Uttar Falguni


Uttar Falguni is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Asit Sen and produced by Uttam Kumar, starring Suchitra Sen in a double role, Bikash Roy and Dilip Mukherjee in lead. At the 11th National Film Awards, the film was awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Music of the film composed by Robin Chatterjee. The film was remade by director Asit Sen himself in Hindi, as Mamta again with Suchitra Sen as the lead. The film was also remade in Tamil as Kaviya Thalaivi, and in Malayalam as Pushpanjali.

Plot

Debjani is forced to marry the rakish Rakhal who then tries to initiate her into prostitution. Pregnant with Rakhal’s child, she escapes from him and while on the train, she tries to commit suicide but is rescued by the madam of a singing house and brought to her kotha in Lucknow, where she gives birth to a daughter, Suparna, and becomes the tawaif Pannabai.As Rakhal traces her out continues to harass and blackmail her, she escapes once again to Calcutta and has Suparna admitted in a missionary school and distances herself from her so that her daughter can grow up in a good, clean environment. She meets her former lover, a barrister, Manish Roy who, after hearing her tragic tale, wants to marry her but Debjani will not let him soil his name. She however asks him to take care of Suparna. Manish agrees, becoming Suparna’s guardian. Years Pass. Pannabai is now older with a heart ailment. The adult Suparna, brought up by Manish as his niece, returns from abroad, also having become a lawyer, who is in love with her senior Indranil, Manish’s assistant. When Rakhal realizes that Suparna is his daughter, he comes back to blackmail Debjani, threatening to expose Suparna’s true identity. Debjani shoots him dead. In court, she is defended by Manish. Suparna is against Manish taking this case of a characterless, fallen woman whom she despises but when Manish tells her Debjani’s true story and reveals her true identity to her, she defends Debjani in court…

Cast

Reception

This is the fourth film produced by Uttam Kumar but for the first time he did not act in his home production. He gave the opportunity to Bikash Roy as he felt that the story and audience perspective favoured Bikash Roy for the role. The film became a blockbuster hit at the box office and ran for 105 days in theatres.

Awards

Remakes

The film was remade in Hindi in 1966 as Mamta where Asit Sen directed again and Suchitra Sen reprised her role. Later the film remade in Tamil as Kaviya Thalaivi in 1970 and in Malayalam as Pushpanjali in 1972.