Friday 27 October 2017

'NEECHA NAGAR'..70 YEARS!


Pioneering film in social realism on Indian screen..Chetan Anand's 'Neecha Nagar' (1946) completed 70 years!
Writer K. A. Abbas!

It was inspired from Soviet/Russian great writer Maxim Gorky's play 'The Lower Depths'! Before this in 1936 renowned French filmmaker Jean Renoir made the film on that play with same name!..And in 1957 Japanese master filmmaker Akira Kurosawa also made the film with same title!

Class Conflict scene from film 'Neecha Nagar'!



'India Pictures' Rashid Anwar produced Hindi movie 'Neecha Nagar' (1946) was the directorial debut of (Dev Anand's elder brother) Chetan Anand. It took the expressionist look of slum on the backdrop of rich & poor class conflict! It's written by K. A. Abbas & Hayatullah Ansari. And realistic cinematographed by Bidyapati Ghosh & edited by N. R. Chauhan.
Romanticism of film 'Neecha Nagar'!

Chetan Anand's wife Uma Anand acted in it with Rafiq Anwar, Rafi Peer, Zohra Sehgal and Kamini Kaushal who made her screen debut! And Pandit Ravi Shankar also first time composed the music for this film! Vishwamitra Adil & Manmohan Anand's songs were in it..like "Utho ki hamko waqt ne pukara hai.."

The montage of thirst & water sequence in it can not forget! Noted that director's name appeared in it as..'Film Creation: Chetan Anand'!!
Montage of thirst from 'Neecha Nagar'!
 'Neecha Nagar' won Best Film 'Grand Prix' award at the first 'Cannes Film Festival'!

A TRIBUTE!!!

- Manoj Kulkarni
['Chitrasrushti', Pune, India]

1 comment:

  1. Montage impressed by Eisenstein & Pudovkin. The film set the trend for realism/neo realism in Europe, India, Japan

    ReplyDelete