Apanjan (1968)
December 6, 1968Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Chhaya Devi
Anandamoyee
Swarup Dutta
Robi
Rabi Ghosh
Haru Chakraborty (Politician)
Samit Bhanja
Chheno
Romi Choudhury
Anandamoyee (Bride
Sumita Sanyal
Lata
Gupi Banerjee
Juin Banerjee
Chinmoy Roy
Nepa Chatterjee (Anandamoyee's husband)
Bhanu Banerjee
Politician
Partho Mukerjee
Mrinal Mukherjee
Asim Mukhopadhyay
Premangshu Bose
Jatin (Anandamoyee's relative)
Purnima Devi Barman
Maid servant
Reba Devi
Anandamoyee's Mother in law
Details.
Release DateDecember 6, 1968
Original Nameআপনজন
StatusReleased
Running Time2h 15m
Genres
Last updated:
Wiki.
Apanjan, or simply Aponjon (English: One's own people) is a 1968 Indian Bengali language socio-political drama film directed by Tapan Sinha. The film is produced by R.K Kapoor under the banner of K.L Kapoor Productions and is based on a short story written by Indra Mittra, which itself was inspired from the political violence taken place in West Bengal. It consists of an ensemble cast of Chhaya Devi, Swarup Dutta, Samit Bhanja, Mrinal Mukherjee, Partho Mukherjee, Kalyan Chatterjee and Shyamal Banerjee in lead roles, with Bhanu Bandopadhyay, Rabi Ghosh, Chinmoy Roy and Dilip Roy in extended cameo appearances. The soundtrack of the film is composed by Tapan Sinha himself. Set against the backdrop of the political violence that rocked India, and West Bengal in particular, in the late 1960s, it tells the story of an aged widow in a village who goes to Calcutta to stay with relatives, but faces only exploitation. She moves to a slum, and finds her "own people" in a group of educated, unemployed youth, who are caught up inexorably in the prevalent violence.
Apanjan was a blockbuster at the box office and ran 45 weeks in theatres successfully. After its release, the Government of West Bengal declared the film to be tacs-free and it eventually gained a cult status in the history of Bengali cinema. The mannerism of Robi and Chheno, two central characters from the film played by Swarup Dutta and Samit Bhanja respectively, became memorable among the masses. Later it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali,
as well as several BFJA Awards. The original print of the film is restored and digitised by the National Film Archive of India.
In 1971, it was remade in Hindi as Mere Apne by Gulzar and in 1984, in Kannada as Benki Birugali.