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Badnam Basti
Poster of the film
Directed byPrem Kapoor
Written byKamleshwar
Based onBadnam Basti
by Kamleshwar
Produced byFilm Finance Corporation
StarringNitin Sethi, Amar Kakkad and Nandita Thakur
CinematographyRM Rao
Edited byHrishikesh Mukherjee, Prem Kapoor
Music byVijay Raghav Rao
Release date
  • 1971 (1971)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹ 250,000

Badnam Basti (English: Infamous Neighbourhood[1]) is a 1971 Bollywood drama film directed by Prem Kapoor and adapted from an eponymous novel by Hindi novelist Kamleshwar.[2] Starring Nitin Sethi, Amar Kakkad, and Nandita Thakur, it is often described as India's first gay film.[3] The film was thought to have been lost for 40 years, but a print was found in 2019.[4]

Plot

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Set in Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, Badnam Basti tells the story of Sarnam Singh, a bus driver who is also a bandit. Sarnam saves Bansuri from being raped by another bandit. Bansuri falls in love with him, but he is jailed for a petty crime. Upon release, Sarnam searches for Bansuri but does not find her. He then meets Shivraj, who works in a temple, and hires him as a cleaner in the bus. The two become physically and emotionally intimate. Sarnam again encounters Bansuri, who is now living with Sarnam's crony, Rangile, who won her at an auction in a village mela. Bansuri desires to return to Sarnam, but he is torn by his longing for Bansuri and his love for Shivraj. Shivraj, however, goes on to marry Kamala. Rangile, who is a police informant, is convicted and jailed for duplicity in legal matters. As the film ends, Sarnam takes Bansuri and her newborn to his home.

Cast

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  • Nitin Sethi as Sarnam Singh
  • Nandita Thakur as Bansuri
  • Amar Kakkad as Shivraj
  • Nandlal Sharma

Production

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The film is based on Ek Sadak Sattavan Galiyan (A Street with 57 Lanes),[5] the debut novel of the Hindi writer Kamleshwar Prasad Saxena which was originally titled Badnam Basti and serialized in the Hindi journal Hans in 1956 and published as a novel in 1957.[6][7][8]

Badnam Basti was produced by the Film Finance Corporation on a budget of ₹250,000. It was shot in a four-week period at Mainpuri.[5][9] The theme of homosexual interest between the two male characters caused Kamaleshwar's novel to attract controversy; Prem Kapoor had to excise scenes from the novel and make their relationship only suggestive in order to receive clearance by the film censorship board.[9][10]

Although it is labelled as India's first gay film,[11][12] Badnam Basti neither explicitly depicts nor identifies the male characters as gay.[1][13] They are bisexual rather than gay, and their relationship is secondary to their heterosexual relationships.[2][7]

Songs

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The music for Badnam Basti was composed by Vijaya Raghava Rao and Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan. Khan, who previously worked with Rao in Bhuvan Shome, sang "Sajna Kaahe Nahi Aaye" for the film.[14] Lyrics were by Virendra Mishra and Harivansh Rai Bachchan; Bachchan recites the poem "Mele Mein Khoi Gujariya" in the film.[5][14] Rao and Satish Bhutani also sang in the film. The sound recording was done by Narinder Singh.[15]

Following is the list of songs in Badnam Basti:[16]

No.TitleSingerLength
1."Sajna Kahe Nahi Aaye"Ghulam Mustafa Khan 
2."Akela Taaro Bhara Mela"Satish Bhutani 
3."Godaniya Gudwaye Le"Vijay Raghav Rao 
4."Mele Me Khoi Gujarriya"Harivansh Rai Bachchan 
5."Sun Lo Katha Sita Ki"Vijay Raghav Rao 

Release and reception

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The film was released with an A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.[4] It received mixed reviews. The Times of India called it "a welcome step forward in the direction of 'new cinema' in India".[9] The Economic Times noted that "Badnam Basti presents a true picture of reality".[8] However, a review by Indian magazine Link penned "no film at all – its technical gimmicks are totally out of rhythm with the insipid directorial conception".[17] Rajika Kirpalani in his book Another Time, Another Place wrote: "little more interesting than the hotchpotch that passes for films generally", and that it "sustains its interest merely because of Nitin Sethi, who truly infuses his character with hardy, virile, rural verve".[18] Sethi received praise from The Illustrated Weekly of India, which commented that "Sarnam's loneliness has been projected superbly by Prem Kapoor. It is hard to imagine anyone but Nitin Sethi in the role".[8]

Re-release and lost film status

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Originally edited by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the film did not do well at the box office.[4] It was re-edited by Kapoor and re-released in 1978 with a U certificate, but was a commercial failure again.[4][5] The film was thereafter thought to be lost with no prints available in India, but re-emerged in 2019 when a print was located in the archives of the Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Art [de], Berlin.[8] It has since been digitized and was screened by the Block Museum of Art in May 2020 and at the Kashish film festival, Mumbai.[19][12]

References

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  1. ^ a b Ross, Oliver (2016). Same-Sex Desire in Indian Culture: Representations in Literature and Film, 1970–2015. Springer. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-137-56692-8. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Shahani, Parmesh (2020). Gay Bombay: Globalization, Love and (Be)longing in Contemporary India. SAGE Publishing India. p. 212. ISBN 978-93-5388-421-5. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  3. ^ Basu, Vijayeta. "Things to do in Mumbai today". Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Kahlon, Sukhpreet (28 July 2020). "Finding Badnaam Basti (1972): Accidental discovery that restored a piece of Indian cinematic history". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d Gaekwad, Manish (21 February 2016). "The untold story of 'Badnam Basti', possibly India's first gay movie". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  6. ^ Kamaleshwar (2013). Samagra Upanyas (in Hindi). Rajpal & Sons. p. 09. ISBN 978-81-7028-508-3. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b Vanita, R.; Kidwai, S. (2000). Same-Sex Love in India: Readings in Indian Literature. Springer. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-137-05480-7. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d Gaekwad, Manish (29 May 2020). "India's first gay film Badnam Basti resurfaces after nearly half a century's hibernation in Berlin archive". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Ghosh, Avijit (27 May 2020). "Almost 50 years later, first Hindi film on queer love makes waves". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  10. ^ "Badnam Basti". Democratic World. 18. Gulab Singh & Sons: 18. 1989. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Kashish 2020 to screen India's first gay film Badnam Basti, lost and found after 49 years". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  12. ^ a b "India's first gay film 'Badnam Basti', lost and found after 49 years, to screen at KASHISH 2020". CineBlitz. 26 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  13. ^ Gokulsing, K. Moti; Dissanayake, Wimal (2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 202. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  14. ^ a b Khan, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa; Khan, Namrata Gupta (2018). A Dream I Lived Alone. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5305-384-0. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  15. ^ Bhattacharjee, Rudradeep (15 July 2020). "Sound stories: Narinder Singh on his collaborations with Basu Chatterjee and Gulzar". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Badnam Basti (1971)". HindiGeetMala. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  17. ^ Link: Indian Newsmagazine. 1971. p. 40. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  18. ^ Kirpalani, Rajika (1975). Another Time, Another Place: Selected Writings of Rajika Kirpalani. Rajika Education Trust. p. 42. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  19. ^ Majumdar, Mayukh (30 May 2020). "India's First Gay Film, Badnam Basti, Turns Up in Berlin". Man's World. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
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