Great Indian Movies - Sujata. Review on Sujata - FilmFare Award 1959

Casteism is one of the most brutal social customs in ancient or medieval Indian societies. Casteism defines your right of respect by birth, not karma, character, ability, or talent. If you belong to upper caste, no matter how dumb or cruel you are, you always get better treatment in society. If you belong to lower caste, no matter how talented and humble you are, you always get treated like slave. Many scholars of sociology all over the world often criticized Indian caste systems for its traditional, hereditary social classes defined in hierarchical order that often became a way of oppressing the people from lower social order. Unfortunately even though there were many tries to abolish the caste system or educate people for liberal societies in India for last 3-4 centuries, this snake called casteism still exists in majority sections of modern Indian societies.

Bimal Roy’s Sujata (1959) is poignant yet uplifting story of human conditions at the backdrop of caste prejudice in the oppressive societies. A title character of the movie, Sujata means “Person belongs to Upper Caste”. Ironically even though title character belongs to lowest steps of caste system, her name belongs to highest steps of caste system.

Story

Upendranath Chowdhury (Tarun Bose) and his wife Charu Chowdhury (Sulochna) of Brahmin caste (upper caste) have only one child, a daughter - Rama (Shashikala). But a severe cholera epidemic brings another child belongs to harijan family (lower caste) to their home - a baby girl who had lost both her parents in the epidemic. After initial refusal, they tentatively shelter the orphan as temporary arrangement and give her name of Sujata (Nutan). They tried hard to find a home for the child but couldn’t find any suitable place. So the child, a sweet, lovable, gentle girl called Sujata grows up in this caring and nurturing household with Rama, like two daughters of the same family. But behind the doors as she grew up, even though parents are not troubled by Sujata’s outcast origin, she grew up slightly different than her sister and made painfully aware that she's an outsider.

Once Upendra retires, he returns to his hometown. Giribala (Lalita Pawar), a family friend with conservative views is horrified at the couple harboring an untouchable under the same roof. Giribala hopes to marry her grandson Adhir (Sunil Dutt) with Rama. Meanwhile, Adhir becomes a regular visitor to Upendra's house and falls in love with Sujata. Their joy is however short-lived, Sujata discovers that her foster parents are planning Adhir's marriage with Rama. Sujata denies her relationship with Adhir as a gratitude for her foster parents and joy for her sister even though she unconditionally loves him. On the other hand, Adhir convinced her grandmother that he would either get married to Sujata or leave the family forever. Knowing Adhir’s stubbornness, Giribala informs Chowdhury family that Adhir’s wishes to marry Sujata instead of Rama. At this stage, all hell breaks loose. Charu feels enraged that the marriage of her own daughter denied because of untouchable girl they have been sheltered.

How will Sujata choose between the ones who give her life and the love that is her life? Will Adhir and Sujata be ever married or will they end up being victims of the caste system?

Analysis

Sujata is sensitive story of simple girl with great underlying messages. Sujata’s story is based on the novel from Subodh Ghosh. One of the most powerful parts about Sujata is its subtle and sensitive subject handling. Without Bimalda’s apt handling of subject and Nabendu Ghosh’s screenplay, one innocent untouchable’s story with constant reminder as she belongs to lower caste could have been either too boring or too melodramatic or too pitiful. Bimalda takes first half an hour to convince viewers that how child ends up living with the upper caste family, how upper caste tries their best to get rid of child but somehow they couldn’t, and how lower cast child grows up with their own child and demands same things. Once they grew up, Bimalda shows us vast differences among them even though they brought up together. One wears modern cloths, study in colleges, have many college friends, and live like princess. One wears simple sari, works 24x7 doing homework, and live like pauper.

Bimalda’s subtle touch on many of movie’s melodramatic moments prevents it getting too emotional or tearjerker. One of the most remarkable moments of the movie is parallel sequence involving Sujata in Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal song. We notice as a viewer that everyone in family including relatives and friends are enjoying Rama’s birthday but for Sujata, it was unbearable. She never celebrated her birthday in her life. She never had privilege to celebrate her birthday. She was always treated as daughter-like instead of real daughter. During Rama’s birthday celebration, she feels suffocated and couldn’t breathe in the house. She walks out of the house into garden. During one moment, we even see her turning off porch light and find solace in the dark. Was that dark moment of Sujata’s life is parable of many dark lives of lower caste people lived in traditional societies for centuries?

Bimalda’s Sujata and Bandini considered as Nutan’s finest performances of her career. Nutan as Sujata is brilliant as untouchable lower caste girl who is adopted by a higher caste family. She delivered all the innocence required for untouchable girl to draw sympathy from audience. She enacted her character with grace and conveyed her inner trauma with the simple glances, stares, and gestures. Sunil Dutt, Shashikala, Tarun Bose, Sulochna, and Lalita Pawar played mere adequate supportive role in this Nutan dominated timeless classic.

S.D. Burman, Bimal Roy's favorite composer, underlines the mesmerizing beauty of this film with evergreen super hits penned by lyrist Majrooh Sultanpuri – Maestro Burmanda’s own haunting melody ''Sun Mere Bandhu Re'', Talat Mahmood’s romantic proposal ''Jalte Hai Jiske Liye'', Asha Bhosle’s classic birthday song ''Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal'', Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle’s mischievous duet ''Bachpan Ke Din'', and Geeta Dutt's lyrical lullaby 'Nanhi Kali Sone Chali'.

Conclusion

As many of you know, Bimal Roy is my most favorite Indian director to date. Sujata is Bimalda’s one of the finest work along with Parineeta, Do Bigha Zamin, Madhumati, Devdas, Parakh, and Bandini. I haven’t seen many of Satyajit Ray, Guru Dutt and Mani Ratnam’s movies but Bimal Roy had worked on some of my most favorite films to date. Sujata is Bimal Roy's one of the most poignantly memorable films. It’s must see for Bimada’s fans out there.

Story is taken from Yashraj DVD.