''Nishant'' (English: Night's End) is a

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Hindi drama film directed by Shyam Benegal, based on an original screenplay by noted playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

, with dialogues by

Satyadev Dubey Satyadev Dubey (13 July 1936 – 25 December 2011) was an Indian theatre director, actor, playwright, screenwriter & film director. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1971. He won the 1978 National Film Award for Best Scre ...

. The film features an ensemble of parallel cinema actors including

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Indian cinema and Theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himself as one of the most popular actor ...

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 ...

, Mohan Agashe,

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

and

Sadhu Meher Sadhu Meher (born in Odisha, India) is an Indian actor, director, and producer. He has performed in both Odia and Hindi films. He primarily began his career in Hindi films such as ''Bhuvan Shome'', '' Ankur'' and '' Mrigaya''. Later on shifted ...

with Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah. The film focuses on the power of the rural elite and the sexual exploitation of women, during the time of feudalism in Telangana ( Hyderabad State in the 1940s and 1950s). The film won the 1977 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. It was selected to compete for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

1976 Cannes Film Festival The 29th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 28 May 1976. The Palme d'Or went to ''Taxi Driver'' by Martin Scorsese. In 1976, "L'Air du temps", a new section which was non-competitive and focused on contemporary subjects, was introduced. This ...

. It was invited to the

London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and sho ...

of 1976, Melbourne International Film Festival of 1977, and the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

of 1977, where it was awarded the Golden Plaque.

Plot

Vishwam is the youngest brother of the powerful and influential village jagirdar. The jagirdar will not hesitate to do anything for the welfare and protection of his family, which also includes bending the law to his own advantage. The shy and quiet Vishwam is married to Rukmani and, but his brothers Anjaiya and Prasad, make it a practice to demand the services of any village women they fancy. The village gets a new schoolmaster, who arrives in the village with a wife, Sushila, and a son. When Vishwam sees Sushila for the first time, he is unable to take his eyes off her, and unable to get her out of his mind. Sushila does not reciprocate his attentions. One night, while the schoolmaster is enjoying a quiet dinner with his family, someone knocks on the door and, when Shushila goes to answer the door, the two older brothers of Vishwam grab her and take her away forcibly. Several people are present, but no one dares to raise a hand or voice to stop this abduction. At the jagirdar's house Sushila is raped regularly and repeatedly at the will of the jagirdar and his brothers. The distraught schoolteacher, who is denied justice by everyone from the local police officer to the district collector, is helped by the old priest of the village temple. They succeed in mobilizing the villagers who slaughter their oppressors. In the end the frenzied villagers also kill the innocent Rukmani as well as Sushila whom her husband was trying to rescue.

Cast

as School master *

as Sushila, School master's wife *

as the Jagirdar. *

as Anjaiya, younger brother of Jagirdar * Mohan Agashe as Prasad, younger brother of Jagirdar * Naseeruddin Shah as Vishwam, youngest brother of Jagirdar * Smita Patil as Rukmini, Vishwam's wife *

as Village Priest (Pujari) *

Kulbhushan Kharbanda Kulbhushan Kharbanda (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. He is best known for his role as the antagonist Shakaal in '' Shaan'' (1980), Starting off with the Delhi-based theatre group 'Yatrik' in the 1 ...

as Police Patel *

- Special appearance, who is accused of stealing temple jewellery * Savita Bajaj as Jagirdar's household servant Pochamma * Master Altaf as Sushila's son

Production

Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah made their debut in this film. The shooting location is Pochampalli village in

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

, known as 'weavers village' and is popular for its hand woven sarees.

Soundtrack

The movie has only one song at the end "Piya Baj Pyala" sung by

Preeti Sagar Preeti Sagar is a former Bollywood playback singer who won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Mero Gaam Katha Parey" from ''Manthan'' in 1978 and for the hit song "My Heart is Beating" from ''Julie'' (1975). Care ...

and the music is given by Vanraj Bhatia.

Reception

The film, is one of the landmark films of Indian art house cinema has received praise from all quarters. The daily newspaper ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' praised the movie greatly in its article dated 4 October 2012, in the following words: "Miles removed from the work of everyday filmmakers, for many of whom cinema is nothing more than a hero waiting in eager anticipation of the heroine and post-dinner desserts, Benegal's "Nishant" (Night's End) is a dawn that did not come an hour too soon. The National Award for the best film, the nomination for the Oscars were just rewards for a film that lived up to its name. "

Accolades

, - , 1975 , Freni M. Variava, Mohan J. Bijlani , National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi , , - , rowspan="4", 1976 , Freni M. Variava, Mohan J. Bijlani ,

Bengal Film Journalists' Association – Best Indian Films Award 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 ...

, , - , Shyam Benegal , Best Director (Hindi section) - Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards , , - ,

, Best Screenplay (Hindi section) - Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards , , - , Shyam BenegalNishant - Awards

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

References

External links

*
Review at Filmi Geek
{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Hindi 1975 films 1975 drama films 1970s Hindi-language films Gang rape in fiction Indian drama films Films about social issues in India Films about women in India Films directed by Shyam Benegal Films with screenplays by Vijay Tendulkar Best Hindi Feature Film National Film Award winners Hindi-language drama films