Lathi (1996 film)

Lathi
Lathi
Directed by	Prabhat Roy
Screenplay by	Prabhat Roy
Story by	Prabhat Roy
Produced by	Shanti Film Corporation
Starring	Victor Banerjee; Soumitra Chatterjee; Satabdi Roy; Abhishek Chatterjee; Pallavi Chatterjee; Prosenjit Chatterjee; Debashree Roy; Rituparna Sengupta; Deepankar De; Sabyasachi Chakrabarty; Kaushik Sen; Tota Roychowdhury; June Malia;
Cinematography	Kartik Bose
Music by	Bappi Lahiri
Release date	20 December 1996;
Running time	160 minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Lathi (transl. Stick) is a 1996 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Prabhat Roy.^[1] Produced by Shanti Film Corporation, it stars Victor Banerjee as the protagonist, with an ensemble cast consisting of Soumitra Chatterjee, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Debashree Roy, Satabdi Roy, Haradhan Bandopadhyay, Abhishek Chatterjee, Pallavi Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Deepankar De, Tota Roy Chowdhury, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Kaushik Sen. The music of the film has been composed by Bappi Lahiri.

Plot

Atindranath Banerjee, an elderly man who has retired after a long career as a teacher at a local school, receives recognition and a farewell from the institution.

While returning home, he is accompanied by his son-in-law, Somnath (Prosenjit Chatterjee), and his daughter, Lipi (Satabdi Roy). On the way, he witnesses an old woman from a lower social class being beaten and harassed by a local man who accuses her of being a kidnapper. Atindranath intervenes and saves her.

At home, he faces mistreatment from his sons (Koushik Banerjee and Bodhiswatta) and their wives. Frustrated by their behavior, he decides to discipline them using a stick, believing it will help them improve their character. Meanwhile, his youngest son (Abhishek Chatterjee) secretly marries Banani (Rituparna Sengupta) without informing him.

Despite this, Atindranath supports them, and the couple moves to a slum, where they start a teaching initiative. However, they soon face harassment from a local political leader. Meanwhile, his granddaughter, Sonali (June Malia), gets involved in a relationship with Tota Roy Chowdhury and becomes pregnant.

In the end, with the intervention of Victor Banerjee, the political leader is dealt with, and Atindranath returns to the slum, continuing his teaching efforts. The "lathi" (stick) in the film symbolizes the old man's determination to instill discipline and improve the quality of life for those around him.

Cast

Victor Banerjee as Atindramohan Banerjee, a former headmaster of a school
Debashree Roy as Kalyani Banerjee, Atindramohan's deceased wife
Bodhisattwa Majumdar as Jyotin Banerjee, Atindramohan's eldest son
- Soham Chakraborty as young Jyotin (Credited as Master Bittu)
Debika Mitra as Jyotin's wife
Kaushik Banerjee as Bipin Banerjee, Atindramohan's second eldest son
Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay as Bipin's wife
Abhishek Chatterjee as Nabin Banerjee, Atindramohan's youngest son
Rituparna Sengupta as Banani, Nabin's wife
Satabdi Roy as Lipi Mukherjee, Atindramohan's daughter
Prosenjit Chatterjee as Somnath Mukherjee, Lipi's husband
June Malia as Sonali, Atindramohan's granddaughter
Pushpita Mukerjee as Pinki, Atindramohan's granddaughter
Soumitra Chatterjee as Sadananda, Atindramohan's friend (deceased)
Nirmal Kumar as Atindramohan's friend
Haradhan Bandopadhyay as Pranotosh, Atindramohan's friend
Manoj Mitra as Shibshankar, Atindramohan's friend
Tota Roy Chowdhury as Prashanta, Sonali's boyfriend
Sabyasachi Chakraborty as Prashanta's father, an IPS officer
Mrinal Mukherjee as Sashikanta Bhattacharya, Prashanta's grandfather, an MLA
Arindam Sil as Swarup, Sadananda's son
Rita Koiral as Swarup's wife
Pallavi Chatterjee as Uma
Saheb Bhattacharya
Deepankar De as Bivash Dastidar
Gita Dey as Manoda
Dulal Lahiri as Narayan Sen (deceased)
Koushik Sen as Goon
Chandan Sen
Joy Badlani as Goon
Partha Sarathi Deb as Doctor
Debraj Chakraborty as Aniruddha Bhattacharya (school boy), son of Minister Sashikanta Bhattacharya

Awards

Title	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
National Award	1997	National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare	Robin Agarwal, Prabhat Roy	Won	^[2]
BFJA Award	1997	Best Actor in a Leading Role	Victor Banerjee	Won
BFJA Award	1997	Best Art Direction	Kartik Bose	Won	^[3]

References

^ "Lathi (1996)". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
^ "44th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
^ "1997 award winners". bfjaaward.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

External links

Lathi at IMDb
Lathi (1996 film) in Gomolo

This article about an Indian Bengali film of the 1990s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Lathi (1996)". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 December 2019.

[2] "44th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

[3] "1997 award winners". bfjaaward.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2015.

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