Bhuvan Shome

Bhuvan Shome , a picture directed by master craftsman of the Indian films - Mrinal Sen , is about an orthodox man , who is recluse and loner. The old angry man is neither loves any body or is not loved by anybody.Disappointed with his own lifestyle , he decides to take vacation and lands in a village for duck hunting. Here he meets a beautiful young village belle called Gauri. She brings fun and a spirit of love in his drab life.unconsciously his lifestyle and philosophy of life changes. The location of film is breathtaking.His selection of a small village in a corner of Gujarat (Trapaj -Bhvnagar) is proof of his tireless search for location.Utpal Dutt , a brilliant actor, usually seen as comedian in Hindi films , portrays role of Bhuvanshome ,the old man to perfection.Suhasini Mulay as village girl is beauty and innocence incarnate. The film is all about lessons how life should be lived and discipline order and planning do have place but they are not all that is required to make life interesting.

Bhuvan Shome is probably the finest film I have seen. The film is about Bhuvan Shome, a senior government officer and widower, who lives an isolated and strict life. He decides to take a vacation, and comes upon a pretty village belle, who is young, enthusiastic, full of life and humor. The short time they spend together changes Shome's entire outlook to life and his own future. The beauty of the film lies in its exploring the key issues in the protagonist's life through a simple narrative, beautiful scenery and light hearted interplay between the characters. To borrow Robert Browning's phrase, at the end you are left with the feeling of, "God's in His heaven - All's right with the world!"

We have seen him as one of the most whimsical funny old man 'Bhavanishankar' in Hrishida's timeless classic comedy 'Golmaal'or 'Naram Garam'. Utpal Dutt was one of the absolutely brilliant and rare breed of actor. I don't remember any other actor who became so graceful at one time and so funny at the other as he grew old in his characters. He was one of the original Indian comedian who didn't require funny dialogues or situations to make you laugh. Humor is the integral part of his natural body language.

The film is Winner of President's Gold Medal and made by India's art house director- Mrinal Sen. It's a limited budget small film with the length of one and half hours. The plot is more seems like reading one of R K Narayan's Malgudi tales.

Bhuvan Shome is typical Bengali Babu who is very principle loving, strict, angry old man serving as a Railway Officer. Due to his arrogant typical characteristics he always regarded in staff as the dangerous man whose sight everyone likes to avoid. He didn't pay heed to his own single son and left him from several years. Now at the ripe age he cultivated a new suitable hobby of hunting birds. He landed up in one of the local Gujarati town for hunting and met a smart local Gujarati village girl with whom he shared a strange relationship as she helped him in his hunting task. How his encounter with the girl transformed him from a whimsical, arrogant old officer into a lovable life loving gentleman is a thing to watch for all Indian cinema lovers.

I don't want to ruin the characteristic charm of Utpal Dutt while praising him much but let me say that I surely include his act here in one of my favorite Indian movie characters list. Watch his mood in the last scene when he committed a single good act of his life and you can't resist smile on your face. The film also has fine act by young and charming Suhasini Mulay.( Remember the modern age mother of Akshay Khanna in 'Dil Chahta Hai') You just love his natural act here.

The only thing you have to bear is few tiring long shots which sometimes bore you. But if you tolerate it, I guarantee you will surely enjoy a quality cinema.

Highly Recommended for all Utpal Dutt fans.

Ratings- 8/10

A wonderful script with a brilliant performance by Utpal Dutt. I personally found the filmmaking a bit janky at times but to compensate for that there are some beautiful shots mixed in. Not quite a masterpiece but definitely could've been with a little more subtlety.

Contrary to the popular belief, this movie is not dark at all. But this had some shady colors, that is for sure. I am writing this here, but honestly, out of all the reviews I am putting in IMDb, I think this is the only movie I still do not understand. Watched this twice. Does not mean that Sen failed at communication, not at all. Sen never failed while telling something. This movie was one of the first NFDC funded film. Thematically, this movie shows solitude and monotony. This is about a man's life who loves and has chosen to be alone. His subordinates are afraid of him, and calls names when he is not around. Having known that, the protagonist here does not do anything to change that. And then he meets her during a hunt - how poetic - and the story gets one more second act. In other words, a man who is reluctant to like or love others starts getting into it. Let us give 2 trivia to make is a little bit interesting. One, this was Amitabh Bacchan's debut as a narrator. Yes, Sen was good in casting too. Secondly, this movie makes the first of the long going love story between Sen and the super-DOP, K K Mahajan.