''Nimantran'' () is a 1971 Bengali film directed by

Tarun Majumdar Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 8 January 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director, documentary filmmaker, author, illustrator and screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received five National Awards, seven BFJA Aw ...

, based on a story by

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (; 12 September 1894 – 1 November 1950) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of Indian nationality. His best known works are the autobiographical novel ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Road''), '' Apar ...

, and starring

Sandhya Roy Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she reigned as a leading actress for approximately 30 years. She has received numerous awards including four BFJA Awards and a Filmfare A ...

and Anup Kumar in the lead roles. At the

19th National Film Awards The 19th National Film Awards, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1971. Juries Four different committees were formed based on the film making sectors in ...

, it won the

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 ...

Synopsis

The film tells the story of two people who fall in love, are separated, and meet again many years later. Hirendranath or Hiru ( Anup Kumar), a young man from

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, goes to visit his aunt in her village. There he meets Kumudini or Kumu (

), a simple girl who has lost her father and lives with her uncle. Gradually, Hiru and Kumu get close, but marriage is denied by Kumu's uncle. Hiru returns to the city with a heavy heart, and gets a job in the railways in Jamalpur. There the boiler inspector becomes very fond of him. After an accident, the boiler inspector, on his deathbed, requests Hiru to marry his daughter Surama. They get married. However, Surama is ambitious and not satisfied with their financial and social status. Subsequently, Hiru quits his job, starts a business and becomes a successful man. However, he cannot give time and attention to his wife. Despite being a financially rich couple, both Hiru and Surama feel alone. One day, Hiru's aunt writes to him many years after his first visit. He goes to the village and discovers that Kumu is now married, but that her husband does not care for her. Old feelings are rekindled in both of them. However, they cannot go against social customs.

Cast

as Kumi/Kumudini * Anup Kumar as Hiru/Hirendranath Ganguly * Nandini Maliya as Suro *

Kali Bannerjee Kaliprasad Banerjee (20 November 1921 – 5 July 1993), professionally known as Kali Banerjee was an Indian actor, who worked in the 1950s–1970s in Bengali cinema. He is best known for his work with film directors like Satyajit Ray in ''Para ...

as Dayal Dutta/village postmaster *

Pahari Sanyal Pahari Sanyal (22 February 1906 – 10 February 1974) was an Indian actor and singer who is known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali films, such as ''Harano Sur'', ''Bhan ...

as Suro's father *

Jahar Roy Dzhokhar may refer to: * Dzhokhar (name) * Grozny Grozny (, ; ) is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 328,533 — up from 2 ...

as village doctor * Sandhya Rani as Kumudini's mother * Ajit Banerjee as Hiru's uncle *

Aparna Debi Aparna may refer to: *One of the names of the Hindu goddess Parvati People * Aparna Bajpai, Indian actress *Aparna Balamurali, Indian actress and singer *Aparna Balan (born 1986), Indian badminton player * Aparna Brielle (born 1994), American a ...

as Hiru's mother *

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 ...

as the boatman * Arun Mukherjee as the doctor(Hiru's friend) * Haridhan Mukherjee as ghatak

Crew

* Direction --

* Music--

Hemanta Mukherjee Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), known professionally as Hemanta Mukherjee and Hemant Kumar, was an Indian music director and a playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, along with several other India ...

* Cinematography—Shakti Banerjee * Editing—Dulal Dutta

Music

All songs composed by

(except ''Dure Kothay'', a

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' (; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengalis, Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the ...

). The songs are: 1. ''Amar Dukhe Dukhe'' (sung by

Nirmalendu Chowdhury Nirmalendu Chowdhury () (27 July 1922 – 18 April 1981) was a Bengali musician, composer, lyricist and singer, who contributed significantly to the Folk music of Eastern India, particularly of Bengal and Assam. Early life Nirmalendu was ...

, Banashree Sengupta) 2. ''Ami Bondhur Premagune Pora'' (sung by Nirmalendu Chowdhury) 3. ''Chyang Dhore Byang'' (sung by

Anup Ghoshal Anup Ghoshal (1944/1945 – 15 December 2023) was an Indian playback singer and composer in Hindi and other vernacular Indian films, especially Bengali-language. He was known in his native Bengal primarily as one of the foremost artists of the ...

Geeta Chowdhury The Gita, or the ''Bhagavad Gita'', is a Sanskrit text, part of the ''Mahabharata''. Gita or Geeta may also refer to: Music * ''Gita'' (album), an album by Raul Seixas * ''Geeta'' (album), an album by Charles Lloyd *Mahāgīta, the complete c ...

and chorus) 4. ''Dure Kothay'' (sung by

Kanika Banerjee Kanika Banerjee, also known as Kanika Bandopadhyay (12 October 1924 – 5 April 2000) was a famous Bengali singer known for performing Rabindra Sangeet. She frequently performed on All India Radio Kolkata and at institutions across India, Eur ...

) 5. ''Peeriti Boliya Ekti Kamal'' (sung by

and chorus) 6. ''Tara Ma Mago Tara, Singhaprishthe Bhar Koriye'' (sung by

)

Reception

When released, the film received both commercial and critical success. It not only won the

, but also won a number of BFJA Awards, including Best Indian Films (along with others). It continues to be popular, as shown by its availability in DVD form in multiple distributions. The songs of the film, sung by

(who won a National Award for ''Nimantran''),

Kanika Bandyopadhyay Kanika Banerjee, also known as Kanika Bandopadhyay (12 October 1924 – 5 April 2000) was a famous Bengali singer known for performing Rabindra Sangeet. She frequently performed on All India Radio Kolkata and at institutions across India, Euro ...

and others, remain popular.

Preservation

''Nimantran'' has been restored and digitised by the

National Film Archives of India National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

Awards

* National Film Awards; Best Playback Singer (Male) --

* BFJA Awards 1972: ** Best Actress -

** Best Cinematography (Black And White) - Shakti Banerjee ** Best Director -

** Best Indian Films *

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

for Special Screening, 2022. *

Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival Hyderabad Bengali Film Festival (HBFF) is a Bengali film festival in the city of Hyderabad and is being organized annually since 2014. The venue of the festival is the Prasad Film Preview Labs, Hyderabad (adjacent to L V Prasad Eye Institute) ...

, Special Screening in 2018.

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Bengali 1971 films Bengali-language Indian films Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners Indian black-and-white films 1970s Bengali-language films Films based on works by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay