''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'' ( en, The Mother of 1084) is a 1998
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
feature filmthat deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology.
The film is directed produced by
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Bollywood Filmfare Awards. In 1 ...
and is based on
Magsaysay
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...
and
Jnanpith
The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...
award recipient
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016) ''
's
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 ...
1974 novel ''
Hajar Churashir Maa
''Hajar Churashir Maa'' (''No. 1084's Mother'') is a 1974 Bengali novel written by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Mahasweta Devi. It was written in 1974 on the backdrop of the Naxalite revolution in the Seventies.
'' ( bn, হাজার চুরাশির মা). The screenplay is written by Nihalani and the dialogues by Tripurari Sharma. The film stars
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan (''Birth name, née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving four terms since 2004. Known primarily for her work in Hindi ...
Milind Gunaji
Milind Gunaji (born 23 July 1961) is an Indian actor, model, television presenter, writer and author, most known for his roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He made his first film appearance in 1993's ''Papeeha'' and has since performed in over ...
,
Seema Biswas
Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and the theatre. She gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film '' Bandit Queen'' (1994), for which she won the National Fi ...
,
Joy Sengupta
Joy Sengupta (born 14 December 1968) is an Indian film and stage actor works Bollywood cinema and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema as well as theatre.
He is best known for his debut feature, ''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'' (1998) directed by ...
and
Nandita Das
Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...
. It marks Jaya Bachchan's return to acting after a gap of 18 years.
In 1998, ''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'' won the
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi 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 a ...
.
Plot
Dibyanath Chatterji, his bank-employed wife, Sujata, and youngest son, Brati, live an affluent existence in Calcutta, West Bengal, India, circa early 1970s. Sujata is a quiet, devout Hindu, religious, and compassionate woman, and Brati has finished his school and is now attending college. His parents are proud of him, and keep track of his progress. Then their world is shattered during the early hours, when they are informed by the police that Brati has been killed. Dibyanath and Sujata go to identify Brati's body, mourn, lament inconsolably. They know now that their lives will never be the same again - for by the police they will be called the mother and father of corpse No. 1084. Sujata struggles to understand Brati's passing, meets his friends one by one, learns that Brati had a girlfriend, Nandini Mitra (played by Nandita Das), and that's when she finds out that Brati was part of a rebel group often referred to as " Naxalite", a militant leftist group. As she delves deeper and deeper into Brati's former life, she begins to understand her son's struggle, and decides to continue to further this.
Cast
*
Jaya Bachchan
Jaya Bachchan (''Birth name, née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is a member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party, serving four terms since 2004. Known primarily for her work in Hindi ...
as Sujata Chatterjee
* Anupam Kher as Dibyanath Chatterjee
*
Joy Sengupta
Joy Sengupta (born 14 December 1968) is an Indian film and stage actor works Bollywood cinema and Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema as well as theatre.
He is best known for his debut feature, ''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'' (1998) directed by ...
as Brati Chatterjee
*
Seema Biswas
Seema Biswas (born 14 January 1965) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and the theatre. She gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur's film '' Bandit Queen'' (1994), for which she won the National Fi ...
as Somu's mother
*
Rajesh Tailang
Rajesh Tailang is an Indian actor. He is best known to international audiences for his role in '' Siddharth'', for which he garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards.Nandita Das
Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...
as Nandini Mitra
*
Milind Gunaji
Milind Gunaji (born 23 July 1961) is an Indian actor, model, television presenter, writer and author, most known for his roles in Marathi and Hindi cinema. He made his first film appearance in 1993's ''Papeeha'' and has since performed in over ...
as Inspector Saroj Pal
*
Mona Ambegaonkar
Mona Ambegaonkar (born 5 March 1970) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films and television. She has featured in over 15 plays, 18 feature films, 38 TV projects, 37 advertising campaigns. She had a minor role in film ''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki ...
as Bini
*
Sandeep Kulkarni
Sandeep Kulkarni (born 16 November) is an Indian actor and painter. He has worked in Marathi films as well as theatre.
Early life and background
Born in Pune, Sandeep was raised in a Maharashtrian middle-class family by father Shrikant Kulka ...