Imphal: The monthly film screening programme of the Film Society of Manipur, the third oldest film society in North East India established in 1966, will resume this month with the screening of Anik Dutta’s award-winning Bengali film Aparajito (2022) on April 27 at 4 p.m. at Tanthapolis, the newly constructed digital theatre at Lamphel.
The event is organised in collaboration with the Federation of Film Societies of India and with the support of the management of the Tanthapolis.
The 133-minute feature film is based on the life of the iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray and the interesting account of making Pather Panchali which has created a sensation in world cinema and won the best human document award at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival. Jeetu Kamal plays the role of Aparajito Ray, Saayoni Ghosh plays Bimala Ray, Paran Bandopadhyay is the Chief Minister of West Bengal; and Barun Chandra is the Prime Minister of India. Renowned Indian art critic Samik Bandyopadhyay, who is very familiar in Manipur, is also in the film as a special guest.
Aparajito bagged the FIPRESCI International Critics Award at the 14th Bengaluru International Film Festival in 2023. The international jury, comprising Manuel Halpern of Portugal, Sadia Khalid Reeti of Bangladesh, and Latika Padgaonkar of India, chose the film for the prestigious award. The jury in their citation said, ” Anik Dutta has captivated his audiences once again with Aparajito, his homage to Satyajit Ray. The film is beautifully structured around a single interview and visualises the hurdles the maestro went through when filming his magnum opus, Pather Panchali. We are unanimously in favour of awarding this film for its mastery of the craft of storytelling through well rounded characters, bringing to life a piece of history that will forever be a source of pride for Indian cinema”.
In the 8th Ajanta-Ellora International Film Festival 2023, Aparajito received four awards, namely Best Actor for Jeetu Kamal as Aparajito Ray, Best Music for Debojyoti Mishra, Best Sound for Tirthankar Mazumdar, and Best Cinematographer for Supratim Bhol. The film received the Special Jury Award at the 2022 BRICS Film Festival. The film was screened at many international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and the London India Film Festival.
As usual, there will be a discussion session after the screening.
All the present and past members of the Film Society of Manipur and those interested in becoming members of the film society who are willing to attend the screening may send a message to 9862821062 in advance on a first-come, first-served basis for reservation of the seats.
