| Nimantran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Tarun Majumdar |
| Written by | Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (original story), Tarun Majumdar (screenplay) |
| Starring | Sandhya Roy, Anup Kumar, Nandini Maliya |
| Cinematography | Shakti Banerjee |
| Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
| Music by | Hemanta Mukherjee |
Release date |
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| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
Nimantran (transl. The invitation) is a 1971 Bengali film directed by Tarun Majumdar, based on a story by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, and starring Sandhya Roy and Anup Kumar in the lead roles. At the 19th National Film Awards, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali.[1]
The film tells the story of two people who fall in love with each other, are separated, and meet again many years later. Hirendranath or Hiru (Anup Kumar), a young man from Calcutta, goes to visit his aunt in her village. There he meets Kumudini or Kumu (Sandhya Roy), a simple girl who has lost her father and lives with her uncle. Gradually, Hiru and Kumu get close, but marriage is denied by Kumu's uncle. Hiru returns to the city with a heavy heart, and gets a job in the railways in Jamalpur. There the boiler inspector becomes very fond of him. After an accident, the boiler inspector, on his deathbed, requests Hiru to marry his daughter Surama. They get married. However, Surama is ambitious and not satisfied with their financial and social status. Subsequently, Hiru quits his job, starts a business and becomes a successful man. However, he cannot give time and attention to his wife. Despite being a financially rich couple, both Hiru and Surama feels alone.
One day, Hiru's aunt writes to him many years after his first visit. He goes to the village and discovers that Kumu is now married, but that her husband does not care for her. Old feelings are rekindled in both of them. However, they cannot go against social customs.
All songs composed by Hemanta Mukherjee (except Dure Kothay, a Rabindra Sangeet). The songs are:
1. Amar Dukhe Dukhe (sung by Nirmalendu Chowdhury, Banashree Sengupta)
2. Ami Bondhur Premagune Pora (sung by Nirmalendu Chowdhury)
3. Chyang Dhore Byang (sung by Anup Ghoshal, Geeta Chowdhury and chorus)
4. Dure Kothay (sung by Kanika Banerjee)
5. Peeriti Boliya Ekti Kamal (sung by Hemanta Mukherjee and chorus)
6. Tara Ma Mago Tara, Singhaprishthe Bhar Koriye (sung by Hemanta Mukherjee)
When released, the film received both commercial and critical success. It not only won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali, but also won a number of BFJA Awards, including Best Indian Films (along with others). It continues to be popular, as shown by its availability in DVD form in multiple distributions. [2] The songs of the film, sung by Hemanta Mukherjee (who won a National Award for Nimantran), Kanika Bandyopadhyay and others, remain popular.
Nimantran has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archives of India. [3]
