Utpal Dutt Movies

Indian movie icon Amitabh Bachchan commands the screen as an aging actor lured out of retirement by an ambitious young auteur in this drama that marks the veteran actor's first-ever English-speaking film role. Harish Misra (Bachchan) believes he has already done everything possible in the world of film. Vain, passionate, and terminally strong-willed, the enormously talented retiree has abandoned the world of cinema and retreated from the modern world to the comforts of his lavish study. Despite his determination never to return to the screen, however, Harish is eventually persuaded to return to film by ambitious young director Siddharth (Arjun Rampal). But once on set, Harish simply can't relate to the younger cast members, and scoffs at the artifice of contemporary cinema. Upon completing his punishing performance, Harish falls into a coma. Though worrisome co-star Shabnam (Preity Zinta) clearly has a genuine sense of concern for the gravely ill Harish, director Siddharth remains inexplicably distant through the whole ordeal. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Satyajit Ray's final film is a deceptively simple modern fable about a mysterious and world-weary old man (Utpal Dutt), who comes to stay with a middle-class Calcutta family, claiming to be the wife's long-lost uncle, Manmohan Mitra. Anila (Mamata Shankar), the wife, wants to believe him, but her husband, Sudhindra (Deepankar De), has his doubts. The couple's young son, Satyaki (Bikram Bhattacharya), is enthralled by Manmohan's exotic tales of his magical adventures, which have taken him from New York to the jungles of the Amazon, and pretty much regards the whole thing as a game. As the family and their friends try to figure out who exactly he is, his very presence forces them to reflect on their own lives and identities. ~ Tom Vick, Rovi

Tetra is too poor to go to school. Instead, he earns money for his family by pulling the rope that moves a fan which cools three rich kids while they attend school. They, however, don't give a damn about their educations. They are much more interested in hijinks and good times. However, Tetra has a secret weapon which will further his ambitions: a photographic memory. Secretly encouraged by the school's sympathetic teacher, he is also noticed by the villainous rich kids, who want to use him as an accountant so he can help them collect even more rent from the poor villagers. Tetra manages to turn their scheme on its head and leaves the villagers better off than before. However, once the bad guys notice what he has done, he must do what he can to escape. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A British engineer and a young Bengali woman feel the backlash of cultural divisiveness in this uneven romantic drama. Allan (Hugh Grant) falls in love with the Gayatri (Supriya Pathak), the beautiful teenage daughter of his hostess Indira Sen (Shabana Azmi) while he recovers from an illness. When the family learns of the affair, Allan is kicked out of the house and returns to a Calcutta boarding house a heartbroken man. Lucien Metz (John Hurt) is a photojournalist working for Life magazine who convinces his old friend Allan that his stay in India can only bring him further trouble and continued bad fortune. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Burning with a desire to be a journalist, a young man gets his chance when a publisher -- the father of a friend -- suggests that he write a story on the daily life of the people in his house (several families worth of people). The material turns out to be too incohesive and abundant to work into a pointed, thematic article, and just when he is about to give up, his younger brother asks him a simple question: "How many coal burners are there in Calcutta?" This triggers an idea for a story about Calcutta's pollution -- and the aspiring journalist dreams of myriads of burner-toting citizens invading the publisher's home demanding redress. Maybe he is finally on the way to a story that matters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Dezorio is a teacher at a European-styled school in India who influences many of his students. When a wife is committed to her late husband's funeral pyre, some of the students rescue her from her fiery fate. The incident leads to conflict with authorities as the centuries-old tradition is initially challenged in colonial India. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Felu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is a detective whose vacation is interrupted when a priceless statue of an elephant god is stolen. Suspects include a local gangster, a nervous bodyguard, a disgruntled servant, and a fence who masquerades as a holy man. Chatterjee plays the character with reserve and occasional humor in this twisting detective story written and directed by Satyajit Ray. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The unfortunate young man in this movie grew up in a moderately well-off Indian family which has now fallen on hard times. His ambitions for a career were dashed when his high grades were changed at the instigation of a vindictive professor at his school. Through a series of accidents, he finds a job as a factory-rep, or middleman. However, he does not prosper until he abandons his thoroughgoing rectitude and begins providing some extra services to people who can give him big accounts. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The chorus in this Indian film is the large group of poor people who are seeking jobs from the stuffy executives who have jobs. These individuals are simply trying to keep from being overwhelmed by the needy crowds. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Bhuvan Shome (Utpal Dutt) is the lonely bureaucrat who works for the railroad. He immerses himself in his work, which is the only reason he has for living, and hides behind his responsibilities to avoid human commitments in love and social interaction. Bhuvan goes on a duck hunt and is helped by a young peasant woman who helps him when he is treed by a water buffalo. She helps him see beyond his job and come to the realization that workers are not just numbers or a means to an end, but people with real feelings and problems. It turns out she is the wife of a man he was about to fire for an apparent company violation. Bhuvan returns to work with a newfound empathy for his fellow workers. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Lizzie (Felicity Kendal) is an actress in a Shakespearean theater troupe that has seen better days. The troupe tours India to dwindling crowds who are less interested in all things British in the wake of Indian independence. When she has an affair with the Indian playboy Sanju (Shashi Kapoor), Lizzie feels the wrath of her disapproving father Tony (Geoffrey Kendal) and her mother Carla (Laura Liddell). Madhur Jaffrey plays the role of the Indian actress Manjula in this romantic drama with musical score from Satyajit Ray. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi