A bridge between the extravagant showmanship of Bollywood and the Parallel Cinema movement spearheaded by Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, Bimal Roy skillfully straddled the line between art and commerce, tackling issues of poverty, caste discrimination, and the subjugation of women through his moving melodramas and earthy romances. Roy began his career as a cinematographer in Kolkata before relocating to Mumbai to make Hindi-language films under his own banner, including the neorealist-inspired breakthrough DO BIGHA ZAMIN, the heartrending tale of a farmer’s struggle to save his home from a ruthless landlord. Combining social themes and a level of realism never before seen in Indian cinema with a perfect understanding of popular-film idioms—including musical numbers and characters beloved across generations and social groups—Roy crafted a body of work rich in cinematic flair, elegance, and deep emotion.
Directed by Bimal Roy • 1953 • India
Starring Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Rattan Kumar
A key touchstone in the evolution of India’s parallel cinema—a movement inspired by Italian neorealism—DO BIGHA ZAMIN was also the first major international success for director Bimal Roy. Inspired to make the f...
Directed by Bimal Roy • 1955 • India
Starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Suchitra Sen
Bimal Roy explores India’s class divisions via the story of a doomed romance in this devastating drama based on the oft-adapted novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Dilip Kumar—the so-called “Tragedy King,” ...
Directed by Bimal Roy • 1958 • India
Starring Vyjayanthimala, Dilip Kumar, Johnny Walker
Bimal Roy’s greatest commercial success was also his only collaboration with Bengali-cinema titan Ritwik Ghatak, who wrote the screenplay for this haunting supernatural romance. Shifting between past and pre...
Directed by Bimal Roy • 1960 • India
Starring Nutan, Sunil Dutt, Shashikala
A story by Bengali writer Subodh Ghosh provides the basis for this pointed look at the impact of caste in Indian society, a blend of romance and socially conscious drama. After she is orphaned, Sujata (the luminous Nutan...
Directed by Bimal Roy • 1963 • India
Starring Nutan, Ashok Kumar, Dharmendra
The final feature directed by Bimal Roy finds the filmmaker at the height of his artistry. In the British-ruled India of the 1930s, a young woman convicted of murder (Nutan) serves out a life sentence in prison, where s...
