Sangeet and devotional songs.