Suhana Safar
The Journey of Bimal Roy's Madhumati
By Rinki Roy Bhattacharya | Sep, 2024
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About the Book
The legendary filmmaker Bimal Roy’s biographer and daughter, Rinki Roy Bhattacharya investigates how his greatest box office success story, ‘Madhumati’ was created in 1957.
She revisited original locations, met people who witnessed the making of this film, collected reminiscences, media interviews, broke popular myths about the film, and most importantly, included the voice of the three Madhumati stars—Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala and the reclusive Pran.
With a succinct tribute by Amitabh Bachchan, a foreword by Dr. Vyjayanthimala Bali,…
About the Author
Rinki Roy Bhattacharya was born with cinema in her veins. While her father, celebrated film-maker Bimal Roy, wanted to educate her in Oxford, Rinki eloped with his assistant, Basu Bhattacharya. Love blossomed but the Oxford education was cast aside. Entirely self-taught, despite intense domestic demands, raising three children—Aditya, Chimoo and Anwesha—she learnt journalism hands-on. For over five decades Rinki contributed prolifically, filing art columns, features in The Indian Express, The Hindu, Mid-day, The Telegraph and The Times of India. It is after almost fifty-odd years in the business of chasing by-lines, Rinki has finally caught up with her dream of bringing nostalgia to life.
She keeps the memory of her celebrated father alive by organizing benefit concerts, film retrospectives and curating museum events. Rinki remains a feisty patron of cinema and the visual arts, a tireless supporter of women’s rights, and an enthusiastic hostess, writing nonfiction when opportunity offers it.
Rinki lives alone, in a bougainvillea-sprayed apartment, imagining it to be her childhood Bandra home demolished by the cruel builder’s bulldozer. She enjoys solitary walks by the sea, gathering flowers she has grown or pressing them, pickling mangoes from her own harvest, and delights exploring unknown shores.
