What the Legends of Indian Cinema have to say about Bimal Roy…
“With his very first film Udayer Pathe (Hamrahi in Hindi), Bimal Roy was able to sweep aside the cobwebs of the old tradition and introduce a realism and subtely that was wholly suited to the cinema. He was undoubtedly a pioneer. He reached his peak with a film that still reverberates in the minds of those who saw it when it was first made. I refer to Do Bigha Zamin, which remains one of the landmarks of Indian Cinema.”
~ Satyajit Ray
“Nobody has ever mentioned that while shooting in the suburbs of Bombay – behind his own Mohan studio, in Andheri or other selected exteriors, Bimal Roy captured the very ethos of rural Bengal. He did not need to go there.
To me it was an education to work with him. In my formative year it was important to work with a director who lead you gently under the skin of the character. Today we have institutions, they teach cinema, acting etc. We did not have these in our times. We had instead directors like Bimal Roy. Add to this my own application as an actor. Take making Devdas. The question often while doing my role was ‘not to do’ than do anything.”
~ Dilip Kumar
“Bimal Roy was Bengal’s gift to Bombay. His first film, Udayer Pathey (Hamrahi) had already established him in this region as a filmmaker of rare perfection. But the film which left a permanent impact on the Indian cinema was his Do Bigha Zamin. That was not merely an outstanding Indian film but received International recognition.”
~ K.A. Abbas
“In my long experience in this industry I really have not come across another director like Bimal Roy… such commitment to cinema, to perfection. I regret we have few like him today.”
~ Ashok Kumar
“If I have to name six Indian filmmakers who have left their lifelong imprint on the history of Indian Cinema I would place Bimal Roy unhesitantly as one of these six.”
~ Hrishikesh Mukherjee
“Bimal Roy was himself such a conscientious filmmaker that it was natural his films would have social content and not be just populist films.”
~ Basu Chatterjee
“Before we started filming Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s Biraj Bahu, Bimalda asked me how many times I had read the novel. “Twice”, I said. He told me to read it twenty times. I read it over and over again. What a revelation that was. Here was a literary character one could not play around with. One had to catch every little nuance, every cruelty inflicted on this woman. Many scenes were taken without single rehearsals at times. That was why we had done so much homework. Working with him only once as I did, I learnt so much. He was such a sensitive, beautiful human being, I wish I had a chance to work again with him. Some memories outlive others, knowing and working with Bimalda is one of those cherished , everlasting memories.”
~ Kamini Kaushal