Under Her Spell: Roberto Rossellini in India book review

New Delhi, May 4 (PTI) Roberto Rossellini, pioneer of Italian neo-realist films and husband of Hollywood legend Ingrid Bergman, was embroiled in a controversy over shooting of a film in India following his whirlwind romance with a young Bengali lady and was helped out by none other than Jawaharlal Nehru, a new book says.

"Rossellini had come to India (in December 1956) at the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. His aim was to make a series of films which would capture the newly independent country as it came to grips with progress and development after centuries of colonialism," writes senior journalist Dileep Padgaonkar in "Under Her Spell: Roberto Rossellini in India".

"It was here that he encountered the dusky, doe-eyed Sonali Dasgupta, the wife of a documentary filmmaker (Harisadhan Dasgupta) and mother of two small children. Their connection scandalised Indian society and became the object of a sustained campaign by the Bombay film industry which resented Nehru's patronage of a foreign filmmaker and Rossellini's unconcealed contempt for their overblown, fantastical extravaganzas," he writes.

While shooting for the feature film "India Matri Bhumi" (India, The Motherland), Rossellini, drew flak for his affair with then 27-year-old Sonali. The pupose of the film, Rossellini said, was to "introduce Indians to the world".

Her family, the media and Indian cinema bourgeoisie all got after him and on top of it, his visa expired.

He had great problems finishing the four episodes of "India Matri Bhumi" with the help of a Films Division crew. (About the Book -- Name: "Under Her Spell: Roberto Rossellini in India"; Author: Dileep Padgaonkar; Publishers: Penguin; Price: Rs 550, Pages: 263)