Bhumika: The Role (1977)

Coming from a poor and destitute family, Urvashi is encouraged by her mother, Shanta (Sualbha Deshpande) to be on more than friendly terms with a much older male, Keshav Dalvi (Amol Palekar... See full summary »

Director:

Shyam Benegal

Writers:

Hansa Wadkar (inspired by the book "Sangtye Aika"), Girish Karnad (screenplay),

Stars:

Smita Patil, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Smita Patil	...	Usha
Anant Nag	...	Rajan
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Sunil Verma
Amrish Puri	...	Vinayak Kale
Amol Palekar	...	Keshav Dalvi
Kulbhushan Kharbanda	...	Film producer
Sulabha Deshpande	...	Shanta
Baby Ruksana
B.V. Karanth
Dina Pathak	...	Mrs. Kale
Mohan Agashe
Kusum Deshpande
Rekha Sabnis
Baby Bitto
Savha Bajaj

Storyline

Coming from a poor and destitute family, Urvashi is encouraged by her mother, Shanta (Sualbha Deshpande) to be on more than friendly terms with a much older male, Keshav Dalvi (Amol Palekar). Keshav takes a liking to young Urvashi, and encourages her to explore her talents in films, which she does, and does gain popularity, starting as a singer, than accomplishing herself as an actress/singer. She decides to marry Keshav, only to be discouraged by her own mother, but she is strong-willed, and does marry him. She has a baby girl after the marriage, but feels stifled and oppressed with Keshav, and has affairs with her co-star Rajan (Anant Nag), a film producer, Sunil Verma (Naseeruddin Shah), but ends up dissatisfied. Then she meets wealthy Vinayak Kale (Amrish Puri), and decides to settle down with him, little knowing that he is already married to another woman, and also has a son. By the time she finds out it is too late, she has already been accepted in his household, and any woman, ...

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Plot Keywords:

film producer | marriage | phonograph record | beating | extramarital affair | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

11 November 1977 (India)

Also Known As:

The Role

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blaze Film Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

142 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Based on the life of well-known Marathi Stage and screen actress of the 1940s, 'Hansa Wadkar'.

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Connections

Referenced in Jhaptal (2013)

User Reviews

excellent, thought provoking cinema

Excellent performance by the late Smita Patil energizes this story of a girl who is manipulated by almost every man she meets in the film industry. it may sound sordid, but credit goes to the director as well as the actors for handling the material with grace. that final scene where she talks to her daughter over the phone, is a classic example.