[Deathwatch] Tapan Sinha, director, 84

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Filmmaker Tapan Sinha dead
16 Jan 2009

KOLKATA: The free spirit of a teenaged boy leads him to a boat sailing
away from his home, matrimony, love... (Atithi). The Kabuliwala
released from jail realises his little girl too has grown up in his
distant land. A simple labourer comes alive to power play between
teagarden owners and political groups (Sagina Mahato). A court of
justice calls upon a rape victim to prove her innocence (Aadalat O Ekti
Meye). The mutual need for care brings a bunch of wayward youth close
to an abondoned widow (Aponjan). A doctor's poignant fight for a
medical breakthrough ends in the trauma of brain drain (Ek Doctor Ki
Maut).

One could go on and on, for, Tapan Sinha's ouevre, made up of 30
classics spread over half a century and toasted in Venice, Berlin and
Moscow was as remarkable for his signature treatment as for its diverse
content. Yet, for years, the powers that be seemed to see little beyond
the Ray-Sen-Ghatak trinity in Bengal. It was only in the last year of
his life that the celluloid maestro's creativity was crowned with the
Dadasaheb Phalke Award although the man on the street has always voted
him through the box office.

Tapan Sinha, who died at a hospital here on Thursday after a prolonged
illness aged 84, was the most uncompromising mainstream director of
Bengal. Equidistant from officialdom and the market friendly formulas,
he quietly went about creating films that have inspired generations of
younger filmmakers and moulded iconic actors.

He is survived by a son. His actress-wife Arundhati Devi died in 1990.
He was admitted to hospital in December to treat pneumonia and
septicaemia.

Born on October 2, 1924, he had a way with actors that turned Soumitra
Chatterjee into a star, and the iconic Dilip Kumar into the labourer
Sagina. The aplomb showed when he cast Vyajayanthimala as the folksy
Chhipli in Haatey Bazarey, coaxing her to underplay subtle emotions but
never curtailing her spontaneity. In his personal life, he was married
to Arundhati Devi, whose career's best was also seen in his film.

Among the nation's best directors for the acumen in translating
literature onto celluloid, he read extensively, not just Tagore or
classics, and spotted talents in writers when they were still young.

Raised on a staple of John Ford and Billy Wilder, Sinha had worked
under Charles Cryton in Pinewood Sudios at London and joined New
Theatres as a sound engineer. Hard hitting social comments, children's
films, comedies, adventures -- a range of flavours were sampled through
Sinha's ouevre. If Aadmi Aur Aurat took viewers on an austere journey
to underscore communal amity, marital discord was seldom so agreeable
as in Jatugriha, Sabuj Dwiper Raja, Safed Haathi, Harmonium,
Banchharamer Bagan - environment, tribal reality, mystery, satire:
through them all Sinha celebrated an individual's relentless fight
against adverse circumstances.

Sometimes he wins, sometimes not. Still, the miracle worked through the
protagonist's inner strength was always a rewarding experience for his
viewers.

The Phalke Award for 2006 celebrated the contribution of the filmmaker
whose archetypal Bengali drama, tinged with a literary flavour,
entertained even as it left the screen aglow with human warmth.
Fortunately for his viewers, it came before his end on Thursday. 

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary