''Ek Din Achanak'' (

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

: एक दिन अचानक,

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 ...

: ''Suddenly, One Day'') is a 1989

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

directed by

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

, based on a Bengali novel, ''Beej'' by

Ramapada Chowdhury Ramapada Chowdhury (28 December 1922 – 29 July 2018) was an Indian novelist and short story writer in Bengali. For his novel ''Bari Badle Jay'', he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988. He was also a recipient of the Rabindra Puraska ...

Synopsis

One evening, in the midst of torrential rains, a professor (

Shreeram Lagoo Dr.Shriram Lagoo (16 November 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hindi ...

) goes out for a walk and fails to return. As the evening stretches into days and the days into weeks with no sign of him, his family struggles to regain their footing and to understand what might have caused him to leave. Slowly they return to their daily activities. The professor's son Amit "Amu"(

Arjun Chakraborty Arjun Chakraborty ( bn, অর্জুন চক্রবর্তী) is an Indian actor and director based in Kolkata. He made his debut as an actor in the 1983 Hindi film ''Zara Si Zindagi'', and his first major role was in the 1986 film ...

) establishes his fledgling business; his younger daughter Seema (

Roopa Ganguly Roopa Ganguly is an Indian actress, playback singer and politician. She is best known for her portrayal of Draupadi in B R Chopra's hit television series ''Mahabharat''. Often promoted as the Tollywood's answer to Bollywood's Shabana Azmi, she ...

) resumes her studies at college; and his elder daughter, Neeta (

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

), the backbone of the family, returns to her office job. Behind the facade of normalcy, though, the family is deeply wounded. Amit enjoys success in his business but is bitter and dour. Seema passes with 'First Division' in College. Neeta has a very patient and supportive boyfriend Alok (

Anjan Dutt Anjan Dutt (Bengali: অঞ্জন দত্ত) is an Indian film director, actor, and singer-songwriter known for his work in the Bengali alternative music genre ''anyodharar gaan''. As an actor, Dutt began his career in Bengali cinema i ...

), but the relationship is stuck in a holding pattern. And their mother (

Uttara Baokar Uttara Baokar is an Indian stage, film and television actress. She acted in several notable plays, like as Padmavati in ''Mukyhamantri'', Mena in ''Mena Gurjari'', Desdemona in Shakespeare's ''Othello'', the mother in playwright Girish Karnad ...

) suffers debilitating depression. Their hesitant attempts to piece together the professor's state of mind before his disappearance raise more questions than they answer: Was he having an affair with a former student (

Aparna Sen Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmf ...

)? Was his academic career crumbling? Was he a plagiarist?Ek din Achanak
/ref>

Cast

- Neeta *

Shriram Lagoo Dr.Shriram Lagoo (16 November 1927 – 17 December 2019) was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hindi ...

- Professor Shashank Ray (Neeta's father) *

- Aparna (Student) *

- Sudha (Neeta's Mother) *

- Seema (Neeta's sister) *

- Amit "Amu" (Neeta's brother) *

Manohar Singh Manohar Singh (12 April 1938 – 14 November 2002) was an Indian theatre actor-director and character actor in Hindi films. He is best known for his performances in films such as ''Party'' (1984) and ''Daddy'' (1989). Starting his acting career ...

- Neeta's uncle *

- Alok (Neeta's boyfriend) *

Lily Chakravarty Lily Chakravarty is an Indian actress. She worked in many Bengali and Hindi films. Early life She was born in Dhaka. She was born to Sri Kesab Chandra Chakraborty and Dipti Chakraborty. Career Lily debuted in the Bengali movie Bhanu Pelo Lott ...

- Neighbour *

Anil Chatterjee Anil Chatterjee (Chattopadhyay) bn, অনিল চ্যাটার্জী (চট্টোপাধ্যায়) (25 October 1929 – 17 March 1996) was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-ni ...

- Arunbabu

Awards

* 1989:

National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an organisation set up by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasti ...

* 1989:

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

: OCIC Award - Honorable Mention:

References

External links

*
Review at Filmi Geek
{{Mrinal Sen 1989 films 1980s Hindi-language films Films directed by Mrinal Sen Films based on Indian novels Films set in Kolkata Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress National Film Award-winning performance Indian avant-garde and experimental films 1980s avant-garde and experimental films Films based on works by Ramapada Chowdhury