It has been a week dedicated to the legendary filmmaker late Bimal Roy. Last Sunday his children Yashodhara, Aparajita and Joy Bimal Roy organised a concert of renowned young classical singer Kaushiki Chakrabarty at Mehboob Studio to mark his 50th death anniversary on January 8.
Now the Bimal Roy Memorial Committee (BRMC), under the stewardship of his eldest daughter Rinki Roy Bhattacharya, celebrates the work of the master, in collaboration with Cine Society, with a retrospective at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan from January 11 to 16. The best of his oeuvre — Do Bigha Zameen , Bandini , Sujata , Madhumati , Devdas and Parineeta — will be screened in these six days. Ashutosh Gowarikar will inaugurate the festival and present Do Bigha Zameen . Shri Debu Sen, the 91-year-old assistant of Bimal Roy, will grace the occasion. The grand finale will have Lifetime Achievement awards being presented to Dharmendra, Ameen Sayani and Helen. In a year of impressive debutants, BRMC will also honour Neeraj Ghaywan “for the subtle simplicity and searching sincerity which lines his debut film Masaan ”. Juhi Chaturvedi, the writer of Vicky Donor and Piku , will be honoured for the freshness she brings to her screenplays.
There will also be a roundtable seminar on January 15 between 3 and 5 pm on the many aspects of Bimal Roy’s enduring art and meticulous craft. Parakh , will be screened as a tribute to the late Sadhana and will be presented by her close friend Asha Parekh.
Juhi Chaturvedi, Shoojit Sircar, Shantanu Moitra, Chitra Palekar, Tushar Bhatia and Vinay Shukla will introduce the other films — Parineeta , Madhumati , Sujata and Bandini.
The Bimal Roy Film Festival will take place at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chowpatty from January 11 to 16. See www.bhavans.info or call 23691508/23691136 for details.The best of the filmmaker’s oeuvre will be screened at a retrospective over the next six days.
