Adapted from the renowned Indian novelist Subodh Ghosh’s published book of the same name Sujata takes on the caste issue head on. When a low caste labourer couple die of cholera on the building site, civil engineer Upendranath Chowdhury ( Tarun Bose) and his wife Charu( Sulochana Latkar) are forced to adopt their orphan girl. Named Sujata- meaning well born- Sujata grows up in the Chowdhury’s home like a sibling to their daughter Rama( Shashikala).Upendranath’s affection for Sujata is unconditional. His wife however maintain’s a distance. She treats and introduces Sujata saying ” she is like a daughter”.

Meanwhile their high caste aunt(Lalita Pawar) brings marriage proposal for her grandson Adhir ( Sunil Dutt) with Rama. Adhir has fallen in love with the graceful Sujata.Charu accuses Sujata in extremely harsh tones. In her agitation she falls down the stairs and seriously injured . Strangely, no one’s blood group matches Charu’s. It is only Sujata’s blood that saves Charu’s life. The author stressed that caste prejudice is imposed and created by vested interest. And Sujata’s blood group matching Charu is a natural phenomenon.Importantly, it is reassuring to know that caste plays no part in our phyisical make up…. The family is happily reunited in the end.

Sujata is one of the most enduring titles in Roy’s impeccable repetory. S.D.Burman’s soulful music combined with Majrooh Sultanpuri’s eloquent lyrics enrich and Kamal Bose’s elegant Black & White shot taking enrich the vieweing experiencee. Needless to mention, the ensemble cast, particulalrly the incomparable Nutan, makes Sujata a cinematic master piece. The film was released in Cannes festival and shown on Channel 4, and at several European festivals to great acclaim.