Bhumika: The Role

Bhumika The Role is a 1977 Indian film directed by Shyam Benegal. The movie stars Smita Patil, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Naseeruddin Shah and Amrish Puri.

Bhumika tells the life story of an actress, Usha Smita Patil, who is the granddaughter of a famous female singer of the old tradition from Devadasi community of Goa. Ushas mother is married to an abusive and alcoholic Brahmin. Following his early death, and over her mothers objections, Usha is taken to Bombay by family hangeron Keshav Dalvi Amol Palekar to audition successfully as a singer in a Bombay studio the first step in a process, watched approvingly by Ushas doting grandmother and with horror by her mother, that will eventually carry her to oncamera adolescent stardom, and to an illstarred love marriage with Keshav. Ushas motives for stubbornly pursuing this relationship culminating in a premarital pregnancy with the unattractive and much older Keshav who appears to have lusted after her since childhood are not spelled out. Presumably she feels indebted to him for his loyalty to her family of which he frequently reminds her and for her own worldly success she is also a headstrong girl who clearly enjoys her acting career and is bent on challenging her uptight mother who opposes the match because Keshav does not belong to their caste, just as she opposes cinema itself because of its presumed unrespectability.Once the two are wed, Usha is shocked to find Keshav continuing to act as her business manager, After effects arranging starring roles for her opposite heartthrob Rajan Anant Nag, who is himself in unrequited love with her. Since Keshavs other business ventures are unsuccessful, the family remains entirely dependent on Ushas earnings a fact that Keshav clearly resents. He thus becomes both a jealous husband with a fragile ego and nasty temper, as well as in effect a greedy pimp who compels his wife to take risqu work despite her dislike of her costar and her protests that she only wants to be a housewife now that their daughter has been born. Not surprisingly, the relationship becomes increasingly poisoned, particularly by Keshavs suspicion fed by star

Source: Wikipedia