Soumitra Chatterjee

Two long lost lovers meet and reunite after years of separation. Salim Khan, who stayed a bachelor and Madhuri Chatterjee, who lost her husband must make a decision to live together. Will it be easy? especially now that Madhuri has a son.

Years ago, destiny forced young lovers Amit and Labanya to drift apart, leaving them no choice but to move on with their lives. Now in their twilight years, the former lovers meet again at an old age home run by Amit. Things get further complicated when Amit`s daughter Kuhu and Labanya`s nephew Akash fall for each other. Will a fate similar to their elders befall Akash and Kuhu?

This historical thriller and modern day treasure hunt follows an archaeologist who leaves his granddaughter the key to a treasure that may lead to the fabled Kohinoor diamond.

A biographical drama, Bhagshesh tells the tale of Madhumanti and her relationship with her step-daughter. Madhumanti marries her college friend Amit after his divorce only to take care of his 7-year-old daughter, Pooja. The daughter, devastated by her parents' divorce holds Madhumanti responsible for it, only to realize later that Madhumanti loved her unconditionally.

A middle-aged man, who is facing problems in his life, visits his father who is suffering from a neurological disorder. This reunion changes their lives when several closed chapters are reopened.

The film`s title signifies the beginning of the end, in life and in relationships.

What happens when the news cameras turn off? Another News Story reveals the action behind the cameras of news teams tasked with reporting the refugee crisis and turning it into breaking news. Set amid the global news-storm of September 2015, when the worldwide press descended on the refugees to cover their migration across Europe, Another News Story looks beyond the headlines to tell the stories of both the news teams and refugees who have undertaken this journey. As the film pans out you understand the story is an intimate display of what life is really like for both the migrants and the reporting journalists. It travels the fine line very carefully between criticism and emotional blackmail allowing the viewer to begin to understand how it is that these two juxtaposed roles coexist in such a tragic and unfathomable situations. The film follows in particular the stories of three characters. Johny and Bruno the news characters you meet at the beginning and Mahasen a Syrian woman, travelling with a family of 9, in a bid to reunite with her children. Set against the backdrop of the archive news reports which guide the narrative, we follow the story as it sweeps across the Balkans and into Europe in the race to get to Germany. The film focuses on the main news flash points of the month where the mass migration was headline news. Through our characters and the other news journalists we meet the audience will learn, how much more there is to every story when the news cameras turn off. The film follows through our characters to directly after when the Paris attacks have happened and the news rhetoric has changed against the refugees. The film provides the context for the beginning of the populist move to the right and the role the news has played within this.

A 72-year-old man, detached from his own kin, reaches out to an extended family by lending ears to people sitting on a park bench, as he influences their thoughts and in turn, their lives.

The film is a story of five characters who are devastated by the crisis they face in their life. All of them show distinct human emotions and turmoil. All these characters have one common thread who will change the face of their lives.

Rubayet is a 19 year old loner from Kolkata who prefers solitude to the company of his classmates. Little do they know he`s a pro at football until Motida, the football coach discovers his potential. Not only does Motida help Rubayet realize his potential but he also reaches out to him and even visits Rubayet`s home town to learn about his roots. This he does to try to find out what caused Rubayet to be so withdrawn and reticent. What happens after Motida visits Rubayet`s native place, does he manage to help Rubayet? How does this step change Motida`s own life?

Ritu has always been compared to her mother, this has done nothing but increased her insecurities. Consequently Ritu doesn`t trust her mother and always suspects her, this gets further amplified when she falls in love with Sunny in college and her mother tries to find about him. This doesn`t go well with Ritu who resents her mother`s interference and misunderstands her intentions.

Hemlock Society tells the unique story of a man who runs a workshop where lessons are given on how to commit suicide successfully. The school has on its roll professors who demonstrate fail-safe methods in committing suicide. The film takes a hard look at death and how life triumphs over death.

A couple trying to have a kid that leads to tensions and finding out what people are capable of doing to please or get what they want.

With a 4000-Crore loss in the Finance Department, Minister Fatakesto vows to take Finance Ministry and recover the loss in 7 days.

A small time goon becomes a member of the legislative assembly; the story depicts a week in his life.

