Bandini
Directed by Bimal Roy
Written by Jarasahnda, Nabendu Ghosh, and Paul Mahendra
1963/India
Bimal Roy Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim. Martin Luther King, Jr. [/box]
Bollywood also made musical dramas like this pretty good one.
Kalyani is confined to women’s prison. She bravely volunteers to nurse an inmate with TB. The prison doctor falls in love with her but she turns him down due to her terrible past. She is due to be released from prison, though, and the jailer convinces her to write her story. We then segue into flashback and learn how Kalyani’s ill-fated romance with a freedom fighter led her to commit murder. We return to the present and learn how Kalyani’s romance with the doctor turns out.
This 2 1/2 hour film could have used at least half an hour of strategic cutting. Nevertheless, it held my interest throughout. The leading lady is the best thing about the movie and fortunately she is on screen most of the time. The songs are OK. There is no dancing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZolzVlVOtk4
Clip – no subtitles – a freedom fighter goes singing to his execution
