{"id":9237,"date":"2024-10-31T08:37:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:07:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=9237"},"modified":"2024-10-31T15:10:31","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T09:40:31","slug":"sagina-mahato-the-bitter-brew-of-labour-struggles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/sagina-mahato-the-bitter-brew-of-labour-struggles\/","title":{"rendered":"Sagina Mahato: The Bitter Brew of Labour Struggles"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tapan

Tapan Sinha explaining a scene to Dilip Kumar and Saira Bano for Sagina Mahato<\/em> (Source – Abesh Das, Pic Courtesy – Sukumar Roy)<\/p><\/div>\n

The end of the 19th century witnessed the growth of tea plantations stretching between the foothills of the Himalayas to the Assam valley. These plantations were structured around the offensive 1843 indenture system of the British Raj. The poverty-stricken workers were so controlled that they remained secluded from the rest of the world. Then, the workers, first individually and then collectively, began to protest through strikes and desertion which gained momentum\u00a0albeit with the growth of trade unions and the impact of the Communist Party of India. Yet, the struggles of tea garden workers did not take the definite shape of a unified and organized labour movement, thanks to the repressive state machinery and the general indifference of the \u2018swadeshis<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n

It is against this background that Gour Kishore Ghosh, writing under the pseudonym \u2018Rupadarshi\u2019, created fictional characters to depict how communist leaders, lured by the greed for power, transformed into fascist autocrats. Ghosh was a family friend of the Sinhas, and Tapan Sinha began his third decade of film-making with Ghosh\u2019s novel Sagina Mahato<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Dilip

Dilip Kumar in Sagina Mahato<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The film opens with the mock trial of Sagina Mahato (Dilip Kumar), a happy-go-lucky factory labourer and the first to fight the cruel and oppressive tea garden owners. He is wooed by Amol (Swaroop Dutta), a communist member of a little-known Calcutta trade union who moves to the hills to elevate the poor, the powerless and the subjugated. Some clever politicking makes Mahato a leader which also distances him from the masses.\u00a0When\u00a0Mahato agrees to become a labour welfare officer, he is transferred to Calcutta where he is caught in a power struggle that reminds one of the differences between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin in the 1940s, or for that matter the various splits within the Communist Party of India. Then comes a twist in the story: the character of Anirudha (Anil Chatterjee) substantiates history that \u2018ultranationalism\u2019 can galvanize fascism, the classic examples being the rise of Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, Ceausescu, etc.<\/p>\n

The film\u2019s potency stems mostly from the box office draw of Dilip Kumar and Saira Bano, complemented by Anil Chatterjee, Swaroop Dutta and Sumita Sanyal. Sagina Mahato<\/em> is Kumar\u2019s second Bangla film after Paari<\/em> and Saira Bano\u2019s first.<\/p>\n

\"Tapan

(L to R) Tapan Sinha, Anil Chatterjee, Dilip Kumar, Sumita Sanyal, Swarup Dutta on the sets of Sagina Mahato<\/em> (Source – Anindya Sinha)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kumar portrays Sagina Mahato as a vulnerable, sensitive, resilient character who is emotionally attached to the beautiful Lalita (Saira Bano). Anil Chatterjee complements him with an effective performance as someone deliberately cruel.<\/p>\n

There are moments of acting glory that allow Kumar and Chatterjee to go head-to-head with one another \u2013 the court scene, for instance. To quote Tapan Sinha, \u201cThere were situations when Dilip Kumar, after a shot was okayed, offered me variations of the same scenes and advised me to retain the one I thought was the best.\u201d And to quote Dilip Kumar about Anil Chatterjee\u2019s art, \u201cThere is no one like Anil Chatterjee in Bombay.\u201d Kumar apparently saw Chatterjee\u2019s notebook where the (Bangla-Hindi\/Urdu) conversation was scripted in the respective languages for the appropriate articulation, stress and intonation. Quite simply, both Kumar and Chatterjee successfully carry the film with the strength of their acting.<\/p>\n

