The Children’s film festival concluded with a beautiful film ‘Kabuliwala’. The fest concluded on Friday at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal.
Kabuliwala is a 1961 Hindi film based on the story Kabuliwala by the Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore. It was directed by Hemen Gupta and starred Balraj Sahni, Usha Kiran, Sajjan, Sonu and Baby Farida.
The main theme of this story is filial love, the deep love that fathers have for their children. In the story we encounter three examples of filial love between the author and his daughter Mini, the Kabuliwala and his daughter in Afghanistan, and the Kabuliwala and Mini.
Rahmat, a middle-age fruit seller from Afghanistan, comes to Calcutta to hawk his merchandise. He befriends a small Bengali girl called Mini who reminds him of his daughter back in Afghanistan. He stays at a boarding house with his countrymen.
One day, Rahmat receives a letter with news of his daughter’s illness; he decides to leave for his country. Since he is short of money he sells his goods on credit to increase his business. later, when he goes to collect his money, one of his customers abuses him.
In the fight that ensues, Rahmat warns that he will not tolerate abuse and stabs the guy when he does not stop.In the court Rahmat's lawyer tries to obfuscate the facts but, in his characteristic and simple fashion, Rahmat states the truth in a matter-of-fact way.
The judge, pleased with Rahmat's honesty, gives him 10 years' rigorous imprisonment instead of the death sentence.
On the day of his release he goes to meet Mini and discovers that she has grown up into a 14-year-old girl who is about to get married. Mini does not recognize Rahmat, who realizes that his daughter must have forgotten him, too. Mini's father gives Rahmat the money for travel out of the wedding budget to which Mini agrees; she also sends a gift for Rahmat's daughter.