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Tag: Perspective. Uttam Kumar

Power To The Bourgeoisie (Or, how the Left left Bengali cinema)

Published @ The Caravan
Poster of Aparna Sen’s 1981 debut film 36, Chowringhee Lane. ON THE EARLY MORNING of 25 July 1980, Bengali matinée idol Uttam Kumar’s unexpected death at the age of 54 shook West Bengal. By the following morning, it seemed all of Calcutta was on the streets. Howling millions followed the vehicle carrying his remains. Not far from the scene, in a closed room filled with cigar smoke on Alimuddin Street, the headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Pramode…