Ankur
1974 · India · 125 min
- Director
- Shyam Benegal
- Screenplay
- Shyam Benegal
- Music
- Vanraj Bhatia
- Cinematography
- Govind Nihalani
Cast
What it is about
In a village in rural India, Lakshmi lives with her husband Kishtayya, a deaf-mute potter and recovering alcoholic who communicates through gestures. Lakshmi longs above all for a child. The return of Surya, the landlord's son, who has just finished his studies in the city, upsets the village's balance. Surya, eager to reform local customs, puts the couple to work in the old house where he settles, and soon a relationship forms between him and Lakshmi, shaped by class inequality, desire and the gossip of neighbours. The film offers a sharp view of caste, gender and power in the countryside.
How it was made
Ankur was Shyam Benegal's first feature, and he wrote the screenplay himself, placing the film within Indian art cinema, also known as parallel cinema. Based on a real incident in Hyderabad, apparently in the 1950s, it was shot almost entirely on location in that city. Benegal turned down several established actresses before casting Shabana Azmi, a recent graduate of the FTII in Pune, and adjusted the script to suit her younger look. The film has no musical numbers; music appears only as records the protagonist plays and as folk songs sung by villagers. Govind Nihalani handled the cinematography.
Reception and legacy
Ankur was both a commercial and a critical success. It won three National Film Awards in India, including Best Actress for Azmi and Best Actor for Sadhu Meher, and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. India also submitted it as its official Academy Award candidate for 1974. It is regarded as a foundational work of Indian parallel cinema and of Benegal's career, and is often cited as an example of the socially engaged realism of its era.
Stills
Trailer
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Trivia
A cast without stars
Benegal first approached several established actresses, who turned the role down. Shabana Azmi, whose debut had not yet been released, was finally cast as Lakshmi.
Music from a record
The film has no conventional musical sequences. Surya plays fragments of a Mohd. Rafi song from Solvan Saal while he talks with Lakshmi.
More films by Shyam Benegal
Zubeidaa
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