Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam

About the film

Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (transl. The Master, the Wife, and the Slave) is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Abrar Alvi, produced & co–directed by Guru Dutt, who also co-stars in it alongside Meena Kumari, Rehman, and Waheeda Rehman. It is a remake of the 1956 Bengali film Saheb Bibi Golam, which itself is based on Bimal Mitra's 1953 novel of the same name. It is set in the 19th century during the British Raj and focuses on Bhoothnath (Dutt), who meets Chhoti Bahu (Kumari), the lonely wife of a zamindar (Rehman). The film follows Chhoti Bahu's effort to keep her husband—who likes drinking and watching tawaifs perform—at their home by drinking with him. She becomes addicted to alcohol, leading both of them into bankruptcy.

The book's rights were bought after his production venture Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) became commercially successful and covered his company's loss following the failure of Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), his previous directorial project. Mitra and Alvi took a year to write the screenplay, facing difficulties in translating the novel from Bengali to Hindi. Principal photography took place in Andheri and Dhanyakuria with cinematographer V. K. Murthy; the film was edited by Y. G. Chawhan. Hemant Kumar composed the soundtrack and Shakeel Badayuni wrote the lyrics.

Plot

In Calcutta, a group of labourers is demolishing the ruins of an old haveli. When the workers break for lunch, the overseer walks around the site. As he sits, a flashback to the late 19th century begins.

The lower-class yet educated Atulya "Bhoothnath" Chakraborty arrives in the colonial Calcutta looking for work. Along with his brother-in-law, he lives in the haveli of the Choudhury zamindar family. Bhoothnath meets Subinay, a dedicated member of the religious sect Brahmo Samaj, and the owner of the factory Mohini Sindoor. Subinay's daughter Jabba hears their conversation and is amused by the behaviour of Bhoothnath, whom she considers an unsophisticated rural dweller. Over time, the two develop an attraction to each other. Bhoothnath becomes fascinated with the goings-on in the haveli and every night he observes the Choudhury brothers' decadent lifestyle.

One night, Bansi, another servant at the haveli, introduces Bhoothnath to the younger zamindar’s wife, Chhoti Bahu. She pleads with him to bring her some Mohini sindoor, believing it will help mend her strained marriage to Chhote Babu, who spends most of his time with a dancing girl. Moved by her sorrow, Bhoothnath unintentionally becomes her secret confidant. When her efforts to win back her husband’s affection fail, she begins drinking with him in a bid to keep him close.

Production

Guru Dutt wanted to adapt Bimal Mitra's novel Saheb Bibi Golam (1953) into a film after reading it and watching its staged version at Rang Mahal Theatre, Calcutta, with his wife Geeta, Mitra, and Abrar Alvi. This marked the novel's second cinematic adaptation after the 1956 version. The novel was written in and never translated from Bengali. Dutt asked Alvi to write a screenplay; according to Alvi, he was surprised Dutt gave him the offer because Dutt had previously discharged him from his company Guru Dutt Movies Pvt. Ltd. after Dutt's Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), in which Alvi served as the screenwriter, became a flop and he could not pay his workers. Since then, Dutt decided to not direct any films he worked on. After his next release Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) commercially succeeded, he was able to save the studio from bankruptcy and later acquired the rights of Saheb Bibi Golam. Dutt and Alvi started translating the novel to Hindi but Alvi was not fluent in Bengali. They tried translating it word-for-word but realised the process would be really slow and stopped after a few days.

Dutt invited Mitra, who lived in Calcutta, to visit him at a bungalow Dutt rented in Khandala. Alvi said Dutt was thorough on any aspects of his projects and that the bungalow was used to ensure both Mitra and Alvi concentrated on writing the screenplay. After arriving in Khandala, Mitra and Alvi invited a "Mr. Mukherjee", who was fluent in Bengali and Hindi, to be a "bridge between us". The translator, however, gave up after fifteen days, asking them to do the rest by themselves. Alvi said the screenplay was written "slowly but surely"; he and Mitra made many changes to the story so the film would be fit with Hindi audience's interest. For instance, they removed several characters who appear in the novel version, including Swami Vivekananda, and made Bhoothnath more naïve and less educated. Dutt's biographer Nasreen Munni Kabir estimated the translating took two months and said Dutt, who was impressed by the screenplay, suggested Alvi to direct the film. Yasser Usman reported it was the first time the screenplay of a film Dutt produced was finished before filming began. In preparation, Alvi was sent to Calcutta to learn about the Bengali milieu and the zamindars' background.

Dutt and Alvi completed the casting; their first choice to play Bhoothnath was Shashi Kapoor, who was invited for a meeting with Dutt but he arrived two-and-a-half hours late, which irritated Dutt, who then declined to cast him. Biswajit Chatterjee, who portrayed Bhoothnath in the play, became Dutt's next choice; he and Chatterjee had dinner at the Grand Hotel to discuss it. The film was to be Chatterjee's Bollywood debut but his friends and fans informed him his popularity among Bengali people was increasing, so he reluctantly rejected the offer, a decision he later regretted. The role was eventually played by Dutt, who had to shave his moustache to make him look younger.

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