Jana Aranya is a 1976

1976 in film

The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...

 Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

 film directed by Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...

, based on the novel of the same name by Mani Shankar Mukherjee

Mani Shankar Mukherjee

Shankar, real name Mani Shankar Mukherjee, and generally known in English-language literature as Sankar is a very popular writer in the Bengali language...

, and is last in the series of films by Ray, known as Calcutta trilogy

Calcutta trilogy

The Calcutta trilogy may refer to either of the following two Bengali film trilogies:Three films by Satyajit Ray:* Pratidwandi * Seemabaddha * Jana Aranya...

, the previous two being, Pratidwandi

Pratidwandi

Pratidwandi or Pratidandi is a 1971 Indian Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It is the first part of the Calcutta trilogy...

(The Adversary, 1970) and Seemabaddha

Seemabaddha

Seemabaddha is a 1971 film by Satyajit Ray. It also known as Company Limited.-Plot:Shyamal is an ambitious Sales manager in a British fan manufacturing firm in Calcutta, where he is expecting a promotion shortly. He is married to Dolan, and lives in a company flat...

(Company Limited, 1971).

Plot

The film portrays the hopelessness of the middle-class, educated, urban youth in modern India. The protagonist, Somnath (Pradip Mukherjee), after making numerous unsuccessful attempts to find employment, finally lands the job of a middle-man - someone who supplies an order in exchange for a fixed commission.

In spite of his ambition, Somnath soon finds himself involved in petty dealing. Meanwhile, his friend Sukumar, having gone through similar ordeals, becomes a taxi-driver.

One day, Somnath finds that in order to land a big order, he must appease the reluctant client by supplying a prostitute. After much hesitation and trying several brothels, Somnath finds a suitable girl. However, the girl turns out to be Sukumar's sister. At a loss, Somnath offers her money and tells her to leave, but the girl refuses, saying that she is there to earn money, not beg. Somnath delivers the girl to his client.

Somnath gets the contract, but he is not a happy man.

Cast

• Pradip Mukherjee - Somnath
• Satya Bandyopadhyay - Somnath's Father
• Dipankar Dey - Bhombol
• Arati Bhattacharya - Mrs. Ganguli
• Gautam Chakraborty - Sukumar
• Lily Chakravarty - Kamala
• Bimal Chatterjee - Adok
• Kalyan Chatterjee - Somnath's friend
• Bimal Deb - Jagabandhu
• Santosh Dutta
  Santosh Dutta
  Santosh Dutta was a Bengali character actor, best known for immortalizing the character of Jatayu in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies viz. Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath. A lawyer by profession, Santosh Dutta will be remembered as one of the greatest comedians Bengali Films ever had. Essentially a...
  
  - Hiralal
• Utpal Dutt
  Utpal Dutt
  Utpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali Theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the 'Little Theater Group' in 1947, which enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period...
  
   - Bishuda
• Robi Ghosh - Natabar Mittir
• Soven Lahiri - Goenka
• Padmadevi - Mrs. Biswas
• Aparna Sen
  Aparna Sen
  Aparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.-Biography:...
  
   - Somnath's ex-girlfriend
• Sudeshna Das - Kauna / Juthika

Awards and nominations

The film has been nominated for and won the following awards since its release:

1976 National Film Awards

National Film Awards

The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...

 (India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

)

• Won - Golden Lotus Award: Best Director
  National Film Award for Best Directing
  The National Film Award for Best Direction winners are given below. Satyajit Ray has been awarded the maximum number of times in this category....
  
  : Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray
  Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
  
  

External links

• Jana Aranya @ SatyajitRay.org