Bhumika (film)

Bhumika (English: Role) is a 1977 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal. The film stars Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah and Amrish Puri. The film is broadly based on the Marathi language memoirs, Sangtye Aika of the well known Marathi stage and screen actress of the 1940s Hansa Wadkar, who led a flamboyant and unconventional life, and focuses on an individual's search for identity and self fulfilment. Smita Patil gives a strong performance of transforming from a vivacious teenager to a wiser but deeply wounded middle aged woman. The film won two National Film Awards and Filmfare Best Movie Award. It was invited to Carthage Film Festival 1978, Chicago Film Festival, where it was awarded the Golden Plaque 1978, and in 1986 it was invited to Festival of Images, Algeria.

Bhumika tells the life story of an actress, Usha (Smita Patil), who is the granddaughter of a famous female singer of the old tradition from the Devadasi community of Goa. Usha's mother (Sulabha Deshpande) is married to an abusive and alcoholic man. Following his early death, and over her mother's objections, Usha is taken to Bombay by family hanger on Keshav Dalvi (Amol Palekar) to audition successfully as a singer in a Bombay studio: the first step in a process, watched approvingly by Usha's doting grandmother and with horror by her mother, that will eventually carry her to on camera adolescent stardom, and to an ill starred love marriage with Keshav. Usha's motives for stubbornly pursuing this relationship (culminating in a pre marital pregnancy) with the unattractive and much older Keshav — who appears to have lusted after her since childhood — are not spelled out. Presumably, she either feels indebted to him for his loyalty to her family (of which he frequently reminds her) and for her own worldly success; or simply views him as a means to escape her abusive home. She is also a headstrong girl who clearly enjoys her acting career and is bent on challenging her uptight mother (who opposes the match because Keshav does not belong to their caste, just as she opposes cinema itself because of its presumed disreputability). Once the two are wed, Usha is shocked to find Keshav continuing to act as her "business manager", arranging starring roles for her opposite heartthrob Rajan (Anant Nag), who is himself in (unrequited) love with her. Since Keshav's own business is unsuccessful, the family remains entirely dependent on Usha's earnings – a fact that Keshav clearly resents. He thus becomes both a jealous husband with a fragile ego and nasty temper, as well as (in effect) a greedy pimp who compels his wife to take risqué work despite her dislike of her co star and her protests that she "only wants to be a housewife" now that their daughter has been born. Not surprisingly, the relationship becomes increasingly poisoned, particularly by Keshav's suspicion (fed by star magazine gossip) that she is having an affair with Rajan, which is partly true. Verbally and physically abused by her husband and periodically obliged to live in a hotel, separated from her daughter and mother, the desperately unhappy actress eventually instigates two unsatisfying liaisons: with the nihilistic and self centered director Sunil Verma (Naseeruddin Shah), with whom she plots a double suicide (which he foils), and then with the wealthy businessman Vinayak Kale (Amrish Puri), who keeps her as a pampered mistress on his palatial estate. Here Usha briefly finds a kind of "respectability" as a de facto second wife, earning a measure of love and admiration from Kale's mother (Dina Pathak), son, and bedridden first wife — but (as she learns one day when she tries to take the boy to a nearby fair) at the cost of even the most rudimentary freedom. Unable to abide by Kale's feudal patriarchal rules, she finds her only hope of escape in the intervention of her still legitimate husband, the hated Keshav, who promptly brings her back to a Bombay festooned with billboards of her own face, and to the same drab hotel and lonely prospects. As Kale's bitter wife remarks to Usha as the latter prepares to leave, "The beds change, the kitchens change. Men's masks change, but men don't change." Usha's daughter, now grown up, invites Usha to live with her and her husband, but Usha refuses. The movie ends with Usha, alone in her hotel room, receiving a phone call from Rajan.

The film was based on autobiography of the doyenne of Marathi theatre and cinema Hansa Wadkar during the 1940s and 50s. The biography was told to journalist Arun Sadhu, who used the title of the hit musical, Sangtye Aika (1959) or " "Listen, and I'll Tell." The film was set in Maharashtra region. Benegal's previous films were based in Hyderabad region, and since he was unfamiliar with the region, he roped in screenwriter and playwright Girish Karnad to co write the script. Another noted theatre director and playwright Satyadev Dubey wrote the dialogues. The story moves back and forth across flashbacks to the early life of Wadkar. Apart from the non linear narrative, the film also employed the film within a film device. Lead actress, a 22 year old Smita Patil still new to the medium, found the role daunting initially, yet as the filming progress, playing the multi layered character, she found not only her space the industry and went to win the Best Actress Award for her performance, and today it is considered one of the best performances of her career.

The song 'Baju re Mondar' is sung by two stalwart vocalists of Hindustani classical music, Saraswati Rane daughter of Ustad Abdul Karim Khan of Kirana gharana and Meena Fatherpekar her grand daughter.

In scene after the marriage of Usha and Keshav, the song 'Ek bangla bane nyara' from movie President (1937 film) sung by K. L. Saigal plays in the background. In Amrish Puri's autobiography, The Act of Life he recounts "As for Bhumika, it was an absolutely different role, wherein I played a landlord from Goa. Interestingly, during the making of this film, Shyam told me, “Your face is very hard for this role and I cannot take anybody else either. So, I want you to look a bit softer.” I said, “What can I do?”" He suggested, “Go to a beauty parlour and get some facial done.” I said, “But the face would remain the same.” He said, “No, no, the softness would come.” So, I was sent to Taj Mahal Hotel for about ten sessions of facials, which were naturally paid for and it did make a difference; for I noticed that the face indeed looked much softer. Here is a strong character of a zamindar, who marries this girl and takes her to his village in Goa. She lives over there till the time she wants her freedom and claims that she could go anywhere and how any restrictions could be imposed on her within those four walls? She retaliates and nonchalantly defies my orders. That is when I was to slap her saying, “No, I brought you with a condition. I told you how you would have to be staying here and you are trying to go against that condition. I won’t allow it. You don’t want to live here, I’ll send you back even now.”

This zamindar was a gentle, principled man who was soft spoken but firm, as he laid all his cards before the woman, Smita Patil. Normally, we slap in such a way that without hitting the other actor, you have to react. I discussed with Shyam that by giving a real slap we would get the right reaction. He approved of the idea but warned me not to slap her forcefully. I rehearsed the scene without hitting her, but slapped her in the final shot not realising the impact. It had the desired effect and what a fantastic reaction came on her face, as she looked daggers at me. It conveyed, “How dare you slap me?” But Smita was a natural actress and very professional. Her performance was always acclaimed. As the shot ended she ran after me to hit me. The whole unit was enjoying the incident."