Palatak

Palatak is another Indian musical melodrama, in the old style of Bollywood. Based on a story by Manoje Basu, adapted by Tarun Majumdar, who also directs, together with Dilip and Sachin Mukherjee, under the collective pseudonymous of Yatrik. The film had a significant success, receiving awards for best actor, Anup Kumar, and best actor second, Ruma Guha Thakurta.

Spoken in Bengali, constitutes today a classic of the cinema of the region.

It deals with the story of a second son, rich and beloved, from a Brahmin family, who does not want to assume the responsibilities of his social position and decides to wander the world, almost like a vagabond, in search of experiences and knowledge. I say, almost like a vagabond, because, although he has no shame in sleeping under a tree, in a stable, or of joining a troupe of musicians and fairground ballerinas, he is not only always well provided with money, for any need, as he does not hesitate to use his caste and family name to be accepted, wherever he passes, even showing arrogance, frequently, with the ones that help him, and he treats as "inferior".

Palatak, which could be translated as a fugitive errant, is precisely a kind of anti-hero, who exchanged wealth for freedom, only to discover, at last, that what he always sought was within reach, almost without leaving his home. It was just the comfort and love of establishing one's own family.

The story is moralistic, but the character is complex and well-interpreted by Anup Kumar, giving the film a picturesque and socially colorful (despite being a black and white movie) vision of a remote and traditionalist India, strongly marked by social divisions, caused by the system of castes.

'Palatak' a very old Bengali film casting 'Anup Kumar' in leading Role. This is the best Bengali Movie I have ever seen in my life so far. But only a Bengali can actually realize the depth of this movie. This film is made only for the Bengali viewers and this film will just toy with your emotions if you are a Bengali. Once the film is finished, you will certainly woke up from a sweet dream. Mind will be shaken, heart will be full of tear. Can never forget the last seen where the boat is sailing towards the sea and 'Jibonpurer Pothik' is breathing his last breath in it. Just one word can describe this film in short...' '...sorry could not find any appropriate word in dictionary which can do justice to this film's greatness.

This is beautiful old Bengali movie. It can express many Palatak person's think and sentiment. My mother also like this movie.

Well, first of all, 'palatak' means 'escapist' in bengali (it's an Indian language if you don't know). The movie is old and so is in black and white. The story is adopted from a short story by a famous bengali writer. It is a story of a man who couldn't stand the bounds and chains of happy settled life and preferred the bengali village outdoors better. He has no fixed ambition other than to go to places and meet different people. A perfect bohemian character. The movie is about his journey and about the people he meets on his way. Given a choice of selecting the best feature of the movie, I probably couldn't make up my mind between the acting and the music. The songs are incredible and the acting unbelievable. To get the real feel of the movie you must understand bengali, subtitles never have the same depth and punch. If you are a bengali movie lover and want to see some great acting and hear some great music, this movie is a must-watch. I'm an fan of bengali movies and specially the old ones. I HAVE to give it a 10 out of 10.

Once a Tarun Majumadar-ian,always a Tarun Majumadar-ian...my 1st movie experience in cinema hall was also a Tarun Majumdar movie...his all movies are very close to my heart...but somehow i missed this classic where he co-directed this film with Dilip Mukherjee & Sachin Mukherjee (Yatrik)....Anup Kumar is just Brilliant..perhaps this is the only film where Anup Kumar surpassed his contemporary Great Rabi Ghosh...almost all actors have done their job fine..and last but not the least Music Director Hemanta Mukherjee did a tremendous job by creating several cult songs in a single movie.."Jibonpurer pathik re bhai","Mon je Amar Kamon Kamon Kore","Dosh Diyona Amay Bondhu"...