‘Saat Pake Bandha’ to return to Moscow fest

Kolkata: It's Moscow calling for Ajoy Kar's ‘Saat Pake Bandha' (1963), starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Suchitra Sen, Pahari Sanyal and Tarun Kumar. Produced by RD Bansal, the film has been selected for the Out-of-Competition programme at the 48th Moscow International Film Festival. The screening marks the film's return to the festival where Suchitra Sen won the Silver Prize for best actress in 1963. It was the first international award won by an actress from India.At the 11th National Film Awards, while ‘Uttar Falguni' received the President's silver medal for best feature film in Bengali, ‘Saat Pake Bandha' received a certificate of merit for the second best feature film. A box office success, it was later remade in Telugu as ‘Vivaha Bandham' in 1963, in Hindi as ‘Kora Kagaz' in 1974, in Tamil as ‘Lalitha' in 1976, and in Malayalam as ‘Archana Teacher' in 1981.Varsha Bansal, granddaughter of producer RD Bansal, will present the film in Moscow. "Apart from the films that my grandfather went on to make with Satyajit Ray, this was one film from the 30-odd that he produced that he was particularly fond of and very proud to have backed. Again, an unconventional story of its time, beautifully depicting the ego clash between a husband and wife, which unfortunately separates them forever, even in a loving marriage," she said.Poulami Bose, daughter of Soumitra Chatterjee, called the screening a "significant development". She said the film, adapted from Ashutosh Mukherjee's work, connected with people from across sections. The film was submitted by the producers to Nina Kochelyaeva, consultant to the Moscow International Film Festival, in Jan. After watching it, she said, "What a masterpiece ... We discussed it at the selection committee meeting, and the festival will contact you soon."