Trivial Pursuit 58

Paul Zils (R) with Fali Billimoria (L)




Paul Zils (C) with Vijaya Mulay (L)




Renowned German Documentary filmmaker Paul Zils got inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's 'Four Chapters' ( 'Char Adhyay' ) , and decided to make a feature film based on the novel.

He prepared a script in Hindi, and sought the help of B.R. Chopra, the then editor of 'Cine Herald', for the cast. Dev Anand and Geeta Bali were signed for the leads, along with Kishore Sahu for a profound parallel character.

Dev Anand was, apparently, inspired by the novel and the script, and sought time to fathom the depths of Atanu, the character he was to play. Similarly, Geeta Bali too had asked for time to understand Ela, her character. However, B.R. Chopra convinced them into doing it right then. And, Geeta Bali is said to have rendered her famous dialogue “Chait Mahine Ke Us Din Maine Tumhari Aankhon Mein Meri Barbadi Dekhi” (I saw my doomsday in your eyes that very day of the month of Chaitra), with such conviction that Dev Anand had tears rolling down his eyes.

"X" had a brilliant score by maestro Pankaj Mullick. The entire cast's performance was mature and sensitive. It released on January 1, 1952. Though it flopped, "X" was a brilliant effort in filming 'Four Chapters'.


Name "X".



A poster of "X".



"X" (1952)

*ing : Kishore Sahu, Dev Anand, Geeta Bali, Raji, Sunalini, Misra, Jagdev, Manju, Michael.

Produced By : ART FILMS OF ASIA
Directed By : Paul Zils
Music By : Pankaj Mullick




Additional Trivia :

Director Kumar Shahani made a Bengali film based on Rabindranath Tagore's 'Char Adhyay'. The film titled 'Char Adhyay', was released in 1997.





Plot :

Adapted from a novella by Rabindranath Tagore, 'Char Adhyay' captures the ideals of the Bengali Renaissance of the 1930's. A group of young intellectuals and revolutionaries, led by the brilliant young Indranath, is fighting for independence from the colonial system. Ela, the group's emancipated muse and teacher, is troubled by her romantic love for the poet Attindra, who - like her - doubts the cruelty of revolutionary acts sanctioned by Indranath's ideals.