Suchitra Sen poster for sale: Devi Chowdhurani (1974).
Featured here is an actual surviving original Bengali cinema poster of the 1974 black and white Bangla drama produced and directed by Dinen Gupta that starred Suchitra Sen in the titular role of the “Bandit Queen of Bengal.”
Based on a novel of the same name written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1884, Devi Chowdhurani (1974) also starred Ranjit Mallick, Kali Banerjee, Chhaya Devi, Sumitra Mukherjee, Haradhan Bandopadhyay, Jahor Roy, Premangshu Bose, Nripati Chatterjee, Satya Banerjee and Ajoy Bandyopadhyay in supporting roles.
Devi Chowdhurani (1974) was set in the 1770s at a time when the British East India Company was expanding its control over Bengal. The film told the story of a beautiful young woman called Prafulla (Suchitra Sen), who is filled with virtue, compassion and kindness. She lives in poverty with her widowed mother and is married off to the son of a wealthy landlord. However, she is rejected by her in-laws and cast out. Wandering in misery, Prafulla finds herself taking refuge in an abandoned home in the forest, where she finds a decrepit man living alone. She offers him water to drink. Touched by her compassion, the old man reveals to her that he has hidden several pots of gold in the basement of his home. When Prafulla uncovers the gold, she is ecstatic. With a single gold coin in hand, she goes searching for a village where she can use the coin to buy supplies. On the way, she encounters dreaded dacoit leader, Bhavani Pathak. When he learns about Prafulla’s stash of gold, he advises her to use the wealth for the welfare of others instead of spending it for her personal gain. Thus a Robin Hood-like figure is born and Prafulla transforms to Devi Chaudhurani. Bhavani Pathak trains her both in self defense as well as in leadership and wisdom. As a righteous leader of the poor, Devi Chaudhurani uses her wealth and power to protect her people. Over years of fighting against social injustice, she becomes an alternative government. The British take note of her rise and launch an attempt to capture and eliminate her.
Printed and circulated during the release of the film in Kolkata theaters (somewhere in the 1970s), this Devi Chaudhurani poster was designed for publicity of the film but never ended up being used.
This old Bengali cinema poster was originally designed in mixed media format using a combination of both hand painted oil on canvas as well as photographic collage techniques by a poster design studio in Kolkata and features striking artwork.
Suchitra Sen is seen in a stunning close up black and white still photo dressed in all finery. A hand painted depiction of Goddess Kali in Kalighat painting style appears alongside. The side by side depiction captures her transformation from a helpless woman to a powerful savior.
Typography used in this old Suchitra Sen poster is entirely in Bengali, with the title appearing in a very creatively styled font in red. The background of this old Devi Chaudhurani poster is yellow, which makes the foreground stand out in contrast. A beautiful boat is seen hand drawn on the top, which represents the vessel that Devi Chaudhurani used for taking refuge and avoiding capture by the British as well as for travel.
The soundtrack album of Devi Chowdhurani (1974) was composed by Manabendra Mukhopadhyay.
