This 1988 Hugh Grant film has a Sanjay Leela Bhansali connection

January 7 marks the 61st birthday of Veteran film & TV actress Supriya Pathak. The actress who briefly worked in movies in the late 70s and early 80s took a break from acting, only to return with a bang with the sitcom Khichdi, where she played the iconic character of slow-witted but playful Hansa. Between these two largely known phases of Supriya Pathak’s career, there is a little-known movie embedded right in the middle, a movie where she shared screen with Hugh Grant. And interestingly enough, it has a Sanjay Leela Bhansali connection.

The Bengali Night was based on a true story

The 1988 film The Bengali Night was a story about a young scholar who comes to India to study under a senior official, and falls in love with the professor’s daughter. While Hugh Grant played the young scholar, Supriya Pathak played the professor’s daughter.

Now this is where the story gets interesting. The Bengali Night was based on the 1933 novel Maitreyi by Mircea Eliade who wrote it based on his own real life experiences on his visit to India. Mircea Eliade was 23 years old at the time, while Matreyi Devi was 16. The novel was full of graphic sexual scenes, and had received considerable attention because of these elements. 

Maitreyi Devi authored another book 40 years later

However, when Maitreyi Devi found out about Eliade's book, she took exception to his recounting of their relationship. Instead, Devi decided to write a book, recollection their relationship from her own perspective. She titled the book Na Hanyate (roughly translated It Does Not Die), which was first published in 1974.

25 years later, a young filmmaker named Sanjay Leela Bhansali decided to adapt the novel for his second film. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was essentially a retelling of Na Hanyate, just set in a different state.