''Sati'' is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

film released in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

written and directed by

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 ...

. Based on a story by

Kamal Kumar Majumdar Kamal Kumar Majumdar ( bn, কমলকুমার মজুমদার) (17 November 1914 – 9 February 1979) was a major fiction-writer of the Bengali language. The novel ''Antarjali Jatra'' is considered his most notable work. Early life M ...

, the film is about mute orphan girl who is married to a

Banyan tree A banyan, also spelled "banian", is a fig that develops accessory trunks from adventitious prop roots, allowing the tree to spread outwards indefinitely. This distinguishes banyans from other trees with a strangler habit that begin life as a ...

because her horoscope suggests that she would be a

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

, and her husband would die. The film had

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 ...

and Arun Banerjee in lead roles. Along with her previous films, '' Parama'' (1984), Aparna Sen became the first female director in Bengali cinema to explore gender issues and feminist perspective.

Synopsis

The young Brahmin girl (

) in this story has a disastrous horoscope. In an Indian village in 1828, this can be a real handicap. The fact that she is mute only compounds her difficulties. Her horoscope predicts that she will become a widow at an early age. If this turns out as predicted, in addition to being bad luck for her prospective husbands, it is bad luck for her, as she will, according to the customs of the time, have to commit ''suttee'',

. That means she will have to be burned alive on her husband's funeral pyre. To avoid this fate, her family has hit upon the appealing strategem of having her marry a banyan tree.

Cast

— Uma (Umi) *Arun Banerjee *

Kali Banerjee Kali Banerjee (20 November 1920 – 5 July 1993) was an Indian actor, who worked in the 1950s–1970s in Bengali cinema. He is best known for his work with film directors like Satyajit Ray in ''Parash Pathar'' (1958) and Ritwik Ghatak in ''Na ...

* Pradip Mukherjee * Arindam Ganguli *

Shakuntala Barua Shakuntala Barua is an Indian actress. She was born in Kolkata. Filmography * Tonic (film) (2020) * Sahaj Paather Gappo (2016) * Chaap – The Pressure (2013) * Phire Eso Tumi (2012) * Amrita (2012) * Aaro Kachha Kachhi (2012) * Aami Mont ...

Laboni Sarkar Laboni Sarkar is an Indian actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She is the recipient of three BFJA Awards. She initiated her acting career as a child artist with roles in Bengali films. Filmography * '' Aporajeyo'' (2022) * ...

References

External links

*
Sati (YouTube)
{{Aparna Sen 1989 films Bengali-language Indian films Films set in 1828 Films about women in India Marriage in Hinduism Films about disability in India Indian historical films 1980s Bengali-language films Films directed by Aparna Sen