Aparajito (1956)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Satyajit Ray

Writers:

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (novel)
Satyajit Ray (writer)

Release Date:

1956 (India)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Loss Of Mother | College Student | Death In Family | Sequel | Loss Of Father

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 3 wins

Cast

Kanu Bannerjee	...	Harihar Ray
Karuna Bannerjee	...	Sarbojaya Ray
Pinaki Sengupta	...	Apu (young)
Smaran Ghosal	...	Apu (adolescent)
Santi Gupta	...	Ginnima
Ramani Sengupta	...	Bhabataran
Ranibala	...	Teliginni
Sudipta Roy	...	Nirupama
Ajay Mitra	...	Anil
Charuprakash Ghosh	...	Nanda
Subodh Ganguli	...	Headmaster
Mani Srimani	...	Inspector
Hemanta Chatterjee	...	Professor
Kali Bannerjee	...	Kathak
Kalicharan Roy	...	Akhil, press owner

Also Known As:

The Unvanquished

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Ontario/Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Company:

Epic Productions

Trivia:

This adaptation of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's work uses the last section from his novel "Pather Panchali" and the first section of its sequel, "Aparajito".

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...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Film Geek (2005)

My Introduction To Satyajit Ray

Even as the middle segment of a trilogy, this was my introduction to Satyajit Ray, turning me into an instant fan, and is one of the greatest films I've seen. The neo-realist leanness the film is completely absorbing & is perfectly matched to the characters. Not having been to India, I'll admit to being unsure of how true to reality the look of the film is, but Ray's gift for detail is in a league of its' own - I consider the opening scenes (establishing shots from Benares intercut with shots of young Apu running through narrow lanes) to be among cinema's most memorable moments, and a great example of allowing images and rhythm to tell a story. I don't want to overstate it, but this is a really beautiful, haunting film - from it's warmest to it's most tragic elements, I was thinking about it for quite a while afterwards. APARAJITO is obviously the work of a genuinely enthusiastic filmmaker, and also a great thinker as well - every cinephile should see it. Would love to see all of Ray's work available in the US, and on DVD.