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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = 36 Chowringhee Lane
|image = 36 Chowringhee Lane DVD cover.jpg
|caption = DVD cover
|director = [[Aparna Sen]]
|producer = [[Shashi Kapoor]]
|writer = [[Aparna Sen]]
|starring = [[Jennifer Kendal]] [[Debashree Roy]] [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]] [[Geoffrey Kendal]]
|music = [[Vanraj Bhatia]]
|cinematography = [[Ashok Mehta]]
|editing = Bhanudas Divakar
|distributor =
|released = {{Film date|1981|8|29|df=y}}
|runtime = 122 minutes
|country = [[India]]
|language = [[Bengali language|Bengali]] [[English language|English]]
|budget =
|gross =
}}

'''''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]].

==Plot==
In [[History of the Republic of India|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.

==Cast==
* [[Jennifer Kendal]] as Violet Stoneham, the Anglo-Indian school teacher
* [[Debashree Roy]] as Nandita Roy, Violet's former student
* [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]] as Samaresh, Nandita's boyfriend
* [[Geoffrey Kendal]] as Eddie Stoneham
* [[Soni Razdan]] as Rosemary, Violet's niece
* [[Sanjana Kapoor]] as young Violet
* [[Karan Kapoor]] as Davie
* [[Ruma Guha Thakurta]] as Nandita's mother

==Crew==
* Direction – [[Aparna Sen]]
* Production – [[Shashi Kapoor]]
* Screenplay – Aparna Sen
* Cinematography – [[Ashok Mehta]]
* Music – [[Vanraj Bhatia]]
* Editing – Bhanudas Divakar
* Sound – Hitendra Ghosh
* Art – [[Bansi Chandragupta]]

==Production==
'''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.<ref name=rediff>{{cite web|last=Sen|first=Aparna|title='If I'd made more compromises I may have been more successful' – Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Aparna Sen|url=http://www.rediff.com/entertai/1998/nov/23apa1.htm|access-date=29 January 2013}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sen in the city|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/07/05/stories/2004070501760400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050509185742/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/07/05/stories/2004070501760400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 May 2005|access-date=4 February 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=5 July 2004}}</ref>

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.<ref name=rediff />

'''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.<ref name=TOI-Mehta>{{cite news|last=Jha|first=Subhash K|title=Aparna Sen devastated by Ashok Mehta's death|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-17/news-interviews/33247918_1_chowringhee-lane-ashok-mehta-aparna-sen|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130411041407/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-17/news-interviews/33247918_1_chowringhee-lane-ashok-mehta-aparna-sen|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2013|access-date=6 February 2013|newspaper=[[The Times of India]]|date=17 August 2012}}</ref>

The film was shot at almost a namesake address of 26, Chowringhee Road with a beautiful view of the Indian Museum and the [[Maidan (Kolkata)|Maidan]] along with its landmarks like the [[Eden Gardens]], the High Court, Pratt Memorial School, Governor's House, the [[Shaheed Minar, Kolkata|Shaheed Minar]] and Fort William.

The depiction of pre-marital sex in the film was ahead of its time. About the intimate scenes, Sen said: "I feel scenes of sexual intimacy are ruined if the director is embarrassed. I wasn't embarrassed. There was nothing in it that I thought was obscene."<ref name=rediff />

'''Post-production''' 
At the post-production stage, Debashree Roy's voice was dubbed over with Sen's own voice. Sen explained that this was done partly in order to save time. Moreover, Dhritiman Chatterjee was a good deal older than Roy, and she wanted a voice that was slightly older.<ref name=rediff />

The art direction of the film was done by [[Bansi Chandragupta]], art director of the [[Apu Trilogy]] and other Ray films. In June 1981, when the film was in the final stages of post-production, Chandragupta died of a heart attack. The film is dedicated to him.

