Do Bigha Zamin

Do bigha Zamin in 1953 film was directed by Bimal Roy. He was inspired by Italian neo- realistic cinema. The film is based on socialist theme. The film became landmark in Parallel cinema of India.

Do bigha Zamin is a sad film. The film becomes more hurtful with the realization of the hard life of farmers during 1950s till date the scenario has not changed.   The film is not a figment of imagination of the director in order to create an ultimate tragedy. The film is high on melodrama but considering that it is an Indian film that can be easily discounted. Bimal Roy was influenced by Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief and hence Do Bigha Zamin has many similarities with sica’s apic. The director has his heart and view at the right place even though it is melodramatic,overly tragic and influenced, the films looks totally genuine and convincing. There are scenes like Shambhu crying helplessly at his fields or the famous rickshaw race sequence touch and sadden the viewer by the magnitude of their own humaneness. Bimal Roy integrated songs into the narrative which in the eyes of purists went against the stylisation and escapist nature of what neo realism was trying to oppose.

Do Bigha Zamin is closer to the work of De Sica then it is to many other neo realism films, especially when you compare the humanist depiction of the relationship between Father/Sambhu and Son/Kanhaiya.

The eye pleasing screenplay by the legendary director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who also edited film, handles many social themes with ease. The issue of migration among the rural and urban not only becomes an integral part of the narration, but also serves as an eye opener for the hundreds of villagers who abandon farming in the dream of making it big in the city. Brutal reality how lands are scathed, drained and made lifeless in the name of industrialization and development is also critiqued.