''Ami Aadu'', formerly titled ''Aadur Prem'', is a 2011

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film produced by

New Theatres New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar (Birendranath Sircar, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award of 1970). It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– ''Jivatang Jyotire ...

and directed by Somnath Gupta. In this film the protagonist, Aadu, a poor Bengali village girl from

Murshidabad Murshidabad fa, مرشد آباد (, or ) is a historical city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located on the eastern bank of the Bhagirathi River, a distributary of the Ganges. It forms part of the Murshidabad district. During ...

, writes a letter to U.S. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

informing him about the hardships in her life caused by the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. This was Gupta's debut film as a director. Actress Deblina Chatterjee, who played the title role, made her cinematic acting debut with this film as well. The film received

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several ...

in 2010.

Plot

It is the early 2000s;

is the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

is the

President of Iraq The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...

. Meanwhile, Aadu, a young poor Hindu girl living in a village in Murshidabad, India, falls in love with Suleman, a Muslim garment supplier who lives in the nearby village of Amodiya. Suleman dreams of learning

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and becoming a fluent speaker, so he can go overseas and find a job. Though Aadu and Suelman follow different religions, their families allow them to marry, and the marriage goes off smoothly. The impoverished Suleman decides to head to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

with his friend Jabbar in search of a good job, leaving his new wife Aadu in the village. Then, in March 2003, the United States invades Iraq. Because of the war and the resulting political turmoil, all communication links between Aadu's village and Iraq are cut off. Aadu and the villagers gradually learn news about the bombings and destruction in Iraq and are horrified. The helpless Aadu decides to write a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, whom she heard was "all powerful", informing him about the troubles in her life caused by the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

Cast

* Deblina Chatterjee as Aadu *

Samadarshi Dutta Samadarshi Dutta is a Bengali film actor. Career Dutta is a Film and Television Institute of India graduate. In 2011 he debuted in acting with Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy Nandita Roy (born April 3, 1955) is an Indian filmmaker ...

as Suleman *

Bidipta Chakraborty Bidipta Chakraborty is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Bengali films. She had appeared in Debesh Chattopadhyay's play ''Brain''. Personal life Bidipta was born to eminent theatre actor Biplab Ketan Chakraborty and dancer Dipali C ...

Rudranil Ghosh Rudranil Ghosh is an Indian actor who works primarily in Bengali films. Education Rudranil Ghosh completed his early education at Santragachi Kedarnath Institution, Howrah under West Bengal State Board. He graduated from the Narasinha Dutt Col ...

as Jabbar *

Ena Saha Ena Saha (born 28 May 1996), is an Indian film and television actress who predominantly appears in Bengali films and television shows. Career She has appeared in a number of Bengali TV serials, including ''Raat Bhor Bristi'', ''Bou Katha Kau'' ...

as Amina *

Mithu Chakraborty Mithu Chakrabarty is an Indian television actress and theater personality. She is the wife of veteran Bengali actor Sabyasachi Chakrabarty. Filmography * Tenida and Co. (upcoming) * Mini (2022) * Bornoporichoy (2019) * Anurup/Mirror Image (S ...

* Pradip Mukherjee * Biplab Chatterjee as Mainuddin * Angana Basu *

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; 16 June 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the history of ...

Pradip Mukherjee Pradip Mukherjee, also known as Pradip Mukhopadhyay, (11 August 1946 – 29 August 2022) was an Indian actor and dramatist who primarily acted in Bengali movies. Although not famous for acting in mainstream movies, Pradip Mukherjee received cr ...

Release and reception

The film released on 25 February 2011 and got positive reviews from critics. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' gave it four stars and in ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' critic's rating the film got three and a half starts out of five stars. Acting of both Deblina Chatterjee as Aadu and Samdardhi Dutta as Suleman were critically appreciated. ''The Indian Express'' wrote in their review, Debalina Chatterjee's as Aadu was "mind-blowing" in the film. Soumik Halder's cinematography, specially the shots of rural Bengal and editing of Arghyakamal Mitra were appreciated too.

References

External links

* {{National Film Award Best Feature Film Bengali 2011 films Bengali-language Indian films 2010s Bengali-language films Films set in 2003 Indian interfaith romance films Iraq War in fiction Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners 2011 directorial debut films

Plot

Cast

Release and reception

See also

References

External links