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36 Chowringhee Lane
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36 Chowringhee Lane
36 Chowringhee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role, along with Dhritiman Chatterjee and Debashree Roy.Two major songs used in the film were 1960's song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" by Brian Hyland and 1964 version of "Silent Night" by Mary Martin.
In post-independence India an Anglo-Indian teacher, Violet Stoneham (Jennifer Kendal), lives a quiet and uneventful life at 36 Chowringhee Lane in Calcutta, now Kolkata. Her brother Eddie (Geoffrey Kendal, Jennifer's father in real life) is senile and ailing in a nursing home. After the marriage of her niece Rosemary (Soni Razdan), she is alone except for her cat, Sir Toby. Her only joy in life is teaching Shakespeare, despite the lack of interest from her students.
Returning home from church on a Christmas Day, Violet runs into a former student, Nandita (Debashree Roy), and her author-boyfriend Samaresh (Dhritiman Chatterjee), and invites them over for coffee. They accept her invitation after some hesitation. However, they quickly realize that Violet's apartment would be convenient for their tête-à-têtes while she is at work. When Samaresh requests the use of Violet's apartment during school hours, saying he would like to work on his novel, she agrees. For some time, this arrangement works to the benefit of all. Samaresh and Nandita get the privacy they seek, and Violet has company when she returns home from work. Over time, she grows very fond of them, and begins to look upon them as friends. Her old friends die or go away, she isn't appreciated at her job, and they are the only friends she has.
Eventually Samaresh and Nandita get married, and move on with their lives. Violet wants to meet them on Christmas Day, and bake them a cake. They have a party organized at home, however, and think she would be 'a fish out of water' if invited. So they lie about not being in town during Christmas. Violet comes over anyway, to drop off the cake, and finally sees that she has been deceived by them. She walks home to her lonely life, slowly. The final scene shows Violet reciting aloud from King Lear, her only audience being a stray dog.
Script and casting
The idea of the film emerged from a story Sen had written, and that had taken the shape of a screenplay. When she showed it to Satyajit Ray, he suggested she make the film. He also suggested Shashi Kapoor as the producer. After approaching several producers and repeatedly being asked what she was trying to sell, she finally sent a synopsis of the plot to Kapoor. He liked it and asked her to come over to Mumbai, and the film took off from there.
Aparna Sen had not thought of Jennifer Kendal to play the lead. She was looking for someone older, perhaps an Anglo-Indian. She was persuaded by Utpal Dutt to cast Kendal, who herself suggested the look of Violet Stoneham with her hair in a bun.
Shooting
Originally, Sen had thought of Govind Nihalani to shoot the film. However, he was not free, and she would have to wait a year to begin work on the film. Kapoor suggested several other cinematographers. Sen saw a film shot by Ashok Mehta, and decided she wanted him for her film.
The film was shot at almost a namesake address of 26, Chowringhee Road with a beautiful view of the Indian Museum and the Maidan along with its landmarks like the Eden Gardens, the High Court, Pratt Memorial School, Governor's House, the Shaheed Minar and Fort William.
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36 Chowringhee Lane
36 Chowringhee Lane is a 1981 film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by Shashi Kapoor. It marked the directorial debut of Sen, who had until then been known as a leading actress of Bengali cinema. The film was very well received upon release. It stars Jennifer Kendal in a critically acclaimed role, along with Dhritiman Chatterjee and Debashree Roy.Two major songs used in the film were 1960's song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" by Brian Hyland and 1964 version of "Silent Night" by Mary Martin.
In post-independence India an Anglo-Indian teacher, Violet Stoneham (Jennifer Kendal), lives a quiet and uneventful life at 36 Chowringhee Lane in Calcutta, now Kolkata. Her brother Eddie (Geoffrey Kendal, Jennifer's father in real life) is senile and ailing in a nursing home. After the marriage of her niece Rosemary (Soni Razdan), she is alone except for her cat, Sir Toby. Her only joy in life is teaching Shakespeare, despite the lack of interest from her students.
Returning home from church on a Christmas Day, Violet runs into a former student, Nandita (Debashree Roy), and her author-boyfriend Samaresh (Dhritiman Chatterjee), and invites them over for coffee. They accept her invitation after some hesitation. However, they quickly realize that Violet's apartment would be convenient for their tête-à-têtes while she is at work. When Samaresh requests the use of Violet's apartment during school hours, saying he would like to work on his novel, she agrees. For some time, this arrangement works to the benefit of all. Samaresh and Nandita get the privacy they seek, and Violet has company when she returns home from work. Over time, she grows very fond of them, and begins to look upon them as friends. Her old friends die or go away, she isn't appreciated at her job, and they are the only friends she has.
Eventually Samaresh and Nandita get married, and move on with their lives. Violet wants to meet them on Christmas Day, and bake them a cake. They have a party organized at home, however, and think she would be 'a fish out of water' if invited. So they lie about not being in town during Christmas. Violet comes over anyway, to drop off the cake, and finally sees that she has been deceived by them. She walks home to her lonely life, slowly. The final scene shows Violet reciting aloud from King Lear, her only audience being a stray dog.
Script and casting
The idea of the film emerged from a story Sen had written, and that had taken the shape of a screenplay. When she showed it to Satyajit Ray, he suggested she make the film. He also suggested Shashi Kapoor as the producer. After approaching several producers and repeatedly being asked what she was trying to sell, she finally sent a synopsis of the plot to Kapoor. He liked it and asked her to come over to Mumbai, and the film took off from there.
Aparna Sen had not thought of Jennifer Kendal to play the lead. She was looking for someone older, perhaps an Anglo-Indian. She was persuaded by Utpal Dutt to cast Kendal, who herself suggested the look of Violet Stoneham with her hair in a bun.
Shooting
Originally, Sen had thought of Govind Nihalani to shoot the film. However, he was not free, and she would have to wait a year to begin work on the film. Kapoor suggested several other cinematographers. Sen saw a film shot by Ashok Mehta, and decided she wanted him for her film.
The film was shot at almost a namesake address of 26, Chowringhee Road with a beautiful view of the Indian Museum and the Maidan along with its landmarks like the Eden Gardens, the High Court, Pratt Memorial School, Governor's House, the Shaheed Minar and Fort William.