Phani Majumdar

Adapted from an original novel titled Fatimah《花蒂玛》by Chua Boon Hean, 'Sri Menanti' is a poignant portrayal of an intercultural romance inhibited by racial prejudice and segregation, religious conservatism, and repressive social mores. The film stars Malay actress Zaiton and Hong Kong actor Paul Chang as the star-crossed lovers who seek in the Other not only connection and acceptance but also escape and freedom. Released in both Malay and Mandarin-dubbed versions, the film was unprecedented in the Singapore film industry for casting both local Malay and Hong Kong Chinese film stars.

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Film Kaseh Sayang is a a Malay film which was published in Malaysia in 1957. The film issued in the form of black and white film without color. After entrusting her baby girl Sukartini to the servant, Kartini leaves Singapore with her husband, Sudanto, to avoid the war. Halimah, the servant takes great care of the child despite her hardship and poverty. After the liberation of Singapore, Kartini returns to take her child back. Halimah is not willing to let go of Sukartini and runs away with her. She is caught eventually and sentenced to a year’s imprisonment. Though Sudanto and his wife win the child over, their hopes are shattered, as the child does not regard them as her parents.

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The movie tells us the story of Hassan who has great passion for music. Hassan and Ani fell in love and ran away to Singapore knowing that their marriage will never be approved by Ani's parents. Hassan soon made a name for himself as a musician and later as a composer. His compositions received great reviews. Hassan was overjoyed when he found out that his wife was pregnant but it soon turned to sorrow as Ani died giving birth to a son, Sazali. Hassan turned his affection towards Sazali and soon Sazali grew up into a rich spoilt kid. Sazali grew up to become one of Singapore's most wanted men. The police was tipped off when Sazali and his gang committed burglary. Sazali was shot but managed to escape and seek shelter in his father's home. What did Hassan do?

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Hang Tuah and his four sworn brothers, Hang Jebat, Hang Kasturi, Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu, has pledged to protect the Sultan of Malacca. With their dedication, the five brothers rose quickly from the ranks, especially Hang Tuah whom has proven himself to be an able warrior and leader. When Hang Tuah managed to persuade Tun Teja to marry the Sultan of Malacca, the Sultan was overjoyed and rewarded Hang Tuah with full honours. The old guards felt threatened and envious, decided to frame him.

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A group of freedom-fighters face betrayal and go on the run from police in British-occupied Hindustan.

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An orphaned boy from a fishing village, adopted and educated by a wealthy family, must choose between his sophisticated wife and a new love in his rural birthplace as he dedicates his life to uplifting his long-lost community.

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Fed up of Dilip's involvement with gold digging actress Nayantara, Dilip's uncle pretends to be gravely ill in hopes of guilting him into marrying a decent girl. Dilip convinces reluctant Kiran to pretend to be his fiancée. Dilip and Kiran soon fall in love, and Nayantara decides to intervene.

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A stridently nationalistic story of India’s freedom struggle, presented through the experiences of a Bengali family from 1885, when the Indian National Congress was established, to 1947. Important events incorporated into the plot were Gandhi’s satyagraha (1920), the Simon Commission (1928), Vallabhbhai Patel’s Bardoli satyagraha (1928) and the 1942 Quit India agitations. Krishan Chander’s script, Sachin Shankar’s choreography and the acting styles owed much to the IPTA theatre of the 40s. The film, made at Bombay Talkies, was produced by the distributors of the Chicago Radio PA systems label. Kishore Kumar plays the militant hero of this quasi-documentary. Motwane included old documentary footage purchased from Kohinoor and Krishna Film, as well as a shot of Rabindranath Tagore singing his Jana Gana Mana composition, one of India’s national anthems (Arunkumar Roy’s Of Tagore and Cinema, 1994, traces this footage to Ufa, shot when Tagore visited Munich)

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A film by Phani Majumdar.

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The story of Uma and Ramesh, who share a platonic love. Ramesh, an engineer, is dedicated to his villagers' welfare. Their relationship is tested when Ramesh's social ideals conflict with the realities of capitalism. To help Ramesh, Uma sacrifices her fortune and marries another man. However, Ramesh tragically misunderstands her immense sacrifice, leading to a deep emotional crisis in their relationship.

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An early example of social realism that reached its height with 'Udayer Pathey' and more memorably with 'Chhinnamul', 'Doctor' was meant as a stringent critique of practices that were beginning to be deemed as persistant evils that plague society, namely superstitions, religious dogma and discrimination on the basis of caste. However, that would be a far too simplistic reading of the multiple thematic elements that tie together the narrative of 'Doctor'. The idea of caste based discrimination, violence and upper-caste hypocrisy is placed alongside the notions of generational conflict in a father-son relationship and the idea of a ever-widening generation gap especially in the historical and socio-political context of the film.

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Two street urchins dream of singing and making it big in the glamorous world of theatre in Calcutta.

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