''Teen Kanya'' () is a 1961 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

anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...

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 ...

, and based upon short stories by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. The film's original Indian release contained three stories. The international release of the film contained two stories, missing the second ("Monihara: The Lost Jewels"). This version was released on VHS in 1997 under the title ''Two Daughters''. The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

preserved the international version of ''Teen Kanya'' in 1996.

Plot

''The Postmaster''

The Postmaster Nandalal (Anil Chatterjee), a young man, arrives from Calcutta as the postmaster of a small village. Ratan (Chandana Banerjee), a pre-adolescent orphan girl, is his housekeeper/maid. Though only a child herself, she cooks, cleans and cares for Nandalal. Nandalal, a city bred young man, is like a fish out of water in the village. He is bored. On an impulse and probably to kill time, he begins teaching her to read and write. She responds eagerly. A tender bond develops. Ratan is devoted and waits on him. For Nandalal, however, she is just a pastime. When Nandalal contracts malaria, Ratan nurses him back to health. But he has had enough of the rural life and resigns. Ratan is heartbroken. He prepares to leave without realizing how attached to him Ratan has become. Ratan is hurt when Nandalal offers her some money as a tip for her services. She passes Nandalal carrying a pail of water. She has been crying, but is too proud to accept the tip. A few moments her voice is heard informing the new postmaster that she has brought water for him. Nandalal is overwhelmed by emotions as he stares at the money in his hand. Putting the money back in pocket, he walks away.

''Monihara'' (''The Lost Jewels'')

Near an abandoned mansion, the village schoolteacher (Gobinda Chakravarti) recounts a story to a hooded man. It seems that the house was inhabited by a man Phanibhusan (Kali Banerjee) and his wife Manimalika (Kanika Majumdar). The wife is obsessed with jewels and ornaments. She accumulates jewels by nagging her husband. Though they have been married for a long time, she is very cold to him. The husband keeps buying jewels for her in hope of gaining her love. She has a phobia that one day he may ask for the jewels back. A fire destroys his business. To confirm her fear, she offers to sell her jewels. But when he shows some interest in the idea, she retreats in panic. When the husband is away to raise money, she calls her cousin to escort her to her parents' house. The cousin, though, has other plans for the jewels. The wife leaves for the last time as they leave the house with all the jewels. The husband is puzzled at the missing wife and jewels. He is haunted by what seems to be her ghost. After a series of such incidents, he finds himself facing the ghost of his wife, a black silhouetted figure. The black figure claims to be his wife. Afraid, he reaches for a jewel box that he had brought for her on his last trip. The black figure, still wearing gold bangles, charges to grab the jewel box with a horrible laugh. After listening to the tale, the hooded man says that he has enjoyed the story, but it has many errors. He reveals that he is the husband in the story and disappears. The

preserved ''Monihara'' in 1998.

''Samapti'' (''The Conclusion'')

Amulya (Soumitra Chatterjee) is returning to his village after passing his exams in Calcutta to spend some time with his widowed mother. After getting down from the boat, as he struggles in the muddy path, he senses that someone is following him. Soon he finds out it is a tomboyish teenager Mrinmoyee (Aparna). She bursts into giggles at his plight and runs away. The mother has arranged for him to marry the daughter of a respectable family. Much against his wishes, he goes to visit the girl in a nearby village, carrying an umbrella and wearing shining shoes. The girl is very conventional and he is forced to admire her needlework, singing, and her other skills. Suddenly, Mrinmoyee, known as Paglee ("Madcap"), charges in following her pet squirrel. Then he finds his shoes gone. As he sets out to walk back to his village, he finds one of his missing shoes in the mud path. Amulya captures the culprit, Mrinmoyee. It is now her turn to fall in the slushy mud. Amulya is amused and probably also in love. Against his mother's wishes, he marries Mrinmoyee. On their first night together, she escapes by climbing down a tree and spends the night on her favorite swing on the riverbank. It is a scandal. She is locked in her room and in a childish tantrum, throws things at Amulya. He returns to Calcutta and she is sent back to her mother's house. Once he is gone, she realises how much she really loves him. His mother makes Amulya come back on the false pretext of her illness. Amulya goes in search of Mrinmoyee in the rain. Unable to find her, he returns, only to find her in his room. He asks her how she managed to sneak in. She replies, "By climbing the tree, but I'll not do it again". She is no longer a childish madcap, but a grown woman in love.

Cast

''The Postmaster''

* Chandana Banerjee as Ratan *

Nripati Chattopadhyay Nripati Nath Chttopadhyay (; born 1907 – 27 May 1975) was a Bengali actor, known for his role in '' Teen Kanya'' (1961), '' Bhanu Pelo Lottery'' (1958) and ''Dui Bari'' (1963). He died on 27 May 1975 in India. Early life Nripati Chattopadhyay ...

as Bishey *

Anil Chatterjee Anil Chatterjee (also Chattopadhyay, ; 25 October 1929 – 17 March 1996) was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-nineties and is mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted or performed in about ...

as Nandal * Khagen Pathak as Khagen * Gopal Roy as Bilash

''Monihara'' (''The Lost Jewel'')

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

as Phanibhushan * Kanika Majumdar as Manimalika *

Kumar Roy Kumar Roy (1926–2010)"Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan Vol.II in Bengali edited by Anjali Bose, published by Sahitya Samsad, Kolkata, India, January 2019 edition Page 96 was a Bengali theatre actor, director and playwright. In 1983 he won the S ...

as Madhusudhan * Gobinda Chakravarti as Schoolmaster and narrator

''Samapti'' (''The Conclusion'')

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 ...

as Amulya *

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (; ) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards East ...

as Mrinmoyee * Sita Mukherjee as Jogmaya *

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 ...

as Nistarini * Santosh Dutta as Kishori * Mihir Chakravarti as Rakhal * Devi Neogy as Haripada

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

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 ...

;

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

13th Berlin International Film Festival The 13th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1963. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' To Bed or Not to Bed'' directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro and '' Bushido, Samurai Saga'' directed by Tadashi Imai. ...

: Selznick Golden Laurel for Best Film ;

Bengal Film Journalists' Association 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 ...

* 25th Annual BFJA Awards: Best Director & Best Indian Film of the year. ; 2019

Cult Critic Movie Awards Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...

References

External links

satyajitray.org
*
''San Francisco Chronicle'' review
{{Rabindranath Tagore 1961 films Indian anthology films Films directed by Satyajit Ray Films based on short fiction Bengali-language Indian films Films based on works by Rabindranath Tagore Memorials to Rabindranath Tagore Films about women in India Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners 1960s Bengali-language films it:Tre sorelle (film)