Biraj Bahu (1954)

Hindi remake of Amar Mullick’s Bengali film for New Theatres’ Biraj Bou (1946). Based on a story by Bengali novelist Saratchandra, the film’s narrative pivot is the beautiful Biraj who is committed to the happiness of her husband Nilambar. Left in poverty by the callousness of Nilambar’s brother Pitambar and to meet the cost of his sister Punnu’s marriage, Biraj slaves away earning money making and selling dolls until an amorous young zamindar starts paying attention to her. Then, her commitment to her family yields to cynicism about the attitudes of all men towards women, including those of her husband. Edited by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and with Asit Sen as assistant director, this film continued Parineeta’s (1953) effort to transplant themes from Bengali reform literature into the Hindi cinema, influencing the later films of Mukherjee and Sen.