Sister (1977)

Despite starring the legendary Uttam Kumar, the film suffered from weak direction and failed commercially. Yet, Salil Chowdhury’s music remains the shining aspect of the film.

The highlight is unquestionably the majestic church-choir inspired piece “Biswapitaa Tumi He Probhu”. Salil’s affinity for choral and hymn-like arrangements—deepened during his frequent travels to Kerala— is beautifully evident here. He later adapted this song into a powerful Hindi version for the film Minoo (MN1).

A heartbreaking loss is the missing Asha Bhonsle song “Kano Amon Mor Mon Kore Amon”. It was apparently recorded but omitted from the final cut, and no trace has survived.

“Hey, Himeli Himeli Raatey” is evocative but lacks the sheer intensity of Asha’s Hindi version (OB24) or the Malayalam rendering (RL1) in Raasaleela.