Bhuvan Shome

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!

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 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...

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

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.