\"Dilip

Saira Bano is overdressed for a \u2018beauty in distress\u2019 in a poverty-stricken zone<\/p><\/div>\n

Saira Bano is overdressed for a \u2018beauty in distress\u2019 in a poverty-stricken zone. As the female protagonist, she has little to offer but her gorgeous looks are an important contribution to the film\u2019s success. Swaroop Dutta (earlier introduced by Tapan Sinha in Apanjan<\/em>, and only in his third film) as Amol, the dedicated communist who befriends Sagina, is splendid. So is Sumita Sanyal who, as Vishaka, transforms Sagina into a more \u2018civilized\u2019 human being, changing everything from his attire (now Western) to his lifestyle. There are some very sensitive moments when Sagina and Vishaka exchange notes about their past. The factory manager played by Modi Kohen, the first male TV announcer of the erstwhile East Pakistan TV, is also noteworthy. Bhanu Bandopadhyay\u2019s role is somewhat forced, obviously meant to break the monotony in the progression of the film.<\/p>\n

What elevated Sagina Mahato<\/em> to a near artistic triumph and a big financial success for the producers is the gripping storytelling \u2013 some of the scenes can be listed among the best of the Bengali films of that era.<\/p>\n

Tapan Sinha\u2019s films have always been attempts to blend art and craft with an eye for good commerce. His script is sprinkled with dialogues that make the characters grippingly real. In doing so, he is able to elicit fine portrayals from his cast.<\/p>\n

Sagina Mahato<\/em> was later remade in Hindi \u2013 Sagina<\/em> (1974), made at Dilip Kumar\u2019s request. Shot in colour, the film was a box-office failure despite the involvement of luminaries such as SD Burman, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Om Prakash.<\/p>\n

\"Dilip

Dilip Kumar and Saira Bano<\/p><\/div>\n

From a technical viewpoint, the Hindi version is quite noteworthy. It reflected the care and competence that went into filming against the background of Darjeeling and Kurseong. Photographed by Bimal Mukhopadhyay and duly supported by the artwork of Sudhendu Roy, the visuals are spectacular. The film ends with snatches of Chhotey chhotey sapne hamaare<\/em>\u00a0in Sachin Dev Burman\u2019s inimitable voice.<\/p>\n

\"Tapan

Tapan Sinha with Kishore Kumar and SD Burman<\/p><\/div>\n

However, Sagina Mahato<\/em> will always be remembered for good reasons. Calcutta, in the 1960s, was the centre of political upheaval and mass discontent. During this period, deindustrialization, flight of capital, asset stripping, etc., struck root, affecting the lives of an entire generation of Bengalis. Revolution was an antidote. Call it Maoism or the Naxalite movement, it served as a release for the curbed fury and emotions of West Bengal\u2019s youth, traces of which were first seen in Sinha\u2019s previous film, Apanjan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, Satyajit Ray\u2019s Pratidwandi<\/em> and Mrinal Sen\u2019s Interview<\/em> hit the screen a few weeks later, both depicting issues of unemployment, youth restlessness and anger, corruption, favouritism, nepotism, and middle-class cowardice. The films successfully served as instruments of social criticism as well as vehicles to present alternative values and institutions. But this was a brief detour. With the fall of the Naxalite movement, films with a leftist agenda returned to the fringe and mainstream films were back.<\/p>\n

Produced by Roma Ganguly (Hemen Ganguly) and Mini Kapoor, Sagina Mahato<\/em> is an interesting, entertaining drama on celluloid, packaged with skill. It has excellent music by Tapan Sinha, with lyrics by Hemen Ganguly and Shyamal Gupta. Indeed, a job well done!<\/p>\n

Saala main to sahab ban gaya<\/strong><\/em> (Sagina Mahato<\/em>, 1974) SD Burman \/ Majrooh Sultanpuri \/ Kishore Kumar<\/span><\/p>\n