ChenHleeLiyue at 06:46, 7 March 2026

2026-03-07T06:46:25Z

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{{about|the 1957 Bengali film|the 1961 Bollywood film|Kabuliwala (1961 film)|1993 Malayalam film|Kabooliwala}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Kabuliwala
| image = Kabuliwala1956cover.jpg

| caption = Kabuliwala (1957) cover
| director = [[Tapan Sinha]]
| producer = Charuchitra
| screenplay = Tapan Sinha
| story = [[Rabindranath Tagore]]
| based_on = {{based on|[[Kabuliwala (short story)|Kabuliwala]]|[[Rabindranath Tagore]]}}
| narrator =
| starring = [[Chhabi Biswas]] Oindrila Tagore (Tinku) [[Asha Devi]] [[Radhamohan Bhattacharya]] [[Manju Dey]] [[Jahar Roy]] [[Kali Banerjee]] [[Jiben Bose]]
| music = [[Pandit Ravi Shankar]]
| cinematography = Anil Banerjee
| editing = Subodh Ray
| distributor = Charuchitra
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1957|1|4}}
| runtime = 116 minutes
| country = India
| language = Bengali
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Kabuliwala''''' is a 1957 [[Bengali language|Bengali]] film directed by [[Tapan Sinha]] and based on the eponymous [[Kabuliwala (Short story)|1892 short story]] by the Bengali writer [[Rabindranath Tagore]].

==Plot==
Rahmat ([[Chhabi Biswas]]), a middle-age fruit seller from Afghanistan, comes to Calcutta to hawk his merchandise. He befriends a small Bengali girl called Mini (Oindrila Tagore aka Tinku Tagore) who reminds him of his daughter back in Afghanistan. He stays at a boarding house with his countrymen.

One day, Rahmat receives a letter with news of his daughter's illness; he decides to leave for his country. Since he is short of money he sells his goods on credit to increase his business. Later, when he goes to collect his money, one of his customers abuses him. In the fight that ensues, Rahmat warns that he will not tolerate abuse and stabs the guy when he does not stop.

In the court Rahmat's lawyer tries to obfuscate the facts but, in his characteristic and simple fashion, Rahmat states the truth in a matter-of-fact way. The judge, pleased with Rahmat's honesty, gives him 8 years' rigorous imprisonment instead