[Reader-list] Cinematic City-Kolkata , Modernity, Middle Class &the Urban Woman---1950s&60s Popular Bangla Cinema.3rd Posting IFS--2007.

[smita mitra]

Dear All,

To remind you all--- this is my project on Popular Bangla Cinema of 1950s
&60s.By now I have a list of about 20 Films of the period that deal with the
experiences of the urban Bengali woman and her negotiations of self that are
located in a specific kind of urban articulation--namely the unpacking of
the 'self'  that is dislocated or decentered from the familial
spaces.Thesefilms are interesting for me as they enact interesting
tensions between the
narrative and the performative economy of the film. The
narrative foregrounds the melodramatic love story, where the protagonists
meet, fall in love, and the narrative closure is enacted as the formation of
the  individual couple or the love does not end in  a normative
relationship.But interestingly this enactment of the individual love and the
coming together of the couple is enacted in a space that is outside of the
restrictive social or familial space.Films such as *Agnipariksha(1952) ,
Harano Sur(1957),Sagarika(1956)* fall in this category.But more
significantly these films stage the performative drive in interesting
manner--very often they seem to be vehicles for the 'star figure ' of
Suchitra Sen or Uttam Kumar.The films on my list were huge hits of their
times* ,*and are known for the performences of the Popular star couple of
the industry.


The questions that I have are--1)What is the relationship if any between the
narrative ,the formative and the discourse of the star figure that is being
enacted in these films vis a vis the tropes of 'self'
,intercaste,interracial love and marriage , work and choice of career that
drives the narrative of these melodramas?
2)Is the figure of the star being mobilised to stage a specific negotiation
of the 'modern self' specially that of the woman as she attempts to
articulate her sense of selfhood vis a vis her career ,work and her love?
3)Being melodramas the narratives appear repetitive as they focus on these
two figures who very often appear as doctors , or doctor patient or come
together in their place of work or study.However the performative at times
seem to go in a different direction from that of the narrative, of course
the acting style and aesthetics draw on melodramatic codes ,yet the
deployment of specific cinematic codes of framing of the shots, the lighting
codes etc. foregrond the performance of stars specially  that of Suchitra
Sen.
4)Of course Suchitra's acting and performance or Uttam's performance is
driven by their individual star status and charisma, yet it is worth
investigating how these films are bringing together the generic, narrative
and performative economies in interesting ways.
5)Being Popular melodramas is it possible to conceptualise an argument about
these films that articulate a specific kind of relationship between the
'modern' and the 'melodramatic' that is being deployed to articulate the
woman's subject position?If these films became the star vehicles for
Suchitra the 'star' then can they be read as' woman's film '( I am thinking
of the 1930s and 40s Hollywood melodramas and the work done by Christine
Gledhill and Peter Brook's definition of melodrama?)


At present I am in Kolkata and have visited the Rupkala Kendra(Satyajit Ray
Film and Television Institute)I plan to check out their archive .

The other interesting place seems to be the old Radha Studio near Tollygunge
which has been converted into an archive of Bangla Cinema. This was formally
inaugurated on the 2nd of May,(Ray's birthday)by the Chief Minister of the
state.

This is all for now. Will keep you guys posted.

p.s.The copies of the films I have are mostly on Vcds.There are very few
Dvds available. Can anyone familiar with the city let me know where can one
get Dvd rips as they might come with subtitles as the Vcds do not have
subtitles.

Regards everybody,

Smita.
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