English, August (film)
Encyclopedia
English, August, made in 1994, is Indian film director Dev Benegal
's first feature film. This film ignited the next generation of Indian cinema and is acknowledged as a landmark in contemporary Indian cinema. A humorous and irreverent study of bureaucracy and the Indian Generation X
, English, August won several awards at international film festivals.
English, August became the first Indian independent film to break the stranglehold of mainstream Indian Bollywood
cinema when it was acquired by 20th Century Fox
and became a theatrical success in the country. This has led the way for other low budget, independent movies such as Bombay Boys
and Split Wide Open
, which are part of the next generation of "middle cinema".
The film is based on the novel English August by Upamanyu Chatterjee
.
), nicknamed "English, August", speaks and thinks in English. A lover of poetry, he listens to Bob Dylan
, Miles Davis
, rock
and jazz
and reads Marcus Aurelius. He is also an Indian Administrative Service
Officer, a member of the most influential and powerful cadre of civil servants in India. He is sent off for a year's training to Madna, the hottest town in the country. Culture shock and a language barrier in his own country follows (August's mother tongue is Bengali
). He feels like a foreigner, but must survive.
Moreover, August is surrounded by wild characters : Srivastava, the pompous head bureaucrat and his wife Malti, the fashion and cultural leader of the town ; Sathe, a local pothead and cartoonist; Kumar, the Police Superintendent and connoisseur of porn films ; and Vasant, the world's worst cook. August negotiates this provincial creek with the only paddle he can find; Fantasy, daydreams and "self-abuse" become his means of revolt and escape as he escapes from the heat into the mystery and quiet of his secret world of erotic fantasy and contemplation.
and consists of the following instrumental
tracks.
Dev Benegal
Dev Benegal is an Indian director and screenwriter, most known for his debut film English, August , which won the 1995 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English....
's first feature film. This film ignited the next generation of Indian cinema and is acknowledged as a landmark in contemporary Indian cinema. A humorous and irreverent study of bureaucracy and the Indian Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
, English, August won several awards at international film festivals.
English, August became the first Indian independent film to break the stranglehold of mainstream Indian Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
cinema when it was acquired by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
and became a theatrical success in the country. This has led the way for other low budget, independent movies such as Bombay Boys
Bombay Boys
Bombay Boys is an unorthodox comedy film written and directed by the Indian director Kaizad Gustad. It follows the adventures of three young men in modern-day Mumbai . The boys are of Indian origin, but were all raised in the West. Krishna Sahni is an aspiring actor from New York who wants to...
and Split Wide Open
Split Wide Open
Split Wide Open is a 1999 Indian film and is Dev Benegal's second feature film after English, August. The film primarily deals with the Water conflicts in the slums of Bombay, and paedophilia, and also looks at the subversive sexuality in modern India and how the notions of morality are challenged...
, which are part of the next generation of "middle cinema".
The film is based on the novel English August by Upamanyu Chatterjee
Upamanyu Chatterjee
Upamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian Bengali author and administrator, notable for his work set in the milieu of the Indian Administrative Service, especially his novel English, August. He was born in Patna, Bihar and was educated at St. Xavier's School and St. Stephen's College, in Delhi...
.
Plot summary
Agatsya Sen (Rahul BoseRahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
), nicknamed "English, August", speaks and thinks in English. A lover of poetry, he listens to Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and reads Marcus Aurelius. He is also an Indian Administrative Service
Indian Administrative Service
The Indian Administrative Service is the administrative civil service of the Government of India. It is one of the three All India Services....
Officer, a member of the most influential and powerful cadre of civil servants in India. He is sent off for a year's training to Madna, the hottest town in the country. Culture shock and a language barrier in his own country follows (August's mother tongue is 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...
). He feels like a foreigner, but must survive.
Moreover, August is surrounded by wild characters : Srivastava, the pompous head bureaucrat and his wife Malti, the fashion and cultural leader of the town ; Sathe, a local pothead and cartoonist; Kumar, the Police Superintendent and connoisseur of porn films ; and Vasant, the world's worst cook. August negotiates this provincial creek with the only paddle he can find; Fantasy, daydreams and "self-abuse" become his means of revolt and escape as he escapes from the heat into the mystery and quiet of his secret world of erotic fantasy and contemplation.
Cast and characters
- Rahul BoseRahul BoseRahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
as Agatsya "August" Sen - Salim Shah as Ravi Srivastava
- Tanvi AzmiTanvi Azmi-Early life and family:Her maiden name before marriage was Saunhita Kher. She is the daughter of famous Marathi-Hindi actress Usha Kiran and Dr. Manohar Kher...
as Malti Srivastava - Shivaji SathamShivaji SathamShivaji Satam is renowned Indian TV serial and film actor. He has appeared in many Hindi as well as Marathi films. In Hindi his famous films are Vaastav, Ghulam-E-Mustafa, Yeshwant, China Gate, Taxi No 9211, Jis Desh Me Ganga Reheta Hai, Hu Tu Tu. In Marathi he has got recognition through movies...
as Govind Sathe - Virendra SaxenaVirendra SaxenaVirendra Saxena is an Indian theater, film and television actor. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Saxena is known for his character roles as well as his unique voice. He has acted in films such as Shool, Dhoop, Aks as well as many television serials...
as Laxman Shankar - Mita VashishtMita VashishtMita Vashisht is an Indian television, film and theatre actress, who graduated from National School of Drama , New Delhi in 1987.-Early life:...
as Sita Avery
Awards and recognition
- Won the Silver Montgolfiere and the Gilberto Martinez Solares prize for the Best First Film at the 1994 Festival des 3 continentsThree Continents FestivalThe Festival of the Three Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau. The top award in the festival's competition is the balloon shaped Golden...
- Won the Best Feature Film in EnglishNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in EnglishThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English winners:-References:*...
at the 1995 National Film AwardsNational Film AwardsThe 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 - Won a Special Jury Prize at the 1994 Torino International Festival of Young Cinema
Soundtrack
The original soundtrack for the film is composed by D. WoodD. Wood
D. Wood is a trained Indian classical music composer and has been a teacher of Western classical music. He has composed music for various critically acclaimed film in India.-Filmography:* Dev Benegal's English, August...
and consists of the following instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
tracks.
- "August Blues"
- "By the Sea"
- "Title Theme"
- "Welcome to Madna"
- "End Titles"