Tapan Sinha@100 – Curtain Raiser

Tapan Sinha

Once upon a time, probably irritated by the snobbery of a handful of so-called ‘intellectuals’ within the folds of the several film societies of West Bengal, Tapan Sinha remarked, “I never want my films to be viewed only by the members of film societies. I want them to be watched by a bigger audience. However, if that was the only goal, I could have included fight and dance sequences along with endless songs. But I never did that. When I watched world cinema, I used to be entertained. I had always thought that when I made films, I would provide honest and pure entertainment.” Interestingly, in the different categories of the National Film Awards of India, Tapan Sinha’s films were awarded 13 times, second to Ray’s 24, among his contemporaries. Apart from these, his films won quite a few awards at foreign film festivals as well. It is quite a mystery hence, as to why his cinema and he’s an auteur never quite received any serious attention from film scholars in India.

For quite a significant stretch of his career, Sinha’s films communicated with the educated and intelligent audience, primarily in Bengal but outside of it as well, occasionally. It is a different tragedy that most of his films, alongside most regional films by other directors in different languages, are in abysmal condition. Whenever available, some of them don’t guarantee a decent film viewing experience as the minimum.

In his cinema, as Sinha chose diverse subjects and themes for his films, he ensured his style remained simple—linear and uncomplicated. This simplicity in his cinematic diction was often misunderstood as naivety of his cinematic craftsmanship or a lack of profundity.

2 October 2024 marks the birth centenary of Tapan Sinha.

To pay homage Silhouette will carry several articles, both new and republished, for the next four weeks starting with his birthday. The articles written by the young and the veteran hope to cover different aspects of Sinha’s cinematic career. They, we at Silhouette are sure, will urge the reader to probe further to re-visit the cinema of Tapan Sinha and to reexamine the diversity of content and its auteur’s single-minded belief in the triumph of human will.

In a way it is Silhouette’s atonement for the wrong and neglect of our previous generation of film writers, as well.

Click Tapan Sinha@100

for Critiques, Reviews, Interviews

— The Centenary Tribute Series