Mando Meyer Upakshan
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''Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (
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 ...
: ''মন্দ মেয়ের উপাখ্যান'') is a 2002 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 film directed and written by
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
. The film was also released under the English title ''A Tale of A Naughty Girl'' and
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
title ''Chroniques Indiennes''. The film stars
Samata Das Samata Das is an Indian actress. She rose to fame for her role as Lati in Buddhadev Dasgupta's National Film Award, National Award winning film ''Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (2002). Personal life Das married Bengali television assistant director ...
in the title role. It also stars
Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen roles opposite Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy. He recei ...
,
Rituparna Sengupta Rituparna Sengupta is Indian actress and producer and model who is known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She has w ...
,
Sreelekha Mitra Sreelekha Mitra is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in Bengali cinema and television. Winner of a BFJA Award and an Anandalok Award, Mitra is best known for her roles in films such as '' Hothat Brishti'' (1998), '' Kan ...
,
Sudipta Chakraborty Sudipta Chakraborty is an Indian film and television actress who mostly works in Bengali cinema. She received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Bariwali''. Chakraborty made her debut in Television in 1989. She ...
and
June Malia June MaliaSpelling according tThe Times of India/ref> (or June Malliah) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Bengali cinema and television. She is a philanthropist and also a member of West Bengal Women's Commission. In 2021, she wa ...
. The film won
National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
in 2003.


Plot

Based on a short story by Bengali writer
Prafulla Roy Prafulla Roy (11 September 1934 – 19 June 2025) was a Bengali author, lived in West Bengal, India. He received Bankim Puraskar and Sahitya Akademi Award for his literary contribution in Bengali. Roy died on 19 June 2025, at the age of 90. ...
, the central idea developed by director Dasgupta, tells the story of a girl, Lati (
Samata Das Samata Das is an Indian actress. She rose to fame for her role as Lati in Buddhadev Dasgupta's National Film Award, National Award winning film ''Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (2002). Personal life Das married Bengali television assistant director ...
), whose mother Rajani (
Rituparna Sengupta Rituparna Sengupta is Indian actress and producer and model who is known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She has w ...
) is a prostitute living and working in a brothel in rural India. Rajani plans to offer her daughter to an older man, a rich husband and protector to her daughter. Lati, however, wants to return to school and finish her studies. Unwilling to pay such a price for material success, she runs away to Calcutta. The discovery of this new world is described parallel to other stories of emancipation, such as that of three young prostitutes, of an aged couple going nowhere and man's landing on the Moon. In a surrealistic approach typical of the director, a clumsy cat and an intelligent donkey are also present in the film. Ganesh (
Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen roles opposite Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy. He recei ...
) works full-time as a driver for wealthy Bengali-speaking, Natabar Paladhi (
Ram Gopal Bajaj Ram Gopal Bajaj is an Indian theatre director, academic, and a Hindi film actor. He has also been a faculty member and a former director of National School of Drama, New Delhi (November 1995 – September 2001). He was awarded the Padma Shri in ...
), who lives in a mansion with his wife, children and grandchildren, and runs 'Anjali Cinema' He has Ganesh use his vehicle as a private taxi cab. Amongst Ganesh's customers are a woman named Bakul (
June Malia June MaliaSpelling according tThe Times of India/ref> (or June Malliah) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Bengali cinema and television. She is a philanthropist and also a member of West Bengal Women's Commission. In 2021, she wa ...
), who alights near a town of Gosaipara to take up prostitution with Jamunabai; an abandoned elderly couple who are in need of hospitalization — there is none in the vicinity, and they end up secretly riding with Ganesh all the time; while Natabar uses this vehicle to travel to Gosaipara to visit a prostitute named Rajani and negotiate with her so that he can have her 14-year-old daughter, Lati, as his mistress. Things get complicated when Lati rebels against her mother so she can return to school, and a prostitute is about to get killed by her vengeful husband.


