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Bimal Roy. Photo by India Post, Government of India on

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Bimal Roy

Bimal Roy was born on 12 July 1909 to a Bengali family in Suapur, Dhaka. He was an Indian film director.

Roy was well established for his realistic and socialistic films such as Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Devdas, Madhumati, Sujata, Parakh and Bandini. He was making him an important director of Hindi cinema. His work is particularly known for his mise en sc猫ne which he employed to portray realism.

Bima was inspired by Italian neo-realistic cinema. He filmed Do Bigha Zamin after watching Vittorio De Sica鈥檚 Bicycle Thieves.

He bagged several awards throughout his career. These were eleven Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival. Madhumati won 9 Filmfare Awards in 1958, a record held for 37 years.

Bimal Roy also alternated between music directors Salil Chowdhury and S.D. Burman. His films featured beautiful and memorable songs.

 The music was rendered by all the top playback singers of the day. Some of the notable songs from Roy鈥檚 films include, 鈥淛alte Hain Jiske Liye鈥� from Sujata (1959), sung by Talat Mahmood and 鈥淐hali Radhe Rani鈥� from Parineeta.

Let鈥檚 learn the top 10 Amazing Facts about Bimal Roy

1. He was born into an Old Landholding Family

Bimal Roy was born into an old Landholding Family in former East Bengal ( Bangladesh). However, after his father鈥檚 death, his family was thrown out of the Zamindari by the estate manager. Young and Penniless. He moved to Calcutta with his widowed mother and his young brothers.

2. Bimal Started his Work in Cinema as a Camera Assistant

As Bimal struggled for work, he secured one as an assistant cameraman to Nitin Bose at Calcutta鈥檚 reputed New Theatres Studios. He won accolades from every quarter due to his fine sense of lighting and composition. New Theatres classics like 鈥楳ukti鈥� and 鈥楧evdas鈥� bear his distinguishing mark.

3. His Directorial Debut took a Strong Position against Class Discrimination

Hemen Gupta (1914-1967) and Bimal Roy (1909-1966) during the filming of Kabuliwala in 1957. Photo by Anonymous on

His debut feature film Udayer Pathe was made in Bengali in 1944. The film is a celluloid masterpiece for Bengali viewers.

The film was released in Hindi as Humraahi. The original Bengali title of the film was Rabindranath Tagore鈥檚 poem.

The film also featured three songs by Rabindranath Tagore. Most significantly, the full version of 鈥淛ana Gana Mana鈥�, which later became India鈥檚 national anthem.

The 3.2-minute version was composed by RC Boral and rendered by a chorus

4. Few Know that He made two Outstanding Documentaries for the British Government

Few people know that Roy made two documentaries for the British Government. However, there is. O trace of these early masterpieces. His 1956 documentary, 鈥楪otama the Buddha鈥�, received high praise for its plastic and moral beauty at the Cannes festival.

5. Bimal was Affected by World War II and Shifted from Bengali

By the 40鈥檚 several Bengali directors had to Shift to Bombay. They were forced into World war II which ruined the Bengali Cinema.

Roy and the other directors shifted to Bombay. From 1952 to 53 he launched Bimal Roy Productions with 鈥楧o Bigha Zamin鈥�. The film made a strong universal impact for its humane portrayal of the Indian peasantry.

 It is considered one of the 10 best Indian films of all time. 鈥楧o Bigha Zamin鈥� has the additional distinction of being one of the first Indian films to win awards and accolades in China, the UK, Karlovi Vary, Cannes, USSR, Venice and Melbourne.

Additionally, he introduces the genius composer Salil Chowdhury to Hindi Cinema. Salil was an Indian songwriter, music director, lyricist, writer, and poet.

6. He Utilised Salil Chowdhury鈥檚 Writing Skills in at Least Three Films

The amazing director did not just introduce Salil Chowdhury to Hindi Cinema but also utilised his writing skills in at least three Films.

Do Beegha was based on a story Rikshawala written by him back in the 鈥�40s. Parakh was also based on his story and Salil wrote the screenplay of Prem Patra.

7. His biggest Commercial Hit Madhumati was a Product of many legends

Madhumati was his biggest commercial hit film. In this, he brought together many legends. Ritwick Ghatak as the writer, Hrishikesh Mukhejee as the editor, Salil Chowdhury as the composer and Dilip Kumar as the actor.

However, he shot a major part of the film in outdoors, in Nainital. He was disappointed by the reviews. Thus he discarded the majority of what he had filmed outdoor. He reshot in Mumbai.

8. His Films Featured Beautiful and Memorable Songs

Bimal Roy alternated between music directors. Salil Chowdhury and S.D.Burma.

This made his films feature beautiful and memorable songs. The songs were rendered by all the top playback singers of the day.

Some of the notable songs from Roy鈥檚 film Hain Jiske Liye鈥� from Sujata (1959). It was sung by Talat Mahmood. 鈥淐hali Radhe Rani鈥� from Parineeta (1953), sung by Manna Dey. 鈥淎a Ri Aa Nindiya鈥� from Do Bigha Zamin (1953), music by Salil Chowdhury, sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

9. Before his Death, Roy was Working on one of His most Ambitious Project

Before the death of this legendary director. He was working on one of his most ambitious projects. It was a bi-lingual film titled Amrit Kumbh Ki Khoj Mein.

The film was based on Samaresh Basu鈥檚 novel. However, he had shot one schedule with his unit in the early 60s.

The film鈥檚 screenplay was penned by Gulzar. The 11 minutes footage of the film was released by his son Joy Bimal Roy after several years.

10. Roy Bagged several Awards Throughout his Career

He won several awards throughout his career, including eleven Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards, and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival. Madhumati won 9 Filmfare Awards in 1958, a record held for 37 years.

He died of cancer on 7 January 1966 at the age of 56. He was survived by four children: daughters Rinki Bhattacharya, Yashodhara Roy and Aparajita Sinha, and his only son, Joy Roy.

Bimal has been a legend both in Indian Cinema and World Cinema. In Indian cinema, his influence extended to both mainstream commercial Hindi cinema and the emerging Parallel Cinema. His film Do Bigha Zamin (1953) was the first film to successfully straddle art and commercial cinema.