Apanjan
| Apanjan | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tapan Sinha |
| Produced by | R. K. Kapoor |
| Starring | Chhaya Devi Swaroop Dutta Samit Bhanja |
| Cinematography | Bimal Mukherjee |
| Edited by | Subodh Roy |
| Music by | Tapan Sinha |
Release date | 1968 |
Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
Apanjan (also Apan Jan; roughly translated in English as "One's own people") is a 1968 Bengali film directed by
Plot
Anandamoyee (Chhaya Devi) is a childless widow in a Bengal village. One day a man turns up, claiming to be her nephew. He takes her to live with him and his family in Calcutta. In the city, she experiences something akin to culture shock, as she encounters children begging on the streets and day-to-day violence. She finds the idea of women working at office jobs very strange, and even wearing any kind of footwear is new for her. The couple with whom she lives want her to look after their child, which she does gladly since they are her "own people". However, eventually she realises that she is being exploited as an unpaid nanny. She moves out to a downbeat area of the city, to look after two street children. They are part of the 'family' of Robi (Swaroop Dutta), the leader of a gang of educated young men who are active participants in the street violence that engulfs the city. With these outsiders, Anandamoyee feels a sort of kinship, and even a sense of being in a family, which she never enjoyed with her actor husband. Robi's gang is always at daggers drawn with a rival gang led by Chheno (Samit Bhanja). The two gangs are enlisted by cynical politicians, to serve their own ends. The gang war continues, albeit with an ostensibly political colour, reaching a melodramatic climax, with a tragic resolution.
Cast
- Chhaya Devi as Anandamoyee
- Swarup Dutta as Robi
- Samit Bhanja as Chheno
- Rabi Ghosh
- Sumita Sanyal
- Juin Banerjee
- Chinmoy Roy as Anandamoyee's husband
- Bhanu Bandopadhyay
- Kalyan Chatterjee
Reception
Apanjan was the first film to deal with contemporary political violence and urban angst in
Critically, too, the film was well received at the time. It dominated the 1969 BFJA Awards, besides winning the National Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.
Three years later, Tapan Sinha returned to the problems faced by urban youth in Ekhoni, which was also well received.
Preservation
Apanjan has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archive of India.[5]
Remake
In 1971, Gulzar made his directorial debut with Mere Apne, which was almost a frame by frame remake of Apanjan. It starred Meena Kumari in the lead role which was successful at Box office.[6]
Awards
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (1969)[3]
- Best Indian film (jointly with 9 others)
- Best Director - Tapan Sinha
- Best Screenplay - Tapan Sinha
- Best Actor In a Supporting Role - Samit Bhanja
- Best Cinematography (Black And White) - Bimal Mukherjee
- Best Editing - Subodh Roy
- Best Audiography - Anil Talukdar and Atul Chatterjee
References
- ^ a b "16th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
- ^ Times of India, Entertainment. "National Awards Winners 1968: Complete list of winners of National Awards 1968". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b "BFJA Awards (1969)". Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
- ^ "Remakes of Bengali films: What's new in this trend?".
- ^ "Digitized and Restored Films List" (PDF). nfai.nfdcindia.com. National Film Archives of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ISBN 8174363785.
External links
- Apanjan at IMDb
