''Nishijapon'' ( bn, নিশিযাপন, After the Night... Dawn) (2005) is a Bengali film directed by

Sandip Ray Sandip Ray (born 8 September 1953) is an Indian film director and music director who mainly works in Bengali cinema. He is the only child of the famous Bengali director Satyajit Ray and Bijoya Ray. Life and education Sandip Ray was born in C ...

, based on a novel of the same name by

Narayan Gangopadhyay Narayan Gangopadhyay (4 February 1918 – 8 November 1970), also known as Narayan Ganguly, was an Indian novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer, and one of the leading writers of modern Bengali literature. He introduced the endearing ...

Synopsis

Bimal (

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 ...

) is visited by his family and his friend in his

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

house. Anita (

Rituparna Sengupta Rituparna Sengupta is an Indian actress and producer who is known for her work in Bengali cinema and Hindi cinema. One of the most successful actresses of Bengali cinema, she rode the crest of her box office success in the late 1990s. She won ...

), his elder son Nirmal's wife, takes good care of them, spending most of her time in the kitchen. Brojen (

Deepankar De Dipankar Dey ( bn, দীপঙ্কর দে) (born 5 July 1944) is an Indian actor in the Bengali film industry. He has worked in many movies as hero, villain and character artist. He starred in Ray's ''Jana Aranya'' (''The Middleman'', 1 ...

), the managing director of a tea estate and Bimal's friend, irritates everyone, especially Nirmal (

Sabyasachi Chakrabarty Sabyasachi Chakrabarty is an Indian actor of theatre, films and television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the ...

), with his stories of his guru's miracles and his over-enthusiasm for food. Anita keeps trying to convince Shyamal (

Parambrata Chatterjee Parambrata Chattopadhyay (born 27 June 1980) is an Indian actor and director. Parambrata started his career with Bengali television and films. He has acted as the fictional character Topshe from Feluda under Sandip Ray's direction. He made his ...

), her

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling, or the sibling of one's spouse, or the person who is married to the sibling of one's spouse.Cambridge Dictionaries Online.Family: non-blood relations. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred ...

and Sunita (

Raima Sen Raima Sen (born Raima Dev Varma on 7 November 1979) is an Indian actress who is known for her work in the Hindi and Bengali films. Early life Raima Sen was born on 7 November 1979 in Bombay (now Mumbai) to Moon Moon Sen and Bharat Dev Varma a ...

), to see each other. Shyamal and Sunita grow to like each other and Anita enthusiastically declares the alliance to Bimal. Meanwhile, torrential rain makes it impossible for Ram, the servant, to get much food from the nearly closed market. That night the rain stops. Suddenly, all the inmates of the house are jolted out of their sleeps by a terrible earthquake. Power is cut off and most of the things inside the house are broken. Nirmal goes out to discover that Ram's house and orchard have been destroyed in a landslide. The next morning they discover that the wooden bridge which connected them to the world was lying broken. Soon, there is serious shortage of food. Tempers flare as Nirmal and Brojen have a wild argument. Nirmal tries to climb down the mountain to get help, slips and injures himself but saved by Shyamal. Meanwhile, Brojen starts to have optical illusions. He demands more food, which leaves Anita fasting. Nirmal is infuriated by the gesture of Brojen and insults him for being insensitive and an uninvited guest who is a burden to them in this hour of crisis. Anita becomes weak and even faints. Shyamal tries to climb down the mountain alone, but his nerves fail when he sees a dead body stuck in the rocks. He sees Anita drink the water washing a milk powder packet. Nirmal shouts at Brojen insulting him sorely. Anita and Shyamal try to control him but fail. Anita cries out in anger to reveal the truth behind their apparently happy marriage. Brojen, driven nearly

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

by hunger, tries to walk out during the night. Shyamal has to knock him unconscious to bring him back to his room. Sunita feeds her share of rice to Anita who tells her not to trust anyone, Brojen on Shyamal. Bimal contemplates

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

with sleeping pills. Everyone is shocked out of their respective stupors by the sounds of gunshots. Nirmal shoots birds in the hope of roasting them. When Shyamal tries to stop him, he points the gun at him, saying that soon the only way out would be cannibalism. A shocked and desperate Shyamal begins to try to climb down the mountain again with the horrified Sunita watching. At this moment, relief comes, making arrangements for the family's rescue, bringing hope to all.

Cast

- Nirmal Das *

- Bimal Das *

- Brojen Lahiri *

- Anita Das *

- Sunita *

- Shyamal Das

Awards

BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

(2006) *

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

* BFJA - Most Promising Actor Award-

Parambrato Chattopadhyay Parambrata Chattopadhyay (born 27 June 1980) is an Indian actor and director. Parambrata started his career with Bengali television and films. He has acted as the fictional character Topshe from Feluda under Sandip Ray's direction. He made his ...

* BFJA - Most Promising Actress Award-

References

External links

*
www.telegraphindia.com A Ray for a Ray; so what?s new?
{{Sandip Ray 2005 films 2000s Bengali-language films Bengali-language Indian films Films directed by Sandip Ray Films based on works by Narayan Gangopadhyay