Bandini (Imprisoned)

The film tells the story of a woman prisoner serving life imprisonment for murder, Kalyani ,the all suffering, selfless, sacrificing, and strong yet weak Indian woman. The film's protagonist Kalyani had the courage to not only make choices in her life but choices which at times might appear to be even wrong ones as she gives up everything for love. Her past is told in flashback.  During the British Raj, Kalyani (Nutan) falls in love with freedom fighter Bikash. (Ashok Kumar) .  He later leaves her in the village promising to come back but never does.  The society treats Kalyani harshly. She leaves the village and moves to the city.  Interestingly when Bikash tells Kalyani his story ,  Bimal Roy uses the flashbacks within flashback device in the film, surely one of the earliest use of such a technique in Indian Cinema.  While the events of the story are highly melodramatic ,  Bimalda takes great care to handle them with  sensitivity, simplicity and subtlety. Bandini is brilliantly photographed by Kamal Bose with its rich tonal quality and evocative framing.  The film also sees the debut of Gulzar  as a lyricist with Mora Gora Ang Laile , one of the most romantic songs in Indian Cinema as it expresses the heroine's first flush of love. Dharmendra is okish while Ashok Kumar is impressive as Bikash but Bandini clearly belongs to Nutan.  She portrays her characters inner conflict and complex emotions with almost near perfections.