Hansuli Banker Upakatha (1962)

Following in the wake of S. Ray’s films set in Bengali villages (cf. Dheuer Pare Dheu, 1962), Sinha situates his film in 1941 in a village by the Kopai river. The isolated, bamboo- surrounded village is dominated by a greedy zamindar and an ineffectual chief, Banwari (K. Bannerjee). Young Karali (Roy) leads the drive for change, abandoning the fields for the railroad yard, which eventually succeeds when Banwari is killed and WW2 makes its impact on the village. Sinha uses pathetic fallacy imagery (a monsoon) to signal the advent of a new era and deploys a flowery style for scenes depicting the past while the present is filmed in an earthier, more humorous manner. The music track is enhanced by folk melodies.