Do Bigha Zamin (1953)

Director:

Bimal Roy

Writers:

Salil Choudhury (story)
Paul Mahendra (Hindi dialogue)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A small Bengali landowner and his young son are in danger when their two-acre farmland where they live...

Plot Keywords:

Farmer | Court | Rickshaw | Drought | Rain

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Balraj Sahni	...	Shambu Maheto
Nirupa Roy	...	Parvati (Paro) Maheto
Rattan Kumar	...	Kanhaiya Maheto
Murad	...	Thakur Harnam Singh
Rajyalakshmi	...	Nayabji (as Rajlakshmi)
Nana Palsikar	...	Dhangu Maheto (Shambu's dad)
Noor Jehan		(as Noorjahan)
Nasir Hussain	...	Rickshaw puller (as Nazir Hussain)
Rekha Mallick		(as Rekha)
Misra
Chitra
Jagdeep	...	Laloo Ustad, shoeshine boy
Sarita Devi
Dilip Kumar Jr.
Ramayan Tiwari	...	Paro's molester (as Tiwari)

Also Known As:

Do Bigha Zameen (India: Bengali title)
Two Acres of Land (UK) (subtitle)

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

India:U | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Company:

Bimal Roy Productions

Trivia:

Originally the film showed Nirupa Roy, the mother, dying in the climax and her husband (Balraj Sahni) gaining his piece of land despite the tragedy in his life. But when Bimal Roy's wife saw the film, she found the climax too regressive and inhumane and asked her husband to change the end. Bimal Roy re-shot the end and this time, Nirupa Roy survived but Balraj Sahni lost his piece of land.

Movie Connections:

References Awaara (1951)

Soundtrack:

ajab tori duniya ho mere raaja

Disappointment

I had heard a lot for this film, which is considered a classic for the Indian cinema. It is true that, in comparison with other Bollywood films of the period, is far better, as it brings a fresh look coming straight from the Italian neo-realist school. But Bimal Roy is a bad imitator. He gives the portrait of the peasants and of their life in Colcatta in a persuasive way, but his story is full of unnecessary melodrama, as all life's misfortunes seem to have conspired in order to fall on Shambhu's head. Additionally, the plot is naive, the (largely) amateur actors do their best but without significant results, and the songs sound very dated. Overall, what remains after the end is a feeling of disappointment. I have rated with 4 out 10.