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

Tarun Majumdar Tarun Majumdar (or Mazumdar, 22 September 1931 – 4 July 2022) was an Indian film director and Screenwriter who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. He received four National Awards, seven BFJA Awards, five Filmfare Awards and an Anandal ...

, based on a story by

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay () (12 September 1894 – 1 November 1950) was an Indian writer in the Bengali language. His best known works are the autobiographical novel, ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road''), ''Aparajito (Undefeate ...

, and starring

Sandhya Roy Sandhya Roy is an Indian actress and politician. She is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She is the recipient of BFJA Award for three times, and one Filmfare Awards East best actress for '' Ganadevata''. Roy made her cinematic debut wi ...

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 Feature Film in Bengali is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of severa ...

Synopsis

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

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, comm ...

, 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 of being a financially rich couple, both Hiru and Surama feels 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 Nandini is a female given name. It is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root wikt:नन्द्#Sanskrit, ''nand'', which means "to rejoice, delight". Literally, wikt:नन्दिनी#Sanskrit, ''nandinī'' means a woman who brings joy. The ...

as Suro *

Kali Bannerjee Kali Banerjee (20 November 1920 – 5 July 1993) 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 ''Parash Pathar'' (1958) and Ritwik Ghatak in ''Na ...

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 Bengali cinema. Sanyal acted in many Bengali films, such as '' Harano Sur'', '' Bhanu Goenda Jahar Assistant'', and ''Shilpi''. ...

as Suro's father *

Jahar Roy Dzhokhar may refer to: * Dzhokhar (name) * Grozny Grozny ( rus, Грозный, p=ˈgroznɨj; ce, Соьлжа-ГӀала, translit=Sölƶa-Ġala), also spelled Groznyy, is the capital city of Chechnya, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzh ...

as village doctor *

Sandhya Rani Sandhya may refer to: Hinduism * Another name of Saranyu, goddess of clouds List of people with the given name Sandhya *B. Sandhya (born 1963), Inspector General of Kerala Police in India *Sandhya Agarwal (born 1963), former captain of the India ...

as Kumudini's mother *

Ajit Banerjee Ajit, Ajith or Ajeet may refer to: * Ajit (given name), an Indian masculine given name (including a list of persons with the name) * ''Ajit'' (newspaper), an Indian Punjabi daily newspaper * Ajit Khan (born 1922), an Indian Hindi film actor * Aji ...

as Hiru's uncle * Aparna Debi 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 l ...

as the boatman *

Arun Mukherjee Arun Mukherjee or Arun Mukhopadhyay is a Bengali actor who started his career in films with '' Kshudhita Pashan'' in 1960 followed by his performance in Satyajit Ray's 1962 film ''Kanchenjunga''. Other films he was in include ''Ekdin Pratidin'', '' ...

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 Hemant Kumar and Hemanta Mukherjee, was a legendary Indian music composer and playback singer who primarily sang in Bengali and Hindi, as well as other Indian ...

* Cinematography -- Shakti Banerjee * Editing -- Dulal Dutta

Music

All songs composed by

(except ''Dure Kothay'', a

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

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

Nirmalendu Chowdhury Nirmalendu Chowdhury ( bn, নির্মলেন্দু চৌধুরী) (27 July 1922 – 18 April 1981) was a Bengali musician, composer, lyricist and singer, who contributed significantly to the folk music of Eastern India, part ...

Banashree Sengupta Banashree Sengupta ( bn, বনশ্রী সেনগুপ্ত; 6 May 1945 – 19 February 2017) was a singer from India. She lent her voice to numerous Bengali, Hindi, Assamese, Bhojpuri, and Odia songs during her long career. Early yea ...

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

Anup Ghoshal Anup Ghoshal is an Indian playback singer, composer in Hindi films and other vernacular Indian films, especially Bengali language films. He is known in his native Bengal primarily as one of the foremost Nazrulgeeti exponents, and was one of t ...

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 (12 October 1924 – 5 April 2000) was an Bengali Rabindra Sangeet singer. Biography Early life Born on 12 October 1924 at Sonamukhi in Bankura district, Kanika joined Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan in West Bengal, In ...

) 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 (12 October 1924 – 5 April 2000) was an Bengali Rabindra Sangeet singer. Biography Early life Born on 12 October 1924 at Sonamukhi in Bankura district, Kanika joined Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan in West Bengal, In ...

and others, remain popular.

Preservation

''Nimantran'' has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archives of India.

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

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