Naukri (1954) - Dir. Bimal Roy

This write-up is a part of a number of film introductions I did on Bimal Roy's films that were shown as a part of a web event.

This is basically a synopsis of the film although not an entire account of it. I have attached the screenshots for everyone to see which will hopefully make people watch the film. Portions marked {SPOILER) can be avoided

“Naukri” (Hindi for “Job” or “Work”) was Bimal Roy’s follow up to the critically successful Do Bigha Zameen(Hindi for “Two Acres of Land”) which won the International Prize at the Cannes Festival 1954. If Do Bigha Zameen was about the oppressed farmer who had to migrate to the city to save his land, Naukri was about the poor educated youth looking for a livelihood in the city.

Ratan Kumar Chaudhary(played by Kishore Kumar) the protagonist of “Naukri” has a sister who is sick with tuberculosis and a widowed mother who seems to have somehow managed to educate their son who is expected to take the burden of the family’s livelihood as soon as he graduates. His motive is simple. Get a small house, shift his family there, get his sister treated in a city hospital, get her married and then think about his own marriage. This motive is explained in the first song sequence of the film.

A fairly typical background for the protagonist of a neorealist film you may think but right from the outset the film maintains a tragicomic tone. It is neither too serious like its predecessor film nor very funny. It makes use of satire and melodrama to highlight the comedy/tragedy which you will notice at various points during the film. There is also the occasional escapist song sequence which was a given in mainstream Hindi cinema. The good part is that these songs are for the most part well  written and not too lengthy if not entirely indispensable.

So, our protagonist Ratan Kumar having received his B.A results heads to the big city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) with his simple aspirations and joyful optimism. He gets a room in a cheap lodging where he finds many youngsters like him looking for jobs. The faithful servant of the lodge played by Kanhaiyalal turns out to be a good hearted if often overworked soul who develops a bond with Ratan Kumar due to his good nature. Here begins Ratan Kumar’s desperate search for jobs. Every office has a board of “no vacancy” to keep out people or else the position is already fixed for some relative of the employer. Ratan Kumar tries to keep his optimism going, sending out type-written applications from a rented typewriter to any opening he notices in the daily newspapers which he often has to borrow. In the meantime, there is also a romance brewing between Ratan Kumar and a girl in the building opposite to his window whom he hopes to marry after he finds a job.

{SPOILER} Unfortunately the “Naukri” continues to elude him. One fine day he receives two telegrams and there is a fine moment of satire(one among many) when on one hand his sister has died and on the other the hospital bed for which he was desperately trying to get his sister admitted, becomes vacant.{SPOILER}

Ratan Kumar is disappointed but keeps trying for a job until one fine day he gets an offer from a company in Bombay (now Mumbai). He sends a letter asking for the girl’s hand in marriage along with his offer letter. The girl’s father gets mad when he finds that some guy is sending his daughter love letters and simply burns it. 

Now Ratan Kumar is in a quandary as he has comically forgotten the name of the company as well as its address. The letter being burnt, he has no option but to travel to Bombay and hope that he remembers the name on the way.

Bombay also isn’t too kind to Ratan Kumar and he becomes an easy target for pickpockets. When he tries to get the pickpockets apprehended, he himself ends in jail as he has no proof of his intentions or even a relative to vouch for him. Fortunately, after much comedy, he does remember the name of the company and is able to join it, albeit a day late.

At the office, Ratan Kumar now experiences the harsh reality of working life where employees are often overworked but underpaid. Due to his helpful nature when he tries to help an old employee at work, he gets himself dismissed and now again is jobless. To add to his woes, his girlfriend from Calcutta has eloped and he finds her in his room on the very day he has lost his job. Ratan Kumar is obviously desperate and doesn’t know what to do. Does he get a job or does he do something silly out of desperation?

Irrespective of what happens, Bimal Roy through this story beautifully captures the difficulties of youth in a newly independent nation and through satire he pokes fun at the void promises of the political leaders of the country and hopes that the common people take charge of their own lives. I hope all of you enjoy and ruminate over this bitter-sweet comedy of life that at no point becomes didactic.

The cinematographer of Naukri is Roy’s frequent collaborator Kamal Bose who I believe does an excellent job in this film. The protagonist ( Kishore Kumar) was an extremely versatile and accomplished singer and even acted in several films. He gives playback to all his songs here. His comic screen persona was quite legendary but it was fairly unusual to see him in serious roles. Roy was famous for breaking character stereotypes and he did it here as well.