Ek Doctor Ki Maut is a 1990 award winning film by noted Bengali director Tapan Sinha

Tapan Sinha

Tapan Sinha , was a Indian film director. He was arguably the most uncompromising filmmaker outside the orbit of Parallel Cinema.-Personal life and background:...

, which depicts the ostracism, bureaucratic negligence, reprimand and insult of a doctor and his research, instead of recognition. The film is based on a story "Abhimanyu" by Ramapada Choudhury.

Synopsis

After years of painstaking research at the cost of his personal life, Dr. Dipankar Roy (Pankaj Kapoor

Pankaj Kapoor

Pankaj Kapur is an Indian theatre, television and film actor from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He has appeared in several television serials and films. His most acclaimed film roles to date have been that of Dr...

) discovers a vaccine for leprosy. The news is flashed over television and overnight, an insignificant junior doctor receives international recognition. Professional jealousy and abuse of power threaten Dr. Roy, even as the Secretary of Health reprimands him for breaking the news to the press. He is asked to report to the Director of Health. Professional colleagues Dr. Arijit Sen and Dr. Ramananda invite him to a lecture but it is merely a pretence to humiliate him. Dr. Roy suffers a mild heart attack but he refuses to go to the hospital. His wife (Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...

) and a few others like Dr. Kundu and Amulya (Irfan Khan

Irfan Khan (actor)

Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan, popularly known as Irrfan Khan , is an Indian actor in film, television and theatre. He received recognition for his roles in The Warrior , Maqbool , Haasil , The Namesake , A Mighty Heart , Life in a.....

) stand by Dr. Roy, but the harassment continues; a letter from a British foundation, John Anderson Foundation, is suppressed and Dr. Roy transferred to a remote village. The last straw is two American doctors receiving credit for discovering the same vaccine. Dr. Roy is shattered.

Cast

• Pankaj Kapoor
  Pankaj Kapoor
  Pankaj Kapur is an Indian theatre, television and film actor from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He has appeared in several television serials and films. His most acclaimed film roles to date have been that of Dr...
  
  
• Shabana Azmi
  Shabana Azmi
  Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...
  
  
• Irfan Khan
  Irfan Khan (actor)
  Sahabzade Irrfan Ali Khan, popularly known as Irrfan Khan , is an Indian actor in film, television and theatre. He received recognition for his roles in The Warrior , Maqbool , Haasil , The Namesake , A Mighty Heart , Life in a.....
  
  
• Deepa Sahi
  Deepa Sahi
  -Early life:Deepa Sahi was born in India in Dehradun. Her family later shifted to Canada but she continued to stay in India.-Early career:An alumnus of National School of Drama, Delhi, Sahi started off with a theater career, with strong Leftist leanings and social activism a core value of the...
  
  
• Vijayendra Ghatge
  Vijayendra Ghatge
  Vijayendra Ghatge is an actor from Indian TV and movie industry. He has acted in Buniyaad among other serials and several of movies such as Prem Rog and Devdas. He is descendant of Holkars family,the ex-royal family of Indore thru his mother Sita Raje Ghatge. He is the father of Chak De India...
  
  

Reception

The film was greatly applauded among film critics and writers. Tapan Sinha, the director, was inspired by the life and death of Subhash Mukhopadhyay

Subhash Mukhopadhyay (physician)

Subhash Mukhopadhyay was a physician from Kolkata, India.-Early life:He was born on January 16, 1931 in Hazaribag, Bihar , India. He studied and graduated with an honours degree in physiology from the Calcutta National Medical College, which was then affiliated with the prestigious University...

 and dedicates this film to him.

38th National Film Awards, India

• 1991 National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film
  National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film
  The National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film winners :-See also:...
  
  
• 1991 National Film Award for Best Directing
  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....
  
  : Tapan Sinha
  Tapan Sinha
  Tapan Sinha , was a Indian film director. He was arguably the most uncompromising filmmaker outside the orbit of Parallel Cinema.-Personal life and background:...
  
  
• 1991 National Film Award - Special Jury Award
  National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film)
  The National Film Award of India - Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Feature Film winners are:...
  
  : Pankaj Kapoor
  Pankaj Kapoor
  Pankaj Kapur is an Indian theatre, television and film actor from Ludhiana, Punjab, India. He has appeared in several television serials and films. His most acclaimed film roles to date have been that of Dr...
  
  (Dr. Dipankar Roy).