==Reception==
When initially released, the film was appreciated by a niche audience but did not do well commercially. Describing it as a "total loss", Shashi Kapoor lamented that at places he had to hire the theatres himself to exhibit it.<ref>{{cite news|title=A new role for Shashi Kapoor|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/11/stories/2004121105730500.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050204180728/http://www.hindu.com/2004/12/11/stories/2004121105730500.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 February 2005|access-date=4 February 2013|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=11 December 2004}}</ref>

Critically, however, the film was very well received. It won the Best Direction award for Sen at the National Film Awards. Ashok Mehta's camera work was much appreciated. ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' was also entered in the first edition of the Manila International Film Festival, where it won the top prize. Scholar Wimal Dissanayake sees the film as a portrayal of the patriarchal social system: "The film portrays the plight of a lonely woman in a society that cares little for questions of female subjectivity and self-fulfillment."<ref name="dissanayake">{{cite journal|last=Dissanayake|first=Wimal|title=Questions of Female Subjectivity and Patriarchy: a Reading of Three Indian Women Film Directors|journal=East-West Film Journal|date=June 1989|volume=3|issue=2}}</ref>

==Legacy==
'''Indian films made in English''' 
(see also [[English-language Indian films]]) 
Prior to ''36 Chowringhee Lane'', film makers in India did not consider English to be a viable choice of language for feature films. After it, there has been a thin but steady stream of such films, including Sen's ''[[Mr. and Mrs. Iyer]]'' and ''[[15 Park Avenue]]''.

===In popular culture===
The title of the film has become symbolic of the city of [[Kolkata]], particularly its cuisine. A [[Bangalore]] restaurant is called 36 Chowringhee Lane.<ref>{{cite web|title=36 Chowringhee Lane in BTM Layout 1st stage, Bangalore – Buzzintown|url=http://www.buzzintown.com/bangalore/restaurant--36-chowringhee-lane-btm-layout-1st-stage/id--40592.html|access-date=8 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407215029/http://www.buzzintown.com/bangalore/restaurant--36-chowringhee-lane-btm-layout-1st-stage/id--40592.html|archive-date=7 April 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> A fast-food chain in Delhi is called 34 Chowringhee Lane.<ref>{{cite web|title=34, Chowringhee Lane|url=http://www.34chowringheelane.com/|access-date=11 February 2013}}</ref>

==Awards==
The film has been nominated for and won the following awards since its release:

;1982 [[Manila International Film Festival]] ([[Philippines]])
* Won – Golden Eagle – Best Feature Film – ''36 Chowringhee Lane'' – Aparna Sen
;[[29th National Film Awards|1981 National Film Awards]]<ref name="29thaward">{{cite web|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm29thNFAAward.aspx|title=29th National Film Awards|publisher=[[International Film Festival of India]]|access-date=8 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203044324/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm29thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="29thawardPDF">{{cite web|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/29th_nff_1982.pdf|publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]]|title=29th National Film Awards (PDF)|access-date=4 October 2011}}</ref>
* Won – Golden Lotus Award – [[National Film Award for Best Direction|Best Director]] – [[Aparna Sen]]; Citation: For effectively orchestrating the creative and technical elements in her first film, for a poignant portrayal of loneliness in old age and for bringing to the screen a true-to-life situation in post-independence India.
* Won – Silver Lotus Award – [[National Film Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] – [[Ashok Mehta]]
* Won – Silver Lotus Award – [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English]];
*1983 [[BAFTA Awards]] ([[UK]]) Nominated – Best Actress – Jennifer Kendal;
*[[Evening Standard British Film Awards#1982 Winners|1982]] [[Evening Standard British Film Awards]] ([[UK]]) Won – [[Evening Standard British Film Awards#1982 Winners|Best Actress]] – [[Jennifer Kendal]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0081968|title=36 Chowringhee Lane}}
*[http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?Index=5177&User=11436 Film review]

{{National Film Award Best Feature Film English}}
{{Aparna Sen}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:36 Chowringhee Lane}}
[[Category:1981 films]]
[[Category:1981 romantic drama films]]
[[Category:Indian romantic drama films]]
[[Category:1980s Bengali-language films]]
[[Category:English-language Indian films]]
[[Category:Bengali-language Indian films]]
[[Category:Films about educators]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director National Film Award]]
[[Category:Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography National Film Award]]
[[Category:Best English Feature Film National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Films directed by Aparna Sen]]
[[Category:1981 directorial debut films]]

36 Chowringhee Lane - Revision history

UpdateBot at 13:21, 23 June 2022