Kabita
Kabita is a 1977 Indian Bengali-language drama film co-written and directed by Bharat Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana.[1] Produced by Krishnamurthy and Govindarajan under Venus Combines, the film stars Mala Sinha in the lead role as Kabita, a middle-class working woman who supports her family and sacrifices her love for her widowed sister-in-law.[2] It features Kamal Haasan, Ranjit Mullick, Sandhya Roy, Mahua Roychoudhury, and Samit Bhanja in supporting roles.[1] The film is a remake of the 1974 Tamil film Naan Avan Illai. The music was composed by V. Dakshinamurthi. Released on 26 August 1977, it explores themes of family duty and sacrifice.[3]Background and development
Source material
Aval Oru Thodar Kathai is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The story centers on Kavitha, a dedicated working woman who becomes the sole breadwinner for her struggling middle-class family after her father abandons them, leaving her to support her alcoholic elder brother, blind younger brother, widowed sister, unmarried sister, and mother. Through relentless daily toil, Kavitha sacrifices her personal aspirations, including a promising career and a loving relationship with her neighbor Gopal, to fulfill her family's dreams, such as funding her siblings' education and marriages, ultimately leading her to marry a widower for financial stability despite her unrequited love.[4] The film explores profound themes of female emancipation, familial duty, and the burdens of unrequited love, portraying Kavitha's internal conflict between professional independence and societal expectations of self-sacrifice, exemplified by her forgoing a fulfilling romance to prioritize family obligations in a patriarchal joint family structure. These elements highlight the exploitation of women as emotional and financial pillars, drawing parallels to broader gendered paradoxes in Indian society where women's resilience masks systemic inequities.[5][6] Key cast members include Sujatha in her debut lead role as the resilient Kavitha, Kamal Haasan as her devoted lover Gopal, and Vijayakumar as the widower she marries. The film received widespread acclaim for its poignant depiction of women's societal roles and was a major commercial success, running for over 100 days in theaters and establishing Balachander's reputation for socially relevant cinema.[7][8] Released on 13 November 1974 with a runtime of approximately 163 minutes, the soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan with lyrics by Kannadasan, featuring memorable songs that underscore the emotional depth of Kavitha's journey. Kamal Haasan's portrayal of the neighbor and lover in the Bengali adaptation Kabita continues his role from this original film.[8][9][10]Adaptation process
Kabita was adapted from the 1974 Tamil film Aval Oru Thodar Kathai, with Bharat Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana serving as both director and co-writer to tailor the narrative for Bengali audiences. Rana's screenplay emphasized localization by modifying dialogues to capture the everyday struggles and aspirations of middle-class Bengali families, while shifting settings from Tamil urban locales to more relatable Bengali environments that highlighted local social norms and joint family structures. For instance, the protagonist's name was altered from Kavitha in the original to Kabita, aligning with Bengali phonetic and cultural conventions.[11] A key decision in the adaptation was retaining Kamal Haasan in his supporting role as the empathetic neighbor, despite his lack of proficiency in Bengali at the time; Haasan dubbed his own dialogues in the language to ensure authenticity, a choice influenced by lead actress Mala Sinha's insistence on continuity from the source material.[11] The production was spearheaded by Venus Combines, where Krishnamurthy and Govindarajan secured the remake rights and allocated the budget for a 1977 theatrical release, enabling the film's swift transition to Bengali cinema while preserving the core emotional arc of familial sacrifice.[12]Plot
Kabita is the sole breadwinner for her large middle-class family, which includes her ailing mother, widowed elder sister Bharati, unmarried younger sister, blind younger brother, alcoholic elder brother Murthy, his wife, and their children. Her father had abandoned the family years ago to become a sadhu. Kabita works diligently to support everyone, postponing her own marriage to Tilak, a kind-hearted young man she loves. Tilak, however, develops feelings for the widowed Bharati. Realizing this, Kabita selflessly sacrifices her love and arranges for Tilak and Bharati to marry, ensuring her sister's happiness and stability. Meanwhile, Murthy, inspired by Kabita's sacrifices, reforms his ways, quits drinking, and takes up a job as a restaurant bearer to contribute to the family. Kabita's supportive boss, Arun Ghosh, proposes marriage to her, but she hesitates due to her ongoing family responsibilities. Her friend Chandra, who faces harassment from the womanizing Chandrasekhar, attempts suicide but is saved and eventually marries her co-tenant Gopal. On the day of Kabita's planned wedding to Ghosh, tragedy strikes when Murthy is killed by Chandrasekhar during a confrontation. Devastated but resilient, Kabita convinces Ghosh to marry her younger sister instead and vows to continue supporting her family.Cast and characters
Production
Principal photography
The principal photography of Kabita was overseen by cinematographer K. A. Reza, who captured the film's black-and-white visuals on 35mm film.[13][14] Editing duties were handled by Amiyo Mukherjee, contributing to the film's total runtime of 146 minutes.[13][14] The film was produced by Venus Combines and distributed by Piyali Pictures, targeting Bengali theaters upon completion.[3]Music composition
The music for the 1977 Bengali film Kabita was composed by Salil Chowdhury, known for blending Bengali folk elements with orchestral arrangements.[1][15] The soundtrack features five songs, with a total duration of approximately 26 minutes.[16][17] These songs were performed by artists including Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.[16] Chowdhury's approach emphasized melodies rooted in 1970s Bengali cinema trends.[18]Soundtrack
Track listing
The soundtrack of Kabita features five songs, originally released on vinyl by EMI (HMV) in 1977 and later reissued in digital formats by Saregama.[19][16] These tracks were composed by Salil Chowdhury, with lyrics also by Chowdhury.| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Shuno Shuno Go Sabe" | Kishore Kumar | 7:30 |
| 2 | "Bujhbe Na Keu Bujhbe Na" | Lata Mangeshkar | 4:37 |
| 3 | "Dhyat Teri Maro Goli" | Sabita Chowdhury | 4:09 |
| 4 | "Ami To Kumir Dhare Anini" | Manna Dey | 6:36 |
| 5 | "Hothat Bhishon Bhalo Lagchhe" | Lata Mangeshkar | 3:18 |