''Neel Akasher Neechey'' (Bengali language, Bengali: নীল আকাশের নীচে ''Nil akasher niche'', "Under the Blue Sky") is a 1958 Bengali language Drama Film, drama film directed by Mrinal Sen and produced by Hemanta Mukherjee, starring Kali Bannerjee, Manju Dey, Bikash Roy in lead roles. The film was based on a short story ''Chini Feriwala'' of Mahadevi Varma, Mahadevi Verma. Set in the background of the last days of the British Raj in Calcutta, the film explores the lives of a number of characters, including the platonic love, platonic relationship between an Chinatown, Kolkata, immigrant Chinese wage worker, Wang Lu, and the main female character Basanti. The film had overt political overtones and was the first film to be banned by the Government of India. The ban was effective for two months.

Plot

Set in the 1930s, the film tells the story of an honest Chinese hawker, Wang Lu, who sells silk in Calcutta's streets while refusing to get involved in the opium trade run by his fellow countrymen. He feels a sisterly affection towards Basanti, the wife of a lawyer who's engaged in a nationalist political group. Basanti is arrested and imprisoned causing Wang Lu to get involved with her political group. He later returns to China to join the resistance movement against the Second Sino-Japanese War, Japanese invasion of China in 1931.

Cast

* Kali Bannerjee as Wang Lu * Manju Dey as Basanti * Bikash Roy as Basanti's husband * Smriti Biswas as Maki * Suruchi Sengupta * Ajit Chatterjee * Rasaraj Chakraborthy * Mei-Lin Jiang(1936-2006) as Mei-Lin in special appearance.

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * 1958 films 1958 drama films Bengali-language Indian films Indian drama films Films directed by Mrinal Sen Films set in Kolkata Censored films Film censorship in India Film controversies in India Films set in the British Raj 1950s Bengali-language films Films based on Indian novels {{1950s-Bengali-film-stub