Cast

*
Samata Das Samata Das is an Indian actress. She rose to fame for her role as Lati in Buddhadev Dasgupta's National Film Award, National Award winning film ''Mondo Meyer Upakhyan'' (2002). Personal life Das married Bengali television assistant director ...
as Lati *
Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen roles opposite Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy. He recei ...
as Ganesh *
Rituparna Sengupta Rituparna Sengupta is Indian actress and producer and model who is known for her work in Bengali and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She has w ...
as Rajani *
Sreelekha Mitra Sreelekha Mitra is an Indian actress and director who is known for her work in Bengali cinema and television. Winner of a BFJA Award and an Anandalok Award, Mitra is best known for her roles in films such as '' Hothat Brishti'' (1998), '' Kan ...
as Ayesha *
Sudipta Chakraborty Sudipta Chakraborty is an Indian film and television actress who mostly works in Bengali cinema. She received the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Bariwali''. Chakraborty made her debut in Television in 1989. She ...
as Basanti *
June Malia June MaliaSpelling according tThe Times of India/ref> (or June Malliah) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Bengali cinema and television. She is a philanthropist and also a member of West Bengal Women's Commission. In 2021, she wa ...
as Bakul * Arpan Basar as Shibu *
Ram Gopal Bajaj Ram Gopal Bajaj is an Indian theatre director, academic, and a Hindi film actor. He has also been a faculty member and a former director of National School of Drama, New Delhi (November 1995 – September 2001). He was awarded the Padma Shri in ...
as Natabar Paladhi *
Pradip Mukherjee Pradip Mukherjee, also known as Pradip Mukhopadhyay (11 August 1946 – 29 August 2022), was an Indian actor and dramatist who primarily acted in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali movies. Although not famous for acting in mainstream movies, Pradip ...
as Nagen * Pavan Bandhopadhyay * Debjani Biswas * Kajol Chowdhuri *
Ketaki Dutta Ketaki Dutta was an actor of Bengali theatre and films. She was also a singer. Chapal Bhaduri Chapal Bhaduri is the last living female impersonator in Bengali theatre and perhaps even in Indian theatre. He did female impersonation in Ja ...
* Arjun Guha Thakurta * Saroj Gupta * Fakir Das Kumar *
Subrata Mukherjee Subrata Mukherjee (14 June 1946 – 4 November 2021) was an Indian politician who was cabinet minister of the government of West Bengal and sitting member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly. He was a member of All India Trinamool Congress. H ...
* Anup Mukhyopadhyay


Crew

* Directed:
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
* Screenplay:
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
* Produced:
Arya Bhattacharjee ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
* Music:
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
* Cinematography:
Venu The ''venu'' (Sanskrit: ; /मुरळि; ''muraļi'') is one of the ancient transverse flutes of Indian classical music. It is an aerophone typically made from bamboo, that is a side blown wind instrument. It continues to be in use in the ...
* Film Editing:
Raviranjan Maitra Rabiranjan Maitra is an Indian film director and editor who predominantly works in Bengali cinema. His most notable works include Tobu Mone Rekho (1994), Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), Raatporir Rupkatha (2007), Rok Sako To Rok Lo (2007), Challenge ...
* Art Direction: Kousik Sarkar


Promotion

Directors like Dasgupta (and others of his ilk like
Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
or
Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen ( ; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was a Bengali film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, and a few Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu language films. Regarded as on ...
) make movies that are very specific to their own cultural milieu. A great master like the late
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 ...
was never comfortable when he stepped outside his native Bengal with his camera. So too Dasgupta. His latest work, Mondo Meyer Upakhyan (A Tale of a Naughty Girl), is set in his favourite Purulia, a backward region in West Bengal. Beyond these main travails of Lati, Dasgupta presents a gripping account of village life. On Dasgupta's canvas, one witnesses life in all its splendour. A Tale of a Naughty Girl is undoubtedly a piece of celluloid that elevates cinema to another realm. It is extremely positive, and probably comes from a deep sense of peace and tranquillity that Dasgupta must have achieved from his poetic inclination.


Released


Awards

*2003:
Anandalok Awards Anandalok Puraskar or Anandalok Awards ceremony is an award ceremony for Bengali film in India. The '' Anandalok'', only film magazine in Bengali language, published from Ananda Publishers and ''Ananda Bazar Patrika'' presents this award (Purask ...
– Best Director –
Buddhadeb Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Bengali-language films like '' Bagh Bahadur'', '' Tahader Katha'', '' Charachar'' and ''Uttara''. Five of his films have won the Nation ...
*2003: Best ASEAN Film Award
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
*2003:
National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...
– Arya Bhattacharya (Producer),
Buddhadev Dasgupta Buddhadeb Dasgupta (11 February 1944 – 10 June 2021) was an Indian filmmaker and poet best known for his Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali-language films like ''Bagh Bahadur'', ''Tahader Katha'', ''Charachar'' and ''Uttara (film), Uttara''. Five ...
(Director)


References


External links

*
www.arjoe.com
{{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm 2002 films Bengali-language Indian films 2000s Bengali-language films 2002 drama films Films directed by Buddhadeb Dasgupta Best Feature Film National Film Award winners