''Nobel Chor'' ( bn, নোবেল চোর) () is a 2012 Bengali-language Indian film directed by Suman Ghosh, starring
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Saswata Chatterjee
Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majum ...
. The film was officially selected for the
BFI 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 shor ...
.
Plot
The first Asian
Nobel Laureate
The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...
,
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
, is still revered as an icon in India. On 24 March 2004, his Nobel medal was stolen from
Shantiniketan
Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...
in
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 ...
, where it was housed in his residence turned museum. Subsequently, a nationwide furor started and a massive search operation was put in place to find the guilty. Ultimately the medal was not found and the
Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...
s (CBI) dropped the case in 2010. With this in the backdrop "Nobel Chor" (The Nobel Thief) is a fictional account of a poor farmer, Bhanu, who circumstantially gets involved in the theft. He decides to embark on a journey to the City of Joy –
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
– to return or sell the prize with a view to improve his own quality of life as well as that of his impoverished village.
He becomes the hope of the entire village. On arrival in the city, Bhanu encounters myriad experiences with crooks, strange memorabilia collectors, entrepreneurs who want to exploit the poor man who just has a simple of dream of being able to give his son a better future and uplift the state of his impoverished village. ''Nobel Chor'' is the story of this journey through which the film explores contemporary India at its fullest – the encroachment of globalization, the rural-urban divide and the state of India's villages. More importantly it is a trenchant exploration of the relevance of Tagore's philosophy in modern India.
Cast
*
Mithun Chakraborty
Mithun Chakraborty (born Gouranga Chakraborty; 16 June 1950) is an Indian actor, producer and politician who predominantly worked in Hindi and Bengali language films. He is a former Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament. He is the recipient of three ...
as Bhanu
*
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 ...
as Master Moshai
*
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 ...
as Diya
*
Saswata Chatterjee
Saswata Chatterjee (born 19 December 1970) is an Indian actor of television and films based in Kolkata. Born to actor Subhendu Chatterjee, Saswata Chatterjee began his career with a Hindi serial directed by Saibal Mitra, based on Samaresh Majum ...
as Hori
*
Soma Banerjee
Soma Banerjee is a Indian film and television actress, who predominantly works in Bengali cinema and serials.
She made her debut in DD Bangla's serial Janmobhumi and became popular with the role of Heera Amma in Star Jalsha's Maa....Tomay Cha ...
as Bhanu's wife
* Sankar Debnath as Manmatho Pagla
*
Sudipta Chakraborty
Sudipta Chakraborty is an Indian actor who mostly works in Bengali cinema. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the film ''Bariwali''.
She completed her school leaving examination from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Fort Willi ...
as Monu
*
Arindam Sil
Arindam Sil is an Indian actor, film director and line producer.
Early life
Sil was born on 12 March 1964 in North Calcutta to a traditional joint family. He was a student of St. Joseph's College, Calcutta, and St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, ...
as SP Birbhum
*
Harsh Chhaya
Harsh Chhaya is an Indian actor. He debuted in a minor role as "Jijo" in the early 1990s Zee TV series '' Tara'', but first came into prominence in the role of Krishnakant Trivedi (KT) in mid 1990s TV series ''Hasratein'', where he portrayed t ...
as Raj
*
Swapnil Ghosh as Ratul
*
Sujoy Ghosh
Sujoy Ghosh is an Indian film director, actor, producer, and screenwriter who works in Hindi films. He has directed ''Jhankaar Beats'' (2003), '' Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak'' (2005), '' Aladin'' (2009), ''Kahaani'' (2012), ''Kahaani 2'' (2 ...
as a civilian, who doesn't know who
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
is (cameo)
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Films set in Kolkata
Works about Rabindranath Tagore
Bengali-language Indian films
2010s Bengali-language films
Films scored by Bickram Ghosh
Films directed by Suman Ghosh