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Aparajito (1956)

 -  Drama  -  1956 (India)
7.9
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Ratings: 7.9/10 from 4,240 users  
Reviews: 25 user | 22 critic

A boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.

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(novel), (assistant screenplay writer), 1 more credit »
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Title: Aparajito (1956)

Aparajito (1956) on IMDb 7.9/10

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Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 4 wins. See more awards »
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Cast

Credited cast:
Kamala Adhikari ...
Mokshada
Lalchand Banerjee ...
Lahiri (as Lalchand Bandyopadhyay)
Kali Bannerjee ...
Kathak (as Kalipada Bandyopadhyay)
Kanu Bannerjee ...
Harihar Ray (as Kanu Bandyopadhyay)
Karuna Bannerjee ...
Sarbojaya Ray (as Karuna Bandyopadhyay)
Panchanan Bhattacharya
Debabrata Chakraborty
Harendrakumar Chakravarti ...
Doctor
Hemanta Chatterjee ...
Professor (as Hemanta Chattopadhyay)
Meenakshi Devi ...
Pandey's wife
Subodh Ganguli ...
Headmaster
Smaran Ghosal ...
Apu - adolescent (as Smarankumar Ghoshal)
Charuprakash Ghosh ...
Nanda
Santi Gupta ...
Ginnima
Ajay Mitra ...
Anil
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Storyline

After living awhile in Benares, 10 year old Apu and his mother move in with her uncle in a small Bengali village. Apu enters a local school, where he does well. By the time he graduates, he has a scholarship to study at a college in Calcutta. So off he goes. His mother is torn by his leaving, and by his growing independence. She loves her son very much and wants him to succeed, but she does not want to be left alone. Written by John Oswalt <jao@jao.com>

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Language:

|

Release Date:

1956 (India)  »

Also Known As:

The Unvanquished  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Gross:

$170,215 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of Apu's story here is actually autobiographical regarding Satyajit Ray's own personal experiences. When Apu goes to Calcutta where he finds work and lodging with a printer, this is Ray directly reliving his youth, when he lived above his grandfather's printing press. See more »

Quotes

Sarbojaya Ray: What is there at Keoratola?
Apu: [sleepily] Burning hot...
Sarbojaya Ray: What?
Apu: They have cremations.
Sarbojaya Ray: I see... I hope you're careful on the roads. When are your finals? After that you can get a job and I'll stay with you. Will you have me? Will that ever be, I wonder? Who knows how long one has to live? Suppose I fall seriously ill,,,I'm not so well as I used to be. In the evenings I'm often feverish, I've no appetite. I thought of telling you... but I couldn't. I don't suppose you'd leave college to look after me,...
See more »

Connections

Follows Pather Panchali (1955) See more »

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User Reviews

Documentary/Fiction
27 November 2003 | by (Los Angeles, CA) – See all my reviews

Each of the three films of the Apu Trilogy exhibit the extraordinary quality of a documentary film on the conditions of life in India at the time they are set. I think this is what I like best in them through numerous viewings. The films are shot in locations that appear untouched by any art department

  • remote countryside in Bengal, the great cities - Benares and Calcutta.
The characters eke out an adequate life in their sufficient poverty - a life sustained by their faith and simple devotion to one another. At the same time there are moments that are pure cinema. There is an exquisite swish pan cut from Kurana (the mother) leaning against a tree, full of emptiness as Apu has just left for Calcutta, to the swift dynamo of the train crossing a bridge with the trestles a blur. At the moment Kanu (the father) gives up his soul a flock of birds alights over the Ganges. Later as Kurana is gradually sinking into the depths of loneliness - a sickness unto death - she has a vision of fireflies swirling around in the falling darkness.

These films traverse the drama of life and death touching gently on all of the salient points along the path. They put us face to face with the challenge of living in a world, which constantly gives us disappointment. At the same time there is a celebration of that ineffable quality which gives life meaning.


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