Film ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ was screened at Abhirang Hall, Bharat Bhavan here on Monday under the West Bengal Mahotsav. Many theatre and film lovers visited to watch the show. The film screenings are organized under the Chhavi series of classical cinema, Bharat Bhavan. Notably, under West Bengal Mahotsav 2014, various events are being organized including the film fest. Movies of renowned directors are being screened under the festival for art lovers to enjoy it with full enthusiasm.
Further, Do Bigha Zamin is 1953 Hindi film, directed by Bengali film director Bimal Roy and starring Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy in lead roles. The film is known for its socialist theme, and is an important film in the early parallel cinema of India and is rightly considered a trend setter. Notably, this movie was made by Bimal Roy after he got inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema, Bicycle Thieves.
In the hope of earning enough money to pay off his debts and save his land, a poor farmer becomes a rickshaw puller in the Calcutta and faces many difficulties. The story revolves around a farmer Shambu Mahato (Balraj Sahni), who lives with his wife Parvati (Nirupa Roy) and son Kanhaiya (Rattan Kumar) in a small village that has been hit badly by a famine. After years of drought, the region finally gets rain, leading the farmers to rejoice. Shambu owns two bighas of land, which is the only means of livelihood for the whole family. The local landlord Thakur Harnam Singh is very confident that he can buy Shambu’s land. Shambu has borrowed money from Harnam Singh several times in the past and has not paid his debt.
The land is auctioned because Shambu could not pay back the debt. The land is now owned by Harman Singh. Shambu and his family return to the village only to see their land sold and a factory being constructed on it. The audience enjoyed the show with ecstasy.