User reviews

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

This is a Hindi language art film starring Utpal Dutt and Suhasini Mulay.

The film is overrated, let it put it out there right away.

Dragging in large parts and lacking in message. If it wanted to convey how a holiday lightens up a man, it is contradicted at the end. After letting go a junior with just a warning, the junior ticket collector writes to his fiancee that he's been posted to a larger junction meaning more trains and more bribe money earnings.

The camera work is the biggest disaster jarring from scene to scene. The buffalo chase only evokes a forced laughter. Ogling at women on their way to pick water isn't comedy as the scene tries to portray, it's obscene.

The only soothing camera work was the flight of birds, which I'm inclined to believe was a seperate feature plugged in to the film.

The desert expanses would have been great to watch if the film were shot in colour.

Among the performances I feel Utpal Dutt only just had to do his usual part, nothing out of the ordinary, although he received a National award.

Suhasini Mulay's spontaneous portrayal of a bubbly character stood out.

The direction wasn't great even though by a legend - and again - awarded here.

Overall, best avoided...

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.

Mrinal Sen's low-budget film is one of the most touching movie. He brings out the nuances in this simple yet touching story so poignantly. No special effects, no dramatic moments! Just simple depiction captured on film to move the audience. The performers were so natural in their portrayal of the characters and effectively communicated & shared their feelings/ emotions/ attitudes with the audience. An exceptional artistic endeavour!

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!"

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 (1969) : Brief Review -

An attempt to put Art Cinema and Experimental Storytelling together fulfills the overall context nicely. Bhuvan Shome is known as Landmark in modern cinema style of Bollywood that begun in late 70s. The film is about Bhuvan Shome, a strict, disciplined and tough civil servant who goes through inner transformation while holidaying and hunting a bird in a Village. His vision to look at things is limited, narrow and confined but then he meets a Beautiful girl Gauri who takes care of all his needs and surprised Bhuvan sees changes in life by the end. I didn't really find it upto the level to be called a Landmark, may be i am saying this in hurry, may be i should wait and see more such films to realise where this film stands. That might happen soon but for now i found it Nice but not a Landmark film. The reason is narrative is simple and it doesn't really offer anything upto Landmark level. One man's realisation about his own life isn't atypical at all. It surely falls in mainstream category but another fact cannot be denied that the storytelling is surely out of the box. Despite simple narrative Bhuvan Shome ends up as a Nice and Solid film because of the Experimental storytelling into art cinema form. This combination is rare and unbelievably pleasant for art lovers. Although film looks very slow in spite of short runtime, the artistic use of Camera and Background Music makes this one a Must Watch. Utpal Dutt and Suhasini Mulay both delivers natural acts and thier expressions are simply outstanding. Mrinal Sen's vision and attempt to bring art cinema into experimental fashion is surely influential and learning lesson for Bollywood filmmakers today. But he did it 5 decades ago, Kudos.. Overall, its a Very Good film and definitely watchable for Art Cinema and Class Lovers.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest

Bhuvan Shome is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Mrinal Sen,director of the film once said "BHUVAN sHOME IS THE STORY OF TRAGIC REALISATION' However I do not agree with it.In my opinion:

This film is about the most beautiful experiences of man.First of all he is touched by the beauty of NATURE.The open land and wind and.sky and birds,...An altogether different life from his PRISON. Nature sooths his hard rigid persona.

Secondly it is the realization that there is a vast unknown world beyond our own.Bhuwan shome did not know the names of many birds,trees,people.He experiences the joy of knowing his own limitations.

THIRDLY he experiences the touch of "unselfish love".The simple village girl takes pains to do many things for him.She does it because it is her nature.She did not expect anything in return.

Now there is the last touch: The touch of pity and sympathy.Bhuvan is moved because of the captivity of the bird and its desperate efforts for escape.....It is very rare for a person to experience so many touches in one day.Naturally they make deep impression on his soul.He will always remember this day,will always thank the wonderful girl for the gift she has given to him.

Hence the realization of Shome is not a tragic one.On the contrary it is a sublime realization that he can throw his burdens ,though even for one day.So he does a thing which he has not done in his life.He pardons a criminal.He discovers that feeling which a man experiences when he does something for others,unselfishly.He feels relieved.

And the viewer also finds the relief :"When the film discovers something fine ,something good something wonderful about the human animal"

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.

