Nil Nirjane
Encyclopedia
Nil Nirjane is a Bengali
Movie, released in 2003. This is the first movie in India which was shot on digital platform and is often credited as the first digital film in India. Directed by Subrata Sen
, the movie featured Moonmoon Sen
, Raima Sen
, June Malliah, Mou Sultana and Rajatabha Datta. This is the only movie where Moonmoon Sen
and Raima Sen
, the real life mother and daughter of Indian cinema, play reel-life mother-daughter roles. The movie also saw the performance of Cactus
, a Bengali rock band of Calcutta.
The film starts with a music video-like title, where the glimpses of the movie to follow is showcased. Immediately after that June along with his boy-friend Aman enters the holiday resort looking for a room to stay. In the resort we already find the single-mother, played by Moonmoon Sen with her daughter, played by real-life daughter Raima Sen. Mou, along with her father are also there to spend the weekend. A friendship develops between Mou and Raima, which gradually emerges as a lesbian entanglement. In the milieu, the characters start interacting with each other. Cactus, the rock band from Kolkata arrives for shooting a music video and the place is filled with songs, which emerge in the film in music-video format.
Meanwhile, the June-Aman duo, sensing that relationship is not going to last long go for a suicide pact. People in the resort save them from dying and finally leaves for the city, leaving the resort in its original serenity.
This was also the first Bengali film which got a nation-wide release in Bombay, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore simultaneously.
The film created lots of controversies with the purists terming the film "outrageous" for the lesbian and sex scenes. The controversy helped the movie in the box-office and ran for 50 days in the city halls.
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...
Movie, released in 2003. This is the first movie in India which was shot on digital platform and is often credited as the first digital film in India. Directed by Subrata Sen
Subrata Sen
Subrata Sen , is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian film director, writer, novelist and producer.- Early life :Subrata Sen was born in Kolkata in 1963...
, the movie featured Moonmoon Sen
Moonmoon Sen
Moon Moon Sen is an Indian film actress. She did movies in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. Sen is part of a three generational family of actors and was a staple of the Bengali film industry, starring in many hit films...
, Raima Sen
Raima Sen
-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
, June Malliah, Mou Sultana and Rajatabha Datta. This is the only movie where Moonmoon Sen
Moonmoon Sen
Moon Moon Sen is an Indian film actress. She did movies in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. Sen is part of a three generational family of actors and was a staple of the Bengali film industry, starring in many hit films...
and Raima Sen
Raima Sen
-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
, the real life mother and daughter of Indian cinema, play reel-life mother-daughter roles. The movie also saw the performance of Cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, a Bengali rock band of Calcutta.
Plot
Nil Nirjane is set in a holiday resort where several people have come to spend their weekend. An interesting urban milieu far away from the humdrums of Kolkata is created in the film where we see an unwed mother with an adolescent daughter, a widower father with an adolescent daughter and an unwed couple. While relationships among unknown people start developing, the manager of the resort leads a slow life and gets entangled with a tribal girl. Suddenly Cactus band group arrives in the resort to shoot for their music video album and the serenity of the place is disturbed…The film starts with a music video-like title, where the glimpses of the movie to follow is showcased. Immediately after that June along with his boy-friend Aman enters the holiday resort looking for a room to stay. In the resort we already find the single-mother, played by Moonmoon Sen with her daughter, played by real-life daughter Raima Sen. Mou, along with her father are also there to spend the weekend. A friendship develops between Mou and Raima, which gradually emerges as a lesbian entanglement. In the milieu, the characters start interacting with each other. Cactus, the rock band from Kolkata arrives for shooting a music video and the place is filled with songs, which emerge in the film in music-video format.
Meanwhile, the June-Aman duo, sensing that relationship is not going to last long go for a suicide pact. People in the resort save them from dying and finally leaves for the city, leaving the resort in its original serenity.
Cast
- Moonmoon SenMoonmoon SenMoon Moon Sen is an Indian film actress. She did movies in Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Kannada films. Sen is part of a three generational family of actors and was a staple of the Bengali film industry, starring in many hit films...
... Unwed mother - Raima SenRaima Sen-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
... Ria - Ayan Mitra ... Aman
- June Malliah ... June
- Mou Sultana ... Mou
- Rajatabha Datta ... Brigadier
- CactusCactusA cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
... Cactus Band group
Crew
- Directed Subrata SenSubrata SenSubrata Sen , is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian film director, writer, novelist and producer.- Early life :Subrata Sen was born in Kolkata in 1963...
- Story and Screenplay Subrata SenSubrata SenSubrata Sen , is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian film director, writer, novelist and producer.- Early life :Subrata Sen was born in Kolkata in 1963...
- Produced Rajesh Kumar Rungta
- Music Debajyoti Mishra , Cactus
- Cinematography Sirsa Roy
- Film Editing Rabiranjan Maitra
- Art Direction Indranil Ghosh
Promotion
Nil Nirjane is the first digital full-length feature film made in India. It has been shot entirely on digital video format and later converted into celluloid, with astounding results. This is also a film which has used sync sound after a long time in an Indian film. Says the director Subrata Sen, “This was an experiment for all us to try out the technology that has emerged as a boon for the independent filmmakers. With the final print in hand, we can now say that Nil Nirjane is a path breaking movie in Indian context.”This was also the first Bengali film which got a nation-wide release in Bombay, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore simultaneously.
The film created lots of controversies with the purists terming the film "outrageous" for the lesbian and sex scenes. The controversy helped the movie in the box-office and ran for 50 days in the city halls.
Awards
- Best Experimental Film Award at Down Under Film Festival, Australia
- Uttamkumar Award for Best Music
- Best promising Actress to Raima SenRaima Sen-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
by BFJA.
External links
- http://subratasenfilmmaker.tripod.com/nilnirjane.html
- http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/40805736.cms
- Government bulletin on Indian Films