Cinema
36 Chowringhee Lane
Aparna Sen · 1981
Synopsis
In the Calcutta of the seventies, Violet Stoneham, an ageing Anglo-Indian schoolteacher, teaches Shakespeare to pupils who hardly listen to her. Her niece Rosemary gone after her marriage, her brother Eddie declining in a retirement home, she lives alone with her cat, Sir Toby, at 36 Chowringhee Lane. On Christmas Day, she meets a former pupil, Nandita, and her friend Samaresh, a writer, who are looking for a place to meet; Samaresh asks her if he may write at her home while she is at school, and she gladly agrees.
Context
The first film by its director, born of a short story she had written that became a screenplay, it was produced by Shashi Kapoor, whose wife Jennifer Kendal plays Violet; the actress's father, Geoffrey Kendal, plays the brother. The music is by Vanraj Bhatia, the sets by Bansi Chandragupta, the cinematography by Ashok Mehta. A dream sequence shows Violet's youth and her lost love. It was released on 29 August 1981.
Who it is for
Two hours, mostly in English, with no French release. It is better to know the Anglo-Indian community, left on the margins after independence.
Prizes and reception
National Award for Best Direction; very well received on release and regarded as one of the landmark films of Bengali auteur cinema.
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