A Bengali widower & disciplinarian Mr. Bhuvan Shome (Utpal Dutt) is a high ranking chief in Indian Railways who tolerates no nonsense. People comply with him out of fear but behind his back gossips about him and hate him. Mr. Shome even has abandoned his only son who could not match up to his expectation.
As a result, this person lives a lonely life. All his encounters with others are professional and he does not get nor does he expect friendships or empathy.
His newly discovered interest of hunting birds (his rational reasoning does not permit him go hunting tigers) takes him to the rural Saurashtra. Embarking on this journey unexpectedly turns out to be a journey of self-discovery and change for Mr. Shome.
His encounter with a rural village girl Gouri (Suhasini Mulay) helps him with self-analysis and total surrender to her youthful innocence. He returns home a changed man. He becomes empathic and starts to enjoy the little joys of life. Even though he still tries to maintain the outer crust of a disciplinarian, we audiences see his inner child surfacing up when he is alone in office at the end of the film.
Character Arc of Bhuvan Shome
The narrative is coupled with a number of shots of forward moving POVs. Journey through railway tracks, on bullock carts and on foot.
The hunting trip to Shaurashtra seems to transcend Mr. Shome seems to a distant magical land where he unknowingly acts by the rules of the local inhabitants and surrenders himself psychologically. His resistance wears out when he meets Gouri, who seems to have influenced him, cheerfully disobeys him, motivates him (when he fails to get a successful shot) and even dresses him as a local Saurashtrian!
A rational man totally surrenders to the irrationality and innocence of a village girl and returns home a changed person. By the way, this film is narrated by the veteran Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan which happens to be his first break!
Year of release : 1969
Director: Mrinal Sen
Cast: Utpal Dutt, Suhasini Mulay
Narration : Amitabh Bachchan
Music : Vijay Raghav Rao
Written by: Bonoful, Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay
Camera: Kewal Krishan Mahajan
