Saptapadi (1961)

Set in WW2, the Jesuit Rev. Krishnendu (U. Kumar) runs a military hospital in Bankura. A wounded woman soldier, Rina Braun (Sen), arrives and he recognises his former lover, triggering a long flashback showing them as fellow medical students. She is an exotic Eurasian and the hero wins her while playing Othello (he was dubbed by Utpal Dutt, renowned for his stage performance of that role) to her Desdemona in a college performance. His orthodox father (Biswas) forbids their marriage. The hero converts to Christianity and exiles himself. Rina discovers that she is the illegitimate daughter of a Hindu maid and becomes an alcoholic, eventually joining the army. Back in the present, Rina tries to kill herself when she regains consciousness but the lovers are united in the midst of the war (Tarashankar’s original story ended tragically). This Kumar/Sen hit (cf. Sagarika, 1956), including their characteristic low-angle, soft-focus close-ups and stylised movements, yielded one of the most popular song picturisations of the decade, the classic motor bike scene number Ei path jadi na shesh hoi.