Saptapadi (1961 film)
Saptapadi () is a 1961 Indian Bengali-language romantic drama film by Ajoy Kar, starring Suchitra Sen, Uttam Kumar, Chhabi Biswas and Chhaya Debi. Music direction and playback singing for Kumar voice was by Hemanta Mukherjee and in Sen's voice by Sandhya Mukherjee. The story is based on a 1958 novel by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. This is regarded as one of the greatest romantic film in the history of Bengali cinema. The film become highest grossing Bengali film in 1961. It was featured retrospectively at the 45th IFFI in the "homage section" of Indian panorama. Plot
The story takes place in pre-independence India (early 1940) when young Indian students were competing equally with Anglo-Indians in all fields, whether it be education or sports. Krishnendu (Uttam Kumar), a young Bengali Hindu medical student falls in love with an equally talented and attractive Anglo-Indian Christian woman named Rina Brown (Suchitra Sen). Both are students at the Calcutta Medical College and become close while meeting at many sports and cultural events. There is an interesting rendition of Othello within the movie; that portion of the movie was directed by Utpal Dutt. However marriage is not on the cards for them due to their differences in religion, (it is particularly opposed by Krishnendu's dad, a staunch, conservative Hindu), and they go their own ways only to unexpectedly meet again later in life. Most of the movie is presented in flashbacks with Krishnendu pondering over the past after unexpectedly encountering a drunk and passed out Rina in a military hospital in returns. 