''Chotto Jigyasa'' is a 1968 film directed by the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

i film director Hrisikesh Mukherjee. This was

Prosenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors in modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Bengali cinema . He is the son of veteran Bollywood actor Bis ...

's first role as a child.

Cast

Biswajit Chatterjee Biswajit Chatterjee (born 14 December 1936), known mononymously as Biswajit, is an Indian actor, producer, director, singer and politician known for his work in Hindi and Bengali cinema. Early career After films in Calcutta including ''May ...

Haradhan Bandopadhyay Haradhan Bandopadhyay (6 November 1926 – 5 January 2013) was a Bengali Indian male actor of television and films. He made his debut in the 1948 Bengali film ''Devdut'', directed by Atanu Bandopadhyay. He worked with some of the most prominent ...

Gita Dey Gita Dey (5 August 1931 – 17 January 2011) was an Indian actress in Bengali cinema, theatre and Bengali folk theater. She became a stage artist at the age of 6 years. She came to the film industry in 1943. Her first film release was '' Ahut ...

Anup Kumar (actor) Anup Kumar (অনুপ কুমার) (17 June 1930 – 3 September 1998) was an Indian actor who is known for his work in Bengali cinema. Early life Anup Kumar was born on 17 June 1930 in Calcutta, British India. His real name was Sa ...

Gyanesh Mukherjee Gyanesh Mukherjee (5 July 1926 – 8 May 2008) was a Bengali actor, director and theater personality. Career He was involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA). In his film career, Mukherjee worked with number of famous directors l ...

Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi Chakraborty (''née'' Mukherjee; born 10 February 1942) is an Indian actress. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Bengali film ''Dibratrir Kabya''. She has acted in some of the most critically ac ...

* Suruchi Sengupta * Prasad Mukherjee

Plot

This movie of the late 1960s is a rather modern approach to love and family. After endearing cancer for years, Bumba (

) loses his mother. His father, Subimal (

), struggles grieving his wife's death and trying to explain the concept of death to a kindergartener. Bumba, unable to come to terms with life without his mother finds ways to reach his mother like writing a letter and tying it to a balloon so it would reach heaven, asking to buy tickets to heaven. Bumba overhears his nanny talking about going to the temple to pray to "Maa" (goddess Durga) and goes with her thinking his mother now lives there. In Dakshineswar Kali temple, he sees (

), a woman being referred to as Maa by children begging for alms, He believed her to be his mother. And follows her around. After being referred to as "maa" multiple times she softens up and decides to take her home for his safety. Over the course of few hours they develop a mother-son attachment until Subimal's "Missing Son" is announced in the All India Radio and her family responds. Eventually the woman's sorrowful life is revealed: her husband and two-year-old son died in a tragic accident. With time, Subimal falls deeply in love with her and expresses it. She confesses how she was afraid of revealing her feelings too, considering how her past would always remain a part of her. Subimal expresses how the past should not be forgotten and thus they decide to give their feelings a chance. Giving a wholesome ending.

References

1986 films {{India-film-stub