Aparajito

Infobox Film
name =Aparajito


caption =Aparajito DVD
imdb_id = 0048956
director =Satyajit Ray
producer =
writer =Satyajit Ray Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (story)
starring =Kanu Banerjee
Karuna Banerjee
Pinaki Sengupta
Smaran Ghosal
distributor =
music =Ravi Shankar
released = flagicon|India 1956
flagicon|USA 25 April, 1959 (NYC)
runtime =110 min
language =Bengali
budget =
preceded_by ="Pather Panchali"
followed_by ="Apur Sansar"
awards =Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival

"Aparajito" (Bengali: অপরাজিত, "Ôporajito" tr. "The Unvanquished", ) is an award-winning 1956 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray. It is the second part of Ray's Apu trilogy, and is adapted from the last one-fifth of Bibhutibhushan Bannerjee's novel "Pather Panchali" and the first one-third of its sequel "Aparajita".Harvnb|Robinson|2003|p=94] It focuses on the life of Apu from childhood to college. The film stars Kanu Banerjee and Karuna Banerjee.

Plot

The film begins with Apu's family getting settled in an apartment close to a "ghat" in Benares. Here Apu (Pinaki Sengupta) makes new friends in no time. While his mother Sarbajaya (Karuna Banerjee) stays at home, his father Harihar (Kanu Banerjee) works as a priest. On a Diwali day, Harihar develops a fever and takes rest lying in bed, as Apu comforts him. However, the next day, he leaves for his work as usual towards "the ghat", ignoring his wife's advice to take more rest. While coming back to home, he collapses on the stairs of the ghat, and dies soon afterwards.In Harihar's absence, it becomes Sarbajaya's responsibility to earn money for the family. She starts working as a maidservant. A relative invites them to return to their ancestral village. They come back and settle in a village called "Mansapota". Apu asks his mother to send him to a school.

Apu studies dilligently in the school. He receives a scholarship to go to Calcutta. Sarbajaya, though impressed, does not want to let her son leave. She soon gives in, albeit reluctantly, and helps him prepare to leave. From this point, an eternal conflict starts between the young man's ambitions and the mother who loves him.

Apu (Smaran Ghosal) starts working at a printing press after school, in order to make a living. Sarbajaya is desperate for his news and expects visits from him, but Apu manages to visit only a few times and feels out of place in "Mansapota". Sarbajaya becomes seriously ill but does not disclose about her illness to Apu. When he finally comes to know about her poor health, he leaves for the village and finds that she has already died. A relative requests him to stay back there and to work as a priest. But, Apu rejects the idea and returns to Calcutta. He performs the last rites for his mother there.

Cast

* Pinaki Sengupta as young Apu
* Smaran Ghosal as adolescent Apu
* Kanu Banerjee as Harihar, Apu's father
* Karuna Banerjee as Sarbajaya, Apu's mother

Awards and recognition

"Aparajito" won the Golden Lion at the 1957 Venice Film Festival. Ray got Golden Gate Awards for the Best Director in San Francisco International Film Festival in 1958 for this film. [cite web|url=http://history.sffs.org/films/film_details.php?id=255&searchfield=aparajito|title=Aparajito|publisher=San Francisco Film Society|accessdate=2008-05-29] The film won "" from Denmark in 1967. [cite web|url=http://www.filmkritik.dk/1b.lasso?n=4|title=Bodilprisen (1960-69)|publisher=Filmmedarbejderforeningen|accessdate=2008-05-29 Da icon] In 2005, The Apu Trilogy was included in Time magazine's All-time 100 greatest movies list. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/the_complete_list.html|title=All-time 100 Movies|year=2005|accessdate=2008-05-29|work=Time|publisher=Time Inc] Roger Ebert has included The Apu Trilogy in his book "Great Movies".Fact|date=May 2008

Critical reception

Prolific web reviewer James Berardinelli wrote in 1996,:"Aparajito" was filmed forty years ago, half way around the world, yet the themes and emotions embedded in the narrative are strikingly relevant to modern Western society (thus explaining why it is called a "timeless classic")... "Aparajito" is an amazing motion picture. Its rich, poetic composition is perfectly wed to the sublime emotional resonance of the narrative. For those who have seen "Pather Panchali", "Aparajito" provides a nearly-flawless continuation of the journey begun there. Yet, for those who missed Ray's earlier effort, this film loses none of its impact. On its own or as part of the Apu Trilogy, "Aparajito" should not be missed." [James Berardinelli. [http://www.reelviews.net/movies/a/aparajito.html Reel Reviews] URL accessed on 3 April, 2006]

Notes

Bibliography

* Harvard reference
Surname1 = Robinson
Given1 = A
Year = 2003
Title = Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker
Publisher = I. B. Tauris
ISBN = 1860649653.

External links

*imdb title|0048956|Aparajito
* [http://www.satyajitray.org/films/aparaji.htm Aparajito (SatyajitRay.org)]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Golden Lion winner
years=1957
before="Ordet" (1955)
(no award in 1956)
after="Rickshaw Man"