Starring: Arjun Chakraborty, Ayushmaan Mukherjee, Ditipriya Roy, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Arpita Chatterjee, Barun Chanda,
Cinematography: Supratim Bhol
Music: Bickram Ghosh and Anoushka Shankar
Director: Subhrajit Mitra
Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy were amongst the films that put Indian filmmaking on the global map, with the first film, Pather Panchali (1955) winning the Best Human Document award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956, Aparajito (1956) winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and Apur Sansar (1959) following suit, winning several awards at festivals in the UK and US, and introducing Indian cinema to the legendary actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore. Making a direct follow on to such lauded films is a big challenge to take, and director Subhrajit Mitra has taken up the gauntlet with Avijatrik (2021), by adapting the last 150 pages of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s novel Aparajito.
True to the title, Avijatrik tells the story of two adventurers, Apu (Arjun Chakraborty) and his son Kajol (Ayushmaan Mukherjee), who are on a journey to experience the outside world, and to discover it’s wonders. Along the way, the pair encounter a number of characters; Apu’s childhood sweetheart Leela (Arpita Chatterjee), now in ill health, and a far cry from how Apu remembers her, Shankar (Sabyasachi Chakraborty), a traveller who inspires Apu to follow his wanderlust and Ranu di (Sreelekha Mitra), his cousin sister, still based in his ancestral home town of Nischindipur.
Avijatrik is a film I was apprehensive of watching. Would this film be able to successfully follow on from Ray’s trilogy, or was this going to be an unnecessary addition, trying to cash in on the fame of the original films? Thankfully, it is the former. From the first frame of the film, it can be seen that Avijatrik is a lovingly put-together tribute to the original story and films. The film continues the story from where Apur Sansar left off, but whilst maintaining the style of film-making, the team involved with making the movie add their own stamp to ensure this doesn’t come off as a cheap imitation of the earlier films.
Coming to the performances, it is hard to think of any other contemporary actor who would fit into the role of Apu. Arjun Chakraborty has big shoes to fit in to, and is bound to be compared to Soumitra Chatterjee, but he holds his own with a mature, understated performance. His partner in crime in the film, Kajol, is played by an adorable Ayushmaan Mukherjee. The chemistry between the father and son is one of the highlights of the film, in particularly the scenes where Kajol looks after Apu, when the latter falls ill. Ditipriya Roy, playing Aparna, makes her presence felt despite limited screen time. A special mention also goes to Sreelekha Mitra; the dynamic between Ranu di and Apu lead to some of the more emotional scenes in the film.
Aside from the performances, there are two key areas which require commendation are music and cinematography. Bickram Ghosh’s original musical score complements the film perfectly, with Anoushka Shankar’s variation on her father’s Pather Panchali theme taking us down memory lane. Cinematographer Supratim Bhol has shown his skill in earlier films Sahaj Pather Goppo and Abyakto; here, he has a wider canvas to work with, and relishes the opportunity. The black and white cinematography is stunning, with picture perfect frames. The most important aspect of both the music and cinematography is whilst individually, both are excellent, they remain in sync with the story throughout the entire film.
Ultimately, the credit for this project has to go with writer-director Subhrajit Mitra; having spent 10 years on the development of the film, including reading the other works of author Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay to fully understand the character development, Avijatrik is clearly a labour of love. He deserves kudos for putting the film together with utmost sensitivity to lovers of the original novel and films, and a tremendous amount of respect towards Satyajit Ray, paying a fitting tribute in the year of Ray’s birth centenary.
Avijatrik is a very special film, one that shouldn’t be missed.
Avijatrik was viewed at the UK premiere at the Birmingham Indian Film Festival.
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