The film is based on the lives of Bengali's across the world, especially on those settled abroad. It attempts to delineate the pain and dilemma of Bengali's estranged from their places of origin. It seeks to explore sensitive souls singing to the tunes of Tagore.

The story is about the trials and tribulations faced by Shashanka, a retired bank manager and widower, and his daughter Megha, while trying to maintain their professional lives and relationships.

The discovery of a 150-year-old diary of a scientist, where he claims to have invented a gun that can put people to sleep, begins a wild hunt of the gun involving the arms mafia, aliens and other humans.

An old man is forced to do work by his unfaithful son. Rajnarayan Babu(Rajjak) has two sons and one daughter. They are Tuhin(Pijush Ganguly) Tushar (Prosenjit Chatterjee) and Khushi(Sreelekha Mitra). Tuhin's wife is Hena and Khushi's husband is Amit. Tushar loves Nisha(Rituparna Sengupta). Rajnarayan gives Rs.20,0000 to his son Tuhin for his business. When Rajnarayan asks for the money for his daughter's marriage his elder son refuses. Rajnarayan decides to sell his house to get his daughter married. In the meanwhile Khushi hears everything and runs away, but it is discovered that Khushi's would be father-in-law(Soumitra Chatterjee) has arranged the marriage ceremony of his son(Abhishek Chatterjee) with Rajnarayan Babus' daughter Khushi. After all this Rajnarayan decides to take up a part-time job. Tuhin's wife insults him and his wife. She also starts conspiring with his mother. Rajnarayan's wife has a cerebral attack and becomes a paraplegic.Tushar and his father take care of her. Rajnarayan again asks his elder son to return all the money. His son asks him to come to his office. When he goes there he is insulted by an employee. Rajnarayan Babu searches frantically for a job but does not succeed. Rajnarayan starts pulling carts. Tushar has a quarrel with his brother over this. Rajnarayan's wife soon passes away. Finally Tuhin realizes his fault and teaches his wife a good lesson. At the end the entire family is reunited. —Swarup Basak

The film is about a crippled doctor who helps a paralyzed rape victim. A young woman is molested one evening in her office. While fighting off the three men, she sustains injuries and is bedridden for a while. She is fortunate enough, however, to receive proper medical care and also emotional support. The Doctor decides to treat her. How will he overcome all odds and do it?

Sen Gupta is a doctor who attends only upper class patients and is forced to confront his own beliefs as he discovers rural India. Thereon a transformation starts from being a cold man to being human. Sen Gupta, a doctor who only treats upper-class patients, is forced to confront his own moral and medical beliefs as he discovers rural India during an unexpected stop at a village. He finds a breathless man lying on the side of the road. With little sympathy, the doctor sends him back to his own village for treatment. When Dr. Gupta discovers that the villages wants a witch doctor to treat the man, he attends the exorcism and is shocked. A transformation of the cold city man then follows. —L.H. Wong <as9401k56@ntuvax.ntu.ac.sg>

The story of an honest cop Haribhai Haldar and his family consisting of two brothers Joy and Debu. Hari bhai, a modern demi god, has spent his life to bring up his younger brother and his sister Renu.

Shibnath is released from prison after eleven years of incarceration for murdering a British officer. Shibnath has given his all for his country, including eleven years in prison. He also gave up part of his sanity for his country, since three of those years were spent in a mental ward. He was a hero to many for his passionate anti-colonialism, and now it is 1953 and he has just been released from prison. His friends expect him either to continue as a political firebrand, or to shrug off his experiences and get on with life. What no one expects is that he will be so broken by everything that has happened that he will sink into a well of passivity and despair. —Swarup Basak

In this adaption of the Ibsen stage play, an idealistic physician discovers that the town's temple waters are dangerously contaminated. But with the community relying on the holy attraction for tourist dollars, his warnings go unheeded. Ashoke Gupta is an idealistic doctor working in a town near Calcutta. He discovers that the water at a popular temple is the source of an outbreak of typhoid and hepatitis. In order to save lives, he risks his career to try and call attention to this polluted water source, while a local group of building contractors attempt to discredit him in various ways.

