Misplaced Pages

Bhranti Bilas
Directed by	Manu Sen
Written by	Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Screenplay by	Bidhayak Bhattacharya (Dialogues)
Based on	Comedy Of Errors by William Shakespeare
Produced by	Uttam Kumar
Starring	Uttam Kumar Bhanu Bandopadhyay Sabitri Chatterjee Sandhya Roy
Edited by	Haridas Mahalanabish
Music by	Shyamal Mitra
Production company	Uttam Kumar Films Pvt Ltd
Distributed by	Chayabani Pvt Ltd
Release date	1963 (1963)
Running time	102 Minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Bhranti Bilas (transl. Comedy of Errors) is a 1963 Bengali-language comedy film based on the 1869 play of the same name by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, which is itself based on William Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. The film was produced by Uttam Kumar and he played double roles. Others in the film are Bhanu Banerjee who also played dual roles, Sabitri Chatterjee and Sandhya Roy. The film was made under the banner of Uttam Kumar Films Pvt Ltd. The music of the film was composed by Shyamal Mitra. The film was remade in Bollywood thrice as Do Dooni Char, Angoor and Cirkus

In this movie, Uttam Kumar and Bhanu Bandyopadhyay were cast as a merchant and his servant, respectively. They visit a new town but don't know about the existence of their respective twin brothers and it ultimately leads to a series of confusions leading to a laugh riot.

Plot

Although the original play was set in an unspecified, but distant past, the film relocates the story to modern day India. The film tells the story of a Bengali merchant from Kolkata and his servant who visit a small town for a business appointment, but, whilst there, are mistaken for a pair of locals, leading to much confusion.

Cast

• Uttam Kumar as Chiranjib Chowdhury and Chiranjit Chowdhury
• Bhanu Bandopadhyay as Bhakti Kinkar and Shakti Kinkar
• Sabitri Chatterjee as Chandraprabhaa, Chiranjib's Wife
• Sandhya Roy as Bilashini, Chiranjib's sister-in-law, Chandraprabhaa's younger sister
• Sabita Bose as Aparajita
• Tarun Kumar as Money lender
• Chhaya Devi as Chiranjit & Chiranjib's Mother
• Bidhayak Bhattacharya as Bosupriyo

Soundtrack

All lyrics are written by Gouri Prasanna Majumder, Pulak Bandopadhyay, Bidhayak Bhattachariya; all music is composed by Shyamal Mitra

Production

The story was written by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar which he adapted from The Comedy Of Errors written by William Shakespeare.

This was the third film produced by Uttam Kumar after the blockbuster iconic Harano Sur and Saptapadi which he produced along with Ajoy Kar. But this time he separated from Ajoy Kar and made his only own production and named Uttam Kumar Films Private Limited. In the film Uttam Kumar played dual role and this is the third film after Tasher Ghar in 1957 and iconic Jhinder Bandi in 1961 where Uttam playing in double role. Bhanu Bandopadhyay also played a dual role in the film.

Remakes

The film is remade several times. At first it's remade in 1968 Hindi as Do Dooni Char directed by Debu Sen starring Kishore Kumar, Asit Sen and Tanuja. Later, a Hindi remake in 1982 was directed by the legendary lyricist and director Gulzar as Angoor starring Sanjeev Kumar and Moushumi Chatterjee. Bharanti Bilash was also remade into Hindi as Cirkus (2022) by Rohit Shetty.

See also

• The Comedy of Errors § Adaptations
• Bhranti Bilas, 1869 play by Indian writer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, based on Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors
  • Do Dooni Chaar (1968 film), 1968 Indian Hindi-language comedy film by Debu Sen, remake of the 1963 film; itself remade into the 1982 film Angoor
  • Angoor (1982 film), 1982 Indian Hindi-language comedy film by Gulzar, remake of the 1968 film Do Dooni Chaar
  • Double Di Trouble, 2014 Indian Punjabi-language film by Smeep Kang remake of the 1982 film Angoor
  • Cirkus (film), 2022 Indian Hindi-language comedy film by Rohit Shetty, remake of the 1982 film Angoor

References

1. "'Bhranti Bilash' and 'Comedy of Errors' - When Bengali cinema drew inspiration from William Shakespeare". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
2. "Angoor (1982)". The Hindu. 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 4 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
3. Radhakrishnan, Sruthi (23 April 2018). "400 years later, Shakespeare still remains relevant in Indian cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
4. Rajiva Verma (2006). "Shakespeare in Hindi Cinema". In Poonam Trivedi; Dennis Bartholomeusz (eds.). India's Shakespeare: Translation, Interpretation and Performance. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 247–248.
5. "'Bhranti Bilash' and 'Comedy of Errors' - When Bengali cinema drew inspiration from William Shakespeare". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2022.

External links

• Bhrantibilas at IMDb

• 1963 films
• Bengali-language Indian films
• Indian comedy films
• Indian films based on plays
• Modern adaptations of works by William Shakespeare
• Films based on The Comedy of Errors
• Films based on adaptations
• Bengali films remade in other languages
• 1960s Bengali-language films
• Twins in Indian films
• Films about twin brothers
• Films based on Indian novels