Tapan Sinha – a socially committed entertainer whose films were sensitive and thought-provoking

Tapan Sinha’s career as a filmmaker was, in his own words, “one long journey in search of art, truth and beauty…” His work, spanning several decdes, fetched him 19 National Film Awards in various categories and also the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. In his birth centenary year, Shoma A. Chatterji pays tribute to a film director who was one of the special-four – the others being Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen

Tapan Sinha, born in Kolkata on 2nd October 1924, worked in New Theatres as a sound engineer from 1945 to 1949. He became independent in sound design in Satyen Bose’s Parivartan (1949). His filmography displays an entire range of wholesome family entertainment offered within a shoestring budget, compromising neither on quality nor on aesthetics. Music was a high point of his films. The movies were honest and purposeful entertainment.

Sinha’s debut as director was with Ankush. He directed four generations of actors from the great Chhabi Biswas through Ashok Kumar, Vyjayantimala, Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu and Tanuja, to Uttam Kumar, Soumitra Chatterjee, Anil Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore and Madhabi Mukherjee, down to Arjun Chakravarty, Pankaj Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Nandita Das, Jaya Bachchan and Deepti Naval. He established himself with Kabuliwalla (1956), the first of his three films based on the works of Rabindranath Tagore. The other two were Kshudita Pashan (1960) and Atithi (1965).

Most of Sinha’s films were commercially successful. From Kabuliwalla to Daughters of the Century, he drew his sources from Bengali literature, remaining largely loyal to the littérateur’s original work. Banchcharamer Bagan was the biggest hit. Adapted from a successful play by Manoj Mitra, it is a hilarious social satire about a marginal farmer who outwits three generations of a landlord family and even defies death just to save his beautiful garden. Adalat O Ekti Meye, Aatanka and Wheelchair were sourced from news reports.

Sinha spans five generations of film-making in Bengal. Though rooted in Calcutta, he was among the few who made films in both Bengali and Hindi. His Hindi films, Safed Haathi, Aajka Robinhood, Anokha Moti, Sagina Mahato, Aadmi Aur Aurat and Ek Doctor Ki Maut won critical acclaim and awards. In 2008, Sinha was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The Dada Saheb Phalke Award at the National Awards for 2006 came two years later. A retrospective of some of his films was held that year at two venues in Kolkata.

Among the lesser-known films in the bouquet were Upahaar, Louha Kapat, Khaniker Aitithi, Nirjan Saikate and Harmonium. Upahaar was a big budget multi-starrer with Uttam Kumar, Sabitri Chatterjee and Manju De playing the major roles. The film, revolving around a pathological miser, was a reasonable success. Louha Kapat (The Iron Door) has an interesting history. It was the first novel penned by a jailor who retired as jail superintendent and based his novels on his personal encounters with prisoners. His pen name was Jarasandha and he became an overnight celebrity after his first novel was published. The film offers a sympathetic insight into the lives of hardened criminals and the relationships that evolve between them and the jailor and among themselves.  Sadly, no print of the film exists today.

Sinha was aware that the definition of cinema changed with time. To him, cinema was honest entertainment expressed and stated without hurting human sensibilities in any way. He believed in keeping all the windows of his mind open to get a global perspective on life. He believed that unless there was one hundred per cent education among the masses, cinema would remain their only source of information, education and entertainment. What sets him apart from many filmmakers of his ilk was his painstaking homework and attention to detail in the pre-shooting stage, long rehearsals before beginning to shoot, and his wonderful teamwork with actors and technicians of every hue and colour.

Sinha’s works have won 19 National Film Awards in various categories. His films have also won laurels in International Film Festivals of Berlin, Venice, London, Moscow, San Francisco, Locarno, Cork Festival in Ireland Kampuchea and Seoul. He also served as a member of the jury in film festivals at Tashkent and San Francisco among others. In 1995, he published his memoirs Mone Pore, a slim volume recounting assorted anecdotes, personalities and incidents in his long and distinguished innings as a filmmaker.

Tapan Sinha can be best described as a socially committed entertainer. Eschewing experimentation, he strove to deliver films which were commercially viable yet aesthetically pleasing, socially sensitive and thought provoking. In his own words his career as a filmmaker was “one long journey in search of art, truth and beauty….”

Sinha introduced many technicians and actors to the Indian screen. His films range from classical to contemporary literature, films of social relevance, infotainment for children, satire, comedy, gender issues, etc. He made around 40 feature films in his 50-year long career. He passed away after prolonged illness in Kolkata on January 15, 2009.

Note: The writer has sourced some of the facts in the article from Wikipedia and Upperstall.com.

(The writer is a veteran freelance journalist and award-winning film historian. She lives in Kolkata.)