''Chhotto Jigyasa'' () is a 1968 Indian

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 ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Hrisikesh Mukherjee. Produced by

Biswajit Chatterjee Biswajit Chatterjee (born 14 December 1936), known mononymously as Biswajit, is a veteran Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema.He is also referred as the ''Chocolate Bo ...

, the film is based on a story by

Gauriprasanna Mazumder Gauriprasanna Majumdar (5 December 1925 – 20 August 1986) was an Indian lyricist and writer known for his work in Indian cinema. He is most commonly associated with the black and white era of Bengali cinema, when he penned several enduring cla ...

. It stars Chatterjee himself alongside

Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi Chakraborty (née Mukherjee) is an Indian actress. Considered to be one of the greatest actresses of Bengali cinema, she has acted in some of the most critically acclaimed films in Bengali cinema. She won the National Film Award for B ...

and

Prosenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors of modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is the son of Bollyw ...

in lead roles, whereas the latter marks his cinematic debut as a child artist in the film. It also stars Anup Kumar,

Haradhan Banerjee Haradhan Bandopadhyay (6 November 1926 – 5 January 2013) was a Bengali Indian 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 dire ...

Gyanesh Mukherjee Gyanesh Mukherjee (5 July 1926 – 8 May 2008) was a Bengali actor, director and theater personality. Career He was involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). In his film career, Mukherjee worked with number of famous directors ...

and

Gita Dey Gita Dey (, 5 August 1931 – 17 January 2011) was an Indian actress in Bengali cinema, theatre and Bengali folk theater. She became a stage artist at the age of 6 years. She came to the film industry in 1943. Her first film release was '' Ah ...

in other supporting roles. The film follows Bumba, a crestfallen child, after losing his mother who is unable to cope with the fact that she will never return. One day, he visits a temple and assumes another woman to be his mother. ''Chhotto Jigyasa'' theatrically released on 2 February 1968 and was a box office success. The soundtrack of the film was composed by

Nachiketa Ghosh Nachiketa Ghosh (28 January 1925 – 12 October 1976) was a Bengali music director in India. He mainly composed for Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia ...

, with lyrics penned by Gauriprasanna Mazumder. Dilip Ranjan Mukherjee handled the cinematography and Hrishikesh Mukherjee himself edited the film. In 1969, ''Chotto Jigyasa'' received the for Prosenjit Chatterjee at the

BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

Plot

Bumba, a 6 years old child, loses his mother, who has endured cancer for years. His father, Subimal, struggles grieving his wife's death and trying to explain the concept of death to a kindergartener. Bumba, unable to come to terms with life without his mother finds ways to reach his mother like writing a letter and tying it to a balloon so it would reach heaven, asking to buy tickets to heaven. Bumba overhears his nanny talking about going to the temple to pray to "Maa" (

goddess Durga Durga (, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around combating evils and demonic ...

) and goes with her thinking his mother now lives there. In Dakshineswar Kali temple, he sees a woman being referred to as Maa by children begging for alms, he believes her to be his mother, and follows her around. After being referred to as "maa" multiple times she softens up and decides to take her home for his safety. Over the course of few hours they develop a mother-son attachment until Subimal's "Missing Son" is announced in the

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

and her family responds. Eventually the woman's sorrowful life is revealed: her husband and two-year-old son died in a tragic accident. With time, Subimal falls deeply in love with her and expresses it. She confesses how she was afraid of revealing her feelings too, considering how her past would always remain a part of her. Subimal expresses how the past should not be forgotten and thus they decide to give their feelings a chance. Giving a wholesome ending.

Cast

Awards

References

1986 films {{India-film-stub