Abhijaan (transl. The Journey) is a 2022 Indian Bengali-language biographical film directed by Parambrata Chatterjee. The film is based on the life and works of legendary actor and Bengali icon Soumitra Chatterjee. The central character of Soumitra Chatterjee is played by Jisshu Sengupta along with a supporting cast of Prosenjit Chatterjee, Basabdatta Chatterjee, Q, Paoli Dam, Debshankar Haldar, Sohini Sengupta, Rudranil Ghosh, Tridha Choudhury and Parambrata Chatterjee.
Contents
Plot
Dr. Sanjay Sen, a practicing oncologist, arrives in Kolkata to fulfil his long-standing dream of archiving the life of legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee, with the aim of making a film about him. At first, Soumitra turns him down but eventually agrees. The film explores his journey in cinema and his contributions to Bengali film and theater. The story is told through an interview where Parambrata Chatterjee (playing a fictional version of himself) talks with an older Soumitra Chatterjee. Jisshu Sengupta plays Soumitra in his younger years, while the real Soumitra appears in some parts. Through their conversation, the film explores Soumitra's struggles, his thoughts on art and life, and how his connection to cinema changed over time.
Cast
Jisshu Sengupta as young Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee as himself
Parambrata Chatterjee as Dr. Sanjay Sen
Basabdatta Chatterjee as young Deepa Chatterjee
Sohini Sengupta as Poulami Chatterjee
Qaushiq Mukherjee as Satyajit Ray
Prosenjit Chatterjee as Uttam Kumar
Paoli Dam as Suchitra Sen
Sohini Sarkar as Madhabi Mukherjee
Rudranil Ghosh as Rabi Ghosh
Debshankar Haldar as Sisir Bhaduri
Tridha Choudhury as Sharmila Tagore
Tuhina Das as Waheeda Rehman
Samadarshi Dutta as Sunil Gangopadhyay
Anindita Bose as Aparna Sen
Payel Sarkar as Tanuja
Dulal Lahiri as Chhabi Biswas
Padmanabha Dasgupta as Anup Kumar
Abhijit Guha as Santosh Dutta
Sujan Mukherjee
Tanusree Chakraborty
Production
The shooting started from February 2020 and halted suddenly due to COVID-19 pandemic. The shooting resumed from 14 July 2020. The shooting was wrapped up on 23 September 2020.
Release
The film released theatrically on 14 April 2022 coinciding Poila Baisakh.
Reception
In The Times of India, Jaya Biswas gave a positive review stating the film "A well-crafted tribute to an artiste by an artiste". In Film Companion, Sankhayan Ghosh wrote "The film is held together by feeling".