''Ganashatru'' ( ''Gônoshotru'' Enemy of the People/ Public Enemy) is a 1990 Indian film directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

. It is an adaptation of

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

's 1882 play ''

An Enemy of the People ''An Enemy of the People'' (original Norwegian title: ''En folkefiende'') is an 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that explores the conflict between personal integrity and societal norms. The play centers on Dr. Thomas Stockmann, w ...

'', and was released under that title in the UK. The cast includes Ray's favourite actor

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...

, and veteran actors such as

Dhritiman Chatterjee Dhritiman Chatterjee is an Indian actor. He began his acting career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray's (''The Adversary''). Most of his acting work has been in India's "parallel", or independent, cinema with filmmakers such as Satyaj ...

, Shubhendu Chatterjee,

Manoj Mitra Manoj Mitra (22 December 1938 – 12 November 2024) was an Indian theatre, film and television actor, director, and playwright. Early life Mitra was born on 22 December 1938 in Dhulihar village of Satkhira District, Khulna division. Initiall ...

and Ruma Guhathakurta. Ray adapts the play to an Indian setting: a flourishing township in which a temple attracts devotees as well as tourists. When a health problem is discovered, Dr Ashok Gupta, played by Soumitra Chatterjee, finds his popularity flagging. The film was screened out of competition at the

1989 Cannes Film Festival The 42nd Cannes Film Festival took place from 11 to 23 May 1989. West German filmmaker Wim Wenders served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Steven Soderbergh won the '' Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, for his ...

Plot

Ashoke Gupta, played by

, an honest doctor, diagnoses the alarming spread of

jaundice Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowish or, less frequently, greenish pigmentation of the skin and sclera due to high bilirubin levels. Jaundice in adults is typically a sign indicating the presence of underlying diseases involving ...

among his patients. To identify the cause, he analyses the water of a populated part of his town, Chandipur. According to the report, the holy water (''charanamrita'') of the Tripureshwar temple, a famous temple and tourist attraction of the town, is found to be contaminated due to damage to the underground piping system. The temple was the source of income for all of the corrupt politicians. Among these politicians is Dr. Gupta's younger brother, Nishith Gupta, portrayed by

, who is also the chairman of the municipality. He and other beneficiaries of the temple decides to prevent the doctor from alerting the people. As a responsible member of society, the doctor tries to broadcast the fact of contamination to the people, proposing temporary closure of the temple for water purification. However the Chairman is absolutely against this idea as it tampers with their profits. They are not ready to accept scientific evidence and instead says ''charanamrita'' can never be contaminated because it is holy. He also tries to publish an essay in a local daily newspaper (''Janabarta'') on the topic. But the corrupt officials suppress his voice as the facts would inevitably decrease the temple's income. The newspaper rejects his essay, fearing political pressure and public rage. As the story progresses, Dr. Gupta even tries to convey his message in a public meeting. Unfortunately, it is infiltrated and disrupted by his brother and his associates. The Chairman is able to manipulate the community against the doctor's attempts to save it. He faces a widespread angry response and he goes from being a leader of society to an enemy of the people. Dr. Gupta loses his job in the local hospital and his daughter is terminated from her post of a teacher. The landlord asks them to move out. However, at the end of the movie Dr. Gupta gets justice. The young educated population of the town sides with him while his son-in-law's theatre troupe campaigns for him. The assistant editor of ''Janabarta'' quits his job to side with him and send his writing and interview to top newspapers in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. The film ends in Gupta family deciding to stay in Chandipur, amidst a shout of "Long Live Dr. Ashok Gupta!" around him.

Cast

as Ashoke Gupta *

Ruma Guha Thakurta Ruma Guha Thakurta (21 November 1934 – 3 June 2019) was an Indian actress and singer primarily associated with Bengali language films. She founded Calcutta Youth Choir in 1958. Early life Ruma Guha Thakurta was born as Ruma Ghosh on 3 No ...

Mamata Shankar Mamata Shankar (born 7 January 1955) is an Indian actress and dancer. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has acted in films by directors including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh. ...

as Indrani Gupta *

as Nishith Gupta *

Bhishma Guhathakurta Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

as Ranen Halder *

Deepankar De Dipankar Dey is an Indian actor in the Bengali film industry. He has worked in movies as a hero, villain and character artist. He starred in Ray's ''Seemabaddha'' (''Company Limited, 1971''), '' Jana Aranya'' (''The Middleman'', 1976), '' G ...

Subhendu Chatterjee Shubhendu Chattopadhyay (29 November 1936 – 5 July 2007) was an Indian physician and actor, who is known for acting in Bengali television and films. A contemporary of actors Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee, with whom he played second hero ...

Awards

37th National Film Awards The 37th National Film Awards were presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1989. Ceremony took place in ...

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Bengali Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Ka ...

- Ganashatru

Other credits

* Art direction: Ashoke Bose * Sound designer: Sujit Sarkar

References

External links

Satyajit Ray on the film
* * {{Satyajit Ray 1990 films Films directed by Satyajit Ray Bengali-language Indian films Indian films based on plays Films based on works by Henrik Ibsen Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners 1990s Bengali-language films National Film Development Corporation of India films