A taxi driver attempts to introduce his cab service in rural Bengal against many odds.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Writers: Tarashankar Banerjee (original story) (as Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay) , Satyajit Ray (screenplay)
Stars:
Waheeda Rehman, Soumitra Chatterjee, Ruma Guha Thakurta |Storyline :
When a corrupt cop takes away Narsingh's taxi license after an illegal car race, Narsingh finds himself reduced to poverty living in the outskirts of Kolkata. A practicing Sihk, he finds himself having to accept work from a dubious business man, Sukhanram, who employs Narsingh in dope smuggling. Given his reduced circumstances, Narsingh finds welcome assistance from a fellow villager, Josef, and his Christian schoolteacher sister, Neeli. Narsingh finds himself attracted to Neeli's altruism, but mistakes it for true love - when Neeli's love is for an untouchable cripple. Meanwhile, Sukhamran's prostitute, Gulabi, sees Narsingh's attempts to right the wrongs around him, and she sees through Sukhanram's duplicity when Sukhanram tries to convince Narsingh to sell his beloved taxi in exchange for a share of the profits in his next enterprise. With difficulty and the assistance of Narsingh's taxi partner Rama, Gulabi convinces Narsingh to break off the deal, but then Sukhanram takes his ...Abhijaan Movie Reviews :
I saw this movie a long time ago but it still sticks with me. It is one of those movies you don't forget once you have seen it, and also don't think too much about. Its a simple pastoral romance written by one of the greatest Bengali writers, Tarashankar. Ray always knew the importance of the story, and he chose wisely from writers like Bibhutibhushan, Tagore and others. In this movie, made in a retro sepia tone which promotes a feeling of otherworldliness and decrepitude at the same time, Ray sticks to the storyline and elicits some great performances from Soumitra, Waheeda Rahman, Robi Ghosh and the magnificent Charuprakash Ghosh, a Ray favorite, who nails the difficult role of the seedy bania as counterpoint to Soumitra's ramrod Punjabi taxi driver. The strange admixture of the arid rural landscapes, ramshackle Chevrolet cabs, drunken depot operators, nepotist petty officials, prostitutes, smugglers and Christians comes together in a sweeping narrative that never rests for a moment in its grand mission - to tell a story to a spellbound audience
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