Barjatri

1951 ?’ b&w Bengali d Satyen Bose pc National Progressive Pics st Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay co-lyr Bimal Chandra Ghosh co-lyr/m Salil Choudhury c Bimal Mukherjee lp Kali Bannerjee, Anup Kumar, Arun Choudhury, Satya Bannerjee, Haradhan Bannerjee, Bhabhen Pal, Sandhya Devi, Jharana Chakraborty

Successful ensemble-play comedy featuring the stammerer Ganesha (K. Bannerjee) and three efforts to find him a bride. In the first, Ganesha goes with his friends to a village to attend a wedding, but they are mistaken for thieves when trying to peek into the bridal chamber. They create another scandal when they arrive at the bride’s house ‘for negotiations’, impersonating their guardians. Ganesha later becomes tutor to the cousin of the girl he loves, but this fails as well, and he gets punished by his despotic uncle. This perennial hit, admired by Ray for its authenticity, launched a genre of the ensemble ‘slice of life’ comedy, esp. Pasher Bari (1952) and Sharey Chuattar (1953).

Film