This is an incredible film with incredible cinematography. It is a BW low budget film. Still, both the director and the photographer did a tremendous job in terms of cinematography.

Now a bit about the story. It is written by a (famous) Bengali writer with the pen-name (Bonophool). You can see his real name at Wikipedia. The movie moves around a Bengali-babu (gentleman) who is a railway officer. His life is essentially insipid. In his duck hunting trip to a remote place in Gujrat (a state in India), he would meet Gauri. Gauri is hauntingly beautiful -- in her mind that is. Although the hunting experience is a (quasi)fiasco, he comes back as a rejuvenated man with a new perspective of life.

It is one of those films that feels like a Bunuel film and much much more. I have watched it so many times!

1. Almost same pattern we have in this subcontinent , in every country , the Govt. Office of two type : One who is very sincere about his work as a responsibility on behalf of the peoples , Another one who thinks govt. money is to waste, govt. service is for relaxing. In the starting of the film , Bhuvan Shome , a hindi film by Mrinal Sen , it was being established that govt. service holders around Mr. Bhuvan, was not comfortable with the way he works , his honesty , his discipline , the way he works as a govt. officer with responsibility attached with it , creates panic to other service holders. And that lead to continuous backbiting that is an integral part of our society , which is more applied for honest, sincere and disciplined peoples. NIcely established truth by the director in few minutes of this starting of the film. Director filmed it in a funny way by some montage shots and animation but it is a mockery of our societies way of thinking for good , sincere and disciplined peoples. Directly addressing this point clearly mentions the directors awareness of what he is doing and what he wanted to tell to the audience. ################################## 2. Bhuvan Shome is one of the New Wave Cinema of India and in Hindi Language , although Mrinal Sen's works mostly are in Bengali and this film was funded by National Film Development corporation of India. Story that involves the govt. high rank officer of that time in India , who travels to Gujrat for a vacation , met a girl during his journey , gave him a chance to self analysis of Bhuvan Shome , when he is out of his familiar environment. It seems the simplicity of village life was unknown to him and thorugh , Gauri, the character as the village girl, Mr. Bhuvan start to realize other aspects of life and finding out some realization. And understanding that other aspects also affected his official decisions like forgiving the service holder who was convicted for bribery , because in the back of his mind , it was Gouri , for whom , he pardoned that person. Actually , this film in other way , tells the top officials to look for the reality behind. In a society like India or Bangladesh , where good gap between rich and poor still exists , where there are poor peoples who just live for only living , needed to be ignored sometimes for the small misdeeds they are doing due to poverty which was created by long time imbalanced rule of foreigners and many corrupted political peoples. Mrinal Sen addressed that part through Bhuvan Shome. ####################################33 3. With age may be your physical fitness, skin, eye sight deteriorate but the feelings, understanding, reasoning , analysis become stronger than ever , this is what nature fixed us with and that truth is nicely depicted . When Bhuvan Shome come out of his office to the outside world specially to a rural area and introduced to a girl like Gauri , a new world started to come in view for him, that has given him a new angle to see , new thoughts to penetrate his mind, new way of look , which also tells the audience to put their foot to other peoples' shoe , to realize the situation, to understand from other peoples point of view. ######################################

What worked: It's a sweet, slight of life, light hearted movie. What captured the attention was the narrative, the way the story unfold, the introduction as well as the use of unique frames to tell the story. Mrinal Sen as a director aced along with Utpal Dutt with his fine performance. Suhasini, as a village girl, stole the show and I think it was meant to be because she plays a pivotal role in the movie, bringing the positive transformation in Shome's life. The execution worked because of the fine and not complex storytelling What did not work: I would say the technical aspect is the weaker point of the movie, especially video editing. But we need to consider that the movie was made decades ago, so with that regard it can be overlooked. Final verdict: recommended

The story is about Bhuvan Shome who is a officer and comes to a village to take vacation. He is basically very strict and angry man who lives his life with perfection and discipline. He met a village girl and soon develops an unique relationship with her. His personality and behaviour takes a change in village and is transform into a rejuvenated man with a different approach toward life.

It's basically Utpal Dutt movie. He is in every frame and completely wins your heart. So much conviction. Surely among his top best movie. Last scene of the movie where he is funny brings a big smile to your face.

Bhuvan Shome is light hearted movie which brings out human emotions and Mrinal Sen has done an extraordinary work here.

This surely is among top Indian cinema classics.