Son-in-Law

1931 22 minutes (surviving print) Directed by Kalipada Das

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About Son-in-Law

Gobardhan comes from his village to Calcutta to see his wife and her family, and he arrives before Amal expects him. His luggage jams in the train door. He trips through the station until Amal finds him. He reads a "No Nuisance" sign as an address and gets lost looking for Amal's room. He cannot cross a street, nearly falls into a pond by the Victoria Memorial, and breaks in on couples at Rabindra Sarobar. The camera also passes Howrah Bridge and the Maidan. At the in-laws' house he pretends to be ill so he can stay. When he tries to slip into his wife's room he is taken for a thief and beaten.

Cast & crew

More about Son-in-Law

Kalipada Das wrote and directed Jamai Babu and plays Gobardhan. D. R. Barodkar was the cinematographer. The surviving copy runs 22 minutes 33 seconds and carries intertitles in English, Bengali, and Hindi. Cinemaazi calls it the only Bengali silent film that survives. A Wikimedia Commons note says Mrinal Sen's unit found the print by accident in 1980 while shooting on location.

Themes

  • A villager loose in Calcutta
  • A sign read as an address
  • A husband mistaken for a thief
  • Calcutta
  • in-laws
  • Howrah Bridge
  • silent Bengali
  • comedy

In film history

Cinemaazi describes Jamai Babu as the only surviving Bengali silent film.

Making

Mrinal Sen's crew came across the print in 1980.

Look

D. R. Barodkar photographed Gobardhan against Howrah Bridge, the Victoria Memorial, the Maidan, and Rabindra Sarobar, cut against street crowds.

Preservation

The surviving print, found in 1980 by Mrinal Sen's unit, is the copy now circulated. Cinemaazi calls the film the only Bengali silent that survives.

Notes

  • Radharani plays Niva, Gobardhan's wife. Kumar Pravat, or Pravat Coomar, plays Amal. Sirapada Bhowmick, Amulya Bandyopadhyay, Rajen Baruah, and Sadhana Devi are also in the cast list on the Commons file page.
  • Crowds gathered to watch the shooting appear in the city scenes.
  • IMDbPro lists the short at 23 minutes.
  • The Bengali title is Jamai Babu.

Scenes

  • Gobardhan's bag sticks in the train door as he tries to get off.
  • He is beaten when he sneaks toward his wife's room.

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (জামাই বাবু - বাংলা চলচ্চিত্র (১৯৩১).webm)