68th National Film Award: Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) has bagged two awards at the 68th National Film Awards for the year 2020. The director said “This feels like icing on the cake”.
The Bengali film ‘Avijatrik’ received a wave of appreciation nationally and globally. It has won 44 nominations in reputed Film Festivals and 28 awards and recognitions so far. And now it’s leaving a mark in the 68th National Film Award.
The Bengali has bagged the 68th National Film Awards
Bengali film Avijatrik won not one but two National Awards on July 22. Directed by Subhrajit Mitra, the film features Arjun Chakraborty, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Arpita Chatterjee, Ditipriya Roy, Sreelekha Mitra, and others. Avijatrik won two categories at the 68th National Film Awards – Best Bengali Film and Best Cinematography. Supratim Bhol bagged the Best Cinematography award for the film, and Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) was also declared the Best Bengali Film.
The film collected more Awards in the bucket!
Earlier in July 2022, the film also received an award for Best Director (Critics choice) from NABC 2022 at a glittering ceremony in Las Vegas, USA.
In March 2022, it received nine nominations and 3 Filmfare Awards (East) for Best Actor- Arjun Chakravarthy, Best Cinematography- Supratim Bohol, Best Background Score- Pt Bickram Ghosh
Earlier, it received five awards from the West Bengal Film Journalist Association in February 2022 out of its 9 nominations for Winner most promising Director- Subhrajit Mitra, best Background score- Bickram Ghosh, best Sound design- Tirthankar Majumdar, best Costume design- Agnimitra Paul, best Cinematography- Supratim Bhol.
It also received the best film Special Jury Award,2020, for Asian Cinema Competition, at the 13th Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES), by the Governor of Karnataka, at an official ceremony on 10th March 2022 in Bengaluru.
The film was selected in the Kaleidoscope section of the prestigious 26th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) on 18-25th March 2022. The soulful music of Avijatrik has been acquired by Warner Music Group, India, and, it is their first Bengali acquisition which is available on all major music platforms. The music of this film is by the internationally acclaimed exponent of the Indian classical genre Pt. Bickram Ghosh and the title track is a variation by Anoushka Shankar of her father Pt. Ravi Shankar’s iconic Pather Panchali theme.
The trailer also won a place in people’s hearts. Took a look:
68th National Film Award
Director Subhrajit Mitra said, “I’m overwhelmed by the appreciation for this movie. I’m grateful to Gaurang Jalan, Madhur Bhandarkar, and Dr. Sumit Agarwal for helping me materialize my decade-long dream. Finally, after six long decades, Apu has come home.”
Speaking about the 68th NFA awards, Producer Gaurang Jalan said, “This is the most awaited award for any film and I am glad that team Avijatrik got it. I want to thank the I&B Ministry, DFF, learned jury, the audiences, and the media for supporting and encouraging us all the way. This is the second National Award for Gaurang Films, the first being for Safed Haathi,45 years ago.”
The character ‘Apu’ is back!
After six decades, the enduring character of Apu (played by Arjun Chakrabarty) returned to the silver screen with this film, which is a sequel to Satyajit Ray’s The Apu Trilogy. The story revolves around a sublime bond between a father (Apu) and his six-year-old son (Kajol).
Aviator has an ensemble of experienced cast & crew and was shot at 68 locations to retain the rich aesthetic flavor that compliments its backdrop of 1940s India. It stars Arjun Chakrabarty (as Apu), Ditipriya Roy, Arpita Chatterjee, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Master Ayushmaan Mukherjee, Sreelekha Mitra, Biswanath Basu, Tanushree Shankar, Barun Chanda and Sohag Sen in key roles. Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) was released on 3rd December 2021 in cinemas across West Bengal and on 10th December 2021 all over India in selected cities.
