The World of Apu [Apur Sansar] ***** (1959, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty) – Classic Movie Review 7741

The majestic 1959 The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) is the last part of Indian writer-producer-director Satyajit Ray’s great Apu trilogy and is its crowning glory.

Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) grows to love his arranged-marriage wife Aparna (Sharmila Tagore) but he faces a terrible test when she dies while having a baby. Crazed with grief, Apu leaves Calcutta and finds he cannot meet the son, Kajal (Alok Chakravarty), whom he abandons with his wife’s parents.

The World of Apu (Apur Sansar) is full of the warmth of feeling, wonderful acting, sharply recognisable writing and unforgettable moments that graced Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1957), but this time Ray directs more tautly, with a stronger hold on narrative. Satyajit Ray writes the screenplay) based on the original story Aparajito by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.

The World of Apu is an undoubted, unchallengeable world cinema masterwork. But at awards time it was a different story. Each of the Apu films was a BAFTA Film Award nominee as Best Film from any Source but none of them won. They won no BAFTA Film Awards at all and overall won very few awards anywhere.

Also in the cast are Swapan Mukherjee, Dhiresh Majumdar, Sefalika Devi, Shanti Bhattacherjee, Abhijit Chatterjee, Gupi Banerjee and Belarani Devi.

The World of Apu [Apur Sansar] is directed by Satyajit Ray, runs 115 minutes, is made by Satyajit Ray Productions and West Bengal Government, is released by Connoisseur, is written by Satyajit Ray, based on the original story Aparajito by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, is shot in black and white by Subrata Mitra, is produced by Satyajit Ray, and is scored by Ravi Shankar.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7741

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Soumitra Chatterjee.