1) Koni is a young girl from a poor family; Khsitish Sinha is an experienced swimming coach. One day Khsitish sees Koni swimming and thinks she can be an excellent swimmer. Koni does not have the money to hire a coach. Khsitish decides to coach her for free but because his family is also not rich, he adopts her and puts her to work in a tailor shop. After struggling to learn how to properly swim competitively, Koni makes it onto the Bengal national swimming team. She is not selected to compete in any events until a team member is injured. Koni takes first place in the swimming competition, Kony is a great inspiration for children and adults 2) I opine that this book is the best Indian sports novel. The sports journalist - Moti Nandi has creatively brought up the fact of hidden talent. There are many people out there who in spite of having a talent can't excel in their domain due to lack of economy and resources. The main themes of this book revolves around love for sports, hard work, dedication and the role of a teacher in the course of a student's success. Koni with all her power and hard work fights against all the obstacles and made the whole of Bengal proud whereas the character of Khitish Singha as her trainer showed the role of a perfect teacher 3) The inspiring story of Hima Das led us to Koni, Bengali writer Moti Nandy's heartwarming tale of a young girl who fights social prejudices and material challenges to emerge as a champion swimmer------The reed-thin teenager is spotted first during her skirmishes in the Ganges by coach Sinha who again bumps into her during a non-stop walking contest she entered to earn money for her family. The temperamental coach, who has been forced out of his club of three decades, is looking for a charge he can shape into a future champion. Thus starts the unlikely association between an unwilling but stubborn swimmer and an indomitable coach who is convinced of the potential of the starving girl he bullies into learning the proper technique of swimming. In many ways, Koni is a story that will inspire even the most cynical of us as the underdog battles poverty and the web of petty politics that are the bane of sports bodies. Mukherjee keeps the tale moving in a simple narrative that captures well the frustration of defeat as well as the subdued elation of winning. Having been denied the chance to swim for her state, abused by team mates and summarily left to thaw on the stands at a national meet, Koni's fight back to glory is a feel-good "grit and determination always wins" tale, that Nandy is known for scripting. The book will appeal to a teenage audience with its easy language and inspiring story of a girl who refused to make poverty an excuse to achieve her potential. -------THANK YOU------- -SB

A landowner's wife emerges from seclusion through education, defying social norms. Her newfound freedom leads to political awakening when her husband's old friend brings revolutionary ideas to their door. When the movie opens, a woman is recalling the events that molded her perspective on the world. Years ago, her husband, a wealthy Western-educated landowner, challenged tradition by providing her with schooling, and inviting her out of the seclusion in which married women were kept, to the consternation of more conservative relatives. Meeting her husband's visiting friend from college, a leader of an economic rebellion against the British, she takes up his political cause, despite her husbands warnings. As the story progresses, the relationship between the woman and the visitor becomes more than platonic, and the political battles, pitting rich against poor and Hindu against Moslem, turn out not to be quite as simple as she had first thought. —Anonymous

When Goopy and Bagha learn about Hirak Raja`s tyranny, they try to set him right with the help of Udayan, a schoolteacher, and their magical powers.

The magically musical duo of Goopy Gyne and Bagha Byne make a comeback in this sequel, where they are invited to the court of the Hirak Raja (The Diamond King), for their musical skills. They are to perform at the kingdom's Jubilee Celebrations. Goopy and Bagha are bored with their lives as crown princes of Shundi and Halla. They are looking for a change, which comes in the form of a chance to visit Hirak Rajya (Land of Diamonds), known for its huge diamond mines. They jocundly set out for Hirak Rajya. But little do they know of the machinations of Hirok Raja (Utpal Dutt). The king is a tyrant. Diamonds and riches get pent up in his treasuries, while his subjects starve and suffer. Those who protest are taken care of in the 'Jantarmantar', a chamber for brainwashing devised by the scientist (Santosh Dutta), who the king mocks calling as "Gobeshok Gobochondro Gyanotirtho Gyanorotno Gyanambudhi Gyanochuramoni." His ministers are mere puppets. The only enemy the king has in his land is Udayan Pandit (Soumitra Chatterjee). He is a school teacher and, more than that, he is a believer of values. The king forcefully closes his school down. Udayan flees to hide in the mountains. Meanwhile, Goopy and Bagha are on their way to Hirok Rajya. By coincidence, they meet Udayan, who intimates them of the king's true nature. The two impress Udayan with their magical powers, who plans to use them against the tyrant. Goopy and Bagha agree. The duo then head into Hirok Rajya, where they are welcomed with grandeur. They entertain the rogue king,fooling him into believing that they think he is great. They rob the treasury (which was guarded by a tiger) using their magical music, for bribing the guards. The king has his tricks, too. He captures Udayan and all his students, and takes them to the Jantarmantar for brainwashing. But Goopy Bagha have already reached there using their magical powers. They have also bribed the Gobeshok onto their side, with the guards. On reaching the laboratory, the king and his ministers are stunned magically by Goopy's singing and then pushed into the Brainwashing machine. After the king is brainwashed he turns to the good side,he then along with the villagers pull down his own statue situated at the center of the village,and everything goes back to normal in the land of hirak raja.

Gangacharan is a village Brahmin who teaches, organizes religious events and tries to prevent epidemics. However, things get difficult with a raging war and an approaching famine.

Shyam`s life takes a turn when tensions arise amongst his friends. Although his friends find solace in their lovers, Shyam remains unsettled as he is unable to express his feelings to Anu.

SEATTLE FILM SOCIETY August 20, 1977 DISTANT THUNDER. Written and directed by Satyajit Ray. India, 1972. Music: Ray. Leading players: Soumitra Chatterji, Babita. If you crossed an Italian neorealist film with a work by Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, the result might be something like Distant Thunder. In a unique way, Indian director Satyajit Ray combines a social consciousness in a changing society with a slow narrative style to reveal nuances of character. The relaxed pace allows us to enter the world and experience the internal process and transformation of an individual. Rays films often play on the tension between traditional customs and the effects of urban modernization with a naturalness that has you wondering if his characters are real people or actors. There are few directors who give you the sense of knowing the characters as Ray does. Soumitra Chatterji as the Brahmin in Distant Thunder is gradually revealed on several levels through his relationship with his wife, students, patients and townspeople. It is the visibility of his internal dialogue and the reassessment of his values and social position amidst the so-called manmade famine of 1943 that structure the movement of the film. As the Brahmin's authority and stature in the community are rendered inconsequential by a hunger which levels all class distinctions, he is forced to give up the superiority which separates him from the peasants. With deliberate and dissecting camera movement, Ray establishes a set of polarities from the opening shots which mark the progression of Chatterji's character. His wife Babita is introduced via a hand rising above the swirling waters of a river. The course of the film literally flows in and around water, and the beginning of the famine is signaled by the cholera epidemic which prevents use of river water for drinking. Similarly, the turning point in the pundits life occurs at the waters edge. Crushed by his impotence after watching a riot at the rice mill he retreats to the shore to reconsider his position. He has been undergoing a gradual disillusionment, and comments to his wife that he doesnt understand the inability of money to buy what they need. It is Babita who proves to be more resourceful, and her embodiment of the creative force is indicated by her closeness to water. After an attempted rape she throws herself into the cleansing river. She is the one who must ultimately become the provider for the family and the link to the community. Opposed to the creative spirit expressed through the water imagery is a progression of fire symbols, signs of a burnt-out existence. The first indication of an interruption of natural forces comes in the opening moments as the townswomen, bathing, watch the flying ships overhead, harbingers of war and famine. Ray uses several closeups of insects and butterflies feeding on parched ground, but the most obvious use of fire is the badly burned body of the kiln worker. In this distorted social order he ironically becomes the supplier of grain. He is constantly seen lighting cigarettes, and smoking is a kind of social ritual throughout the film. Notice the discarded cigarette tossed in the stream as well as other instances of burning and clouding-over of life-giving water. Just as Babita's contact with the natural forces signifies a sympathy and understanding of the other sufferers, the grotesque halfburned, half-normal face of the kiln worker exaggerates his isolation and separateness from the rest of society. He has too much face. To comprehend his place in the life of the community and move closer to its creative center, the Brahmin must humble himself and undergo a loss of face. We see his metamorphosis as Ray builds silhouettes against a vast sky. The first silhouette is that of the old beggar man who asks the Brahmin for food. Later, as he realizes his false dependence on the peasants, the Brahmin undergoes his loss of face and he too appears in silhouette. Throughout the film we find small forms outlined against a large background until the final climactic and powerful image of a community joined together against a disaster manufactured by an individual act somewhere in the distance. James Greenberg Submitted by James Spee on July 18, 2007. I first saw this film at the Seattle Film Society showing 30 years ago and I still remember it vividly.

Ajay Sarkar, a lower middle-class man pretends to be a successful businessman in order to win the hand of Monica, a girl from an affluent family. A young man still to find a place in the sun puts up an innocent bluff to a young girl he chances upon. They meet frequently since then. Bluffs continue to pile up. There is no way out. In a desperate bid the young man tries to break the wealth barrier. His friend, well placed in life, cautions him. He turns a deaf ear. The inevitable happens. The young man grows wiser but pays heavily for it. —Swarup Basak

A young girl, Archana, falls in love with Sukhendu, an educated young man. Her father gladly accepts Sukhendu as his son-in-law. But Sukhendu's income and nature come in way of this marriage. Archana (Suchitra Sen) falls in love with Sukhendu (Soumitra Chatterjee), a serious University Lecturer, much to the charging her snobbish and interfering mother (Chhaya Devi) for whom Sukhendu is just not good enough for her daughter or their family. Archana however, is adamant and with the approval of her father (Pahadi Sanyal) gets married to Sukhendu. The mother continues to interfere in the marriage constantly reminding her son-in-law of his poverty. Suffering from divided loyalties, Archana's problems are aggravated when Sukhendu insists she sever all ties with her mother. Archana separates from Sukhendu and stays independently completing her studies. When she finally accepts her wifely duties and returns home it is too late as Sukhendu has resigned and gone abroad.

A taxi driver, Narsingh, attempts to reinvent his life by visiting his native place. Instead, he unwillingly gets involved in Sukhanram`s smuggling and human trafficking business.

Soumitra Chatterjee plays Narsingh, a taxi driver. Narsingh is a proud and hot-tempered Rajput with a passion for his car, a vintage 1930 Chrysler and his Rajput heritage. Being a descendent of a royal Rajput family, his self-esteem is reflected through his inability to accept insult and defeat, as a result of which he even takes part in a small race with his car. He does not want to be the one who falls behind and develops a strong hatred for women and mankind in general. As a result of reckless driving, while overtaking the car which carried the district inspector, his licence is taken from him. He is utterly destroyed by it, since the cab was his life after his wife had left him for good. Deeply affected by the insult and a feeling of rootlessness, he decides to go back to the land of rajput where his true rajput lineage will be respected. While on an aimless journey, Narasingh is picked up by Sukharam who is a local Marwari businessman with a record of smuggling and human trafficking. Sukharam (Charuprakash Ghosh) offers him a handsome fee to transport some goods which actually is opium. The realisation of the immoral trade puts Narshing in a compromising position, but he decides to join hands with Sukharam anyways. After all no one he saw was truly following the path of law and morality, not even his ideal and beloved Neeli (Ruma Guha Thakurta). Neeli runs away with the crippled lover of hers and Narasingh's deep distrust of women deepens. As a result, even after knowing that Gulabi is a victim of Sukharams trafficking he forces her to sleep with him without any emotional involvement. At this point he is almost on the verge of becoming the one he used to hate, the lawless ones who also fail to face the world. Gulabi (Waheeda Rehman), on the other hand is a melancholy, demonstrative and beautiful village widow. Gulabi is instinctively drawn to Narsingh. In spite of losing her dignity, she still looks at the bright side of life and has trust that Narshing is not immoral. She is attracted to him from the beginning and ready for a physical relationship, though not as a prostitute which Sukharam intended her to be at that time, but as a village girl. After he decides to join the gang of smugglers consisting of a legal deal and selling his car, he finds that all his friends that had been with him for so long, including Rama, and Neeli's brother, have abandoned him. He gets the money and social status he wanted but reduces himself to Mama Bhagne, a symbol of someone carrying the baggage of his own sin on his head, until he topples and is reduced to mere pebbles with no dignity. He changes, and rescues Gulabi just in time, before she was to be sold to the same lawyer who was a member of the smuggling racket he had thought of joining. The tension of the good and evil collapses and the old car makes another journey into nothingness but with a halo of light ahead of it, the light of love.

Gauri Shankar Roy looks like Shankar Singh, the king of Jhind. However, when Shankar disappears, a person from the kingdom approaches Gauri to assume the identity of the missing king.

A tax collector is amused after seeing an ancient fort and decides to stay there. He falls in love with a woman but is shocked to learn that the woman is a spirit.