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Apanjan

Apanjan, or simply Aponjon is a 1968 Indian Bengali language socio-political drama film directed by Tapan Sinha. The film is produced by R.K Kapoor under the banner of K.L Kapoor Productions and is based on a short story written by Indra Mittra, which itself was inspired from the political violence taking place in West Bengal. It consists of an ensemble cast of Chhaya Devi, Swarup Dutta, Samit Bhanja, Mrinal Mukherjee, Partho Mukherjee, Kalyan Chatterjee and Shyamal Banerjee in lead roles, with Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Rabi Ghosh, Chinmoy Roy and Dilip Roy in extended cameo appearances. The soundtrack of the film is composed by Tapan Sinha himself. Set against the backdrop of the political violence that rocked India, and West Bengal in particular, in the late 1960s, it tells the story of an aged widow in a village who goes to Calcutta to stay with relatives, but faces only exploitation. She moves to a slum, and finds her "own people" in a group of educated, unemployed youth, who are caught up inexorably in the prevalent violence.

Plot
Anandamoyee is a childless widow in a Bengal village. One day a man turns up, claiming to be her nephew. He takes her to live with him and his family in Calcutta. In the city, she experiences something akin to culture shock, as she encounters children begging on the streets and day-to-day violence. She finds the idea of women working at office jobs very strange, and even wearing any kind of footwear is new for her. The couple with whom she lives want her to look after their child, which she does gladly since they are her "own people". However, eventually she realises that she is being exploited as an unpaid nanny. She moves out to a downbeat area of the city, to look after two street children. They are part of the 'family' of Robi, the leader of a gang of educated young men who are active participants in the street violence that engulfs the city. With these outsiders, Anandamoyee feels a sort of kinship, and even a sense of being in a family, which she never enjoyed with her actor husband. Robi's gang is always at daggers drawn with a rival gang led by Chheno. The two gangs are enlisted by cynical politicians, to serve their own ends. The gang war continues, albeit with an ostensibly political colour, reaching a melodramatic climax, with a tragic resolution. ==Cast==
Cast
Chhaya Devi as Anandamoyee • Romi Chowdhury as Young Anandamoyee • Swarup Dutta as Robi • Mrinal Mukherjee as Jhonte • Partho MukherjeeKalyan Chatterjee as Santu • Samit Bhanja as Chheno • Shyamal Banerjee • Nirmal Kumar as Montu • Sumita Sanyal as Latu, Montu's wife • Rabi GhoshBhanu BandopadhyayDilip RoyChinmoy Roy as Anandamoyee's husband • Premanshu Bose • Juin Banerjee as Alpana, Robi's love interest ==Reception==
Reception
The film dominated the 1969 BFJA Awards, besides winning the National Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. Three years later, Tapan Sinha returned to the problems faced by urban youth in Ekhoni. == Preservation ==
Preservation
Apanjan has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archive of India. ==Remake==
Remake
In 1971, Gulzar made his directorial debut with Mere Apne, which was almost a frame by frame remake of Apanjan. It starred Meena Kumari in the lead role which was successful at Box office. ==Awards==
Awards
16th National Film AwardsNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali '''Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards (1969)''' • Best Indian film (jointly with 9 others) • Best Director - Tapan Sinha • Best Screenplay - Tapan Sinha • Best Actor In a Supporting Role - Samit Bhanja • Best Cinematography (Black And White) - Bimal Mukherjee • Best Editing - Subodh Roy • Best Audiography - Anil Talukdar and Atul Chatterjee == References ==
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