Who can forget that iconic scene of Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen singing 'Ei path jadi na sesh hoi' riding a BMW bike in "Saptapadi" but a new book says the two actors never actually sat on the two-wheeler.
Veteran film critic Swapan Mullick's "Mahanayak Revisited: The World of Uttar Kumar" goes behind the professional life and public face of Bengal's most idolised actor to reveal little-known details of the star's unconscious power in the film industry for more than 30 years.
"There is the hint of a new awareness that explains the fresh wave of enthusiasm to greet the discovery of the motorcycle that Uttam and Suchitra were supposed to have ridden for the song 'Ei path jadi na sesh hoi'," says the author.
He mentions an interesting footnote by Kumar's grandson Gaurav who claims that his grandfather and his illustrious co-star never actually sat on the bike for the song sung by Hemanta Mukherjee and Sandhya Mukherjee.
"Director Ajoy Kar, who had a special flair for camera techniques, had picturised the song on the pair in manipulated close-ups, and featured the vehicle, on the long and winding road in the village, in long shots with a series of dummies sitting on it in turn," the book, published by Westland, says.
