''Damu'' ( bn, দামু) is a 1996 Indian Bengali-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Raja Sen Raja Sen (born 10 November 1955) is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of actress Rimi Sen. Career Raja Sen first received recognition with ''S ...

and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is based on Narayan Gangopadhyay's novel ''Ponchanoner Haati'' ( bn, পঞ্চাননের হাতি) and is Sen's directorial debut. The film was released on 26 October 1996 and won

National Film Award for Best Children's Film The National Film Award for Best Children's Film 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 awards ...

Plot

Damu is an innocence orphan lives in the village with an old man Panchanan. He develops a friendship with the Panchanan's granddaughter Runku. One day he carelessly promises her an elephant ride through the village. But this is impossible to manage an elephant in a village hence Runku is disappointed. To fulfill the promise, Damu sets out in search of an elephant. In his journey, he faces humiliation, taunting, harassment but does not lose hope. Finally, Damu comes across a circus but the manager refuses to meet him. Circumstances arise where Damu saves the circus from a gang of a robbers. Out of gratitude, the circus manager allows Damu to borrow an elephant and Runku gets her elephant ride in the village.

Cast

Raghuvir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian actor, music composer, singer and set designer who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with '' Massey Sahib'' (1985), in which he played the title role. He has won two International Awards as Best Actor for ...

as Damu *

Sabyasachi Chakraborty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is an Indian actor of theatre, films and television. He is best known for portraying iconic Bengali detective characters, Feluda, and Kakababu. Personal life His parents, Jagadish Chandra Chakrabarty and Monica Chakrabart ...

as Potai Chor *

Manoj Mitra Manoj Mitra (born 22 December 1938) is an Indian theatre, film and television actor, director and playwright. Early life Mitra was born on 22 December 1938 in Dhulihar village of Satkhira, Khulna, Bangladesh. Initially he used to study at home b ...

as Daroga *

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 ...

as Owner of Circus * Satya Bandyopadhyay as Panchanan *

Tarun Kumar Chatterjee Tarun Kumar Chatterjee (24 February 1931 – 27 October 2003) was an Indian actor who is known for his exclusive work in Bengali cinema. In most of his films, his role as a supporting actor gave him huge appreciation from critics and audience. ...

as Jagai Ghosh *

Rimi Sen Rimi Sen (born Subhamitra Sen on 21 September 1981) is an Indian actress and producer who appears in Hindi, Telugu, and Bengali films. Sen debuted as child actress in the 1996 Bengali film ''Damu''. She made her debut as a lead actress in 20 ...

as Runku *

Dulal Lahiri Dulal Lahiri is an Indian actor and director. He has appeared in numerous Bengali films and TV series. He was critically appreciated for his ''Cinemawalla'' (1993) a Bengali TV series starring Rituparna Sengupta. He introduced Sreelekha Mitra ...

as Bhatu * Ajit Bandyopadhyay as Nibaran Chakraborty * Anamika Saha as Badan's wife *

Monu Mukherjee Sourendra Mohan Mukherjee (1 March 1930 – 6 December 2020), known as Monu Mukhopadhyay, was an Indian actor who worked in Bengali language films and television serials. In 1958, he became a prompter. His first acting assignment was in the play ...

as Kalim Sheikh * Smita Sinha as Runku's Grandmother * Dhiman Chakraborty as Badan * Gautam Dey as Nitai, Runku's father

Accolades

References

External links

* 1996 drama films 1996 films 1996 directorial debut films 1990s Bengali-language films Indian drama films Bengali-language Indian films Films set in India Films based on works by Narayan Gangopadhyay Best Children's Film National Film Award winners Indian children's films {{1990s-Bengali-film-stub