''Seemabaddha'' ( bn, সীমাবদ্ধ ''Shimabôddho''; English title: ''Company Limited'') is a

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses ( February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events J ...

social drama

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

. It is based on the novel ''Seemabaddha'' by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It stars

Barun Chanda Barun Chanda is an Indian Bengali advertising professional, actor and author based in the city of Kolkata. He is mostly remembered for his role in Satyajit Ray's '' Seemabaddha''. Biography Chanda was born in Dhaka in present day Bangladesh, ...

Harindranath Chattopadhyay Harindranath Chattopadhyay (2 April 1898 – 23 June 1990) was an Indian English poet, dramatist, actor, musician and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Nai ...

, and

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

in lead roles. The film was the second entry in Ray's Calcutta trilogy, which included ''

Pratidwandi ''Pratidwandi'' ( en, The Adversary, Siddharta and the City, italic=yes) is a 1970 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It is the first part of the Calcutta Trilogy. ''Pratidwa ...

'' (''The Adversary'') (1970) and ''

Jana Aranya ''Jana Aranya'' is a 1976 Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray, based on the novel of the same name by Mani Shankar Mukherjee. It is the last among Ray's Calcutta trilogy series, the previous two being, ''Pratidwandi'' (''The Adversary'', 197 ...

'' (''The Middleman'') (1976). The films deal with the rapid modernization of Calcutta, rising corporate culture and greed, and the futility of the

rat race A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. It may also refer to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely. The term is ...

. The film won the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Award at the 33rd Venice International Film Festival, and the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

in 1971.

Plot

Shyamal (Barun Chanda) is an ambitious

sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

manager in a British fan manufacturing firm in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

, where he is expecting a promotion shortly. He is married to Dolan and lives in a company flat. He aspires to become the company director. His sister-in-law, Tutul (Sharmila Tagore), arrives from

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

to stay with them for a few days. She is given a tour of the life they lead and the many upscale spaces they inhabit—the restaurants, the beauty parlours, clubs and race courses. Tutul, whose father Shyamal had once been a student under, greatly admires him and his idealism. Secretly she is envious of her sister's marriage with him. Life goes on smoothly for Shyamal until he learns that a consignment of fans meant for export is defective just before the shipment of a prestigious order. The problem is that the fans were painted with a flaw. The company is under a contract requiring the shipment be delivered on time. There is a clause permitting delay in case of civil disturbance. To escape blame, Shyamal hatches a plan with the labour officer to provoke a strike at the factory. A factory watchman is badly injured, a false riot is organised, and a lock-out is declared. The delay caused by the strike and riot are used by the company to allow strikebreakers to make needed repairs. For his "efficient" handling of the crisis, Shyamal is promoted, and there is congratulations all around. However, he has fallen in the eyes of Tutul and himself. He is finally at the top, both successful— and desolate.

Cast

as Tutul (Sudarsana) *

as Shyamal (Shyamalendu) Chatterjee * Paromita Chowdhury as Dolan (Shyamal's wife) *

as Sir Baren Roy *

Dipankar Dey Dipankar Dey ( bn, দীপঙ্কর দে) (born 5 July 1944) is an Indian actor in the Bengali film industry. He has worked in many movies as hero, villain and character artist. He starred in Ray's '' Jana Aranya'' (''The Middleman'', ...

as Sen * Ajoy Banerjee as Talukdar *

Haradhan Bandopadhyay Haradhan Bandopadhyay (6 November 1926 – 5 January 2013) was a Bengali Indian male actor of television and films. He made his debut in the 1948 Bengali film ''Devdut'', directed by Atanu Bandopadhyay. He worked with some of the most prominent ...

as Nilambar * Indira Roy as Shyamal's mother * Promod Ganguli as Shyamal's father * Miss Shefali

Awards

* 33rd Venice International Film Festival:

Award *

References

External links

satyajitray.org on the film

* {{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm Films directed by Satyajit Ray Films based on Indian novels 1971 films Films set in Kolkata Best Feature Film National Film Award winners Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray 1970s business films Bengali-language Indian films 1970s Bengali-language films Films based on works by Mani Shankar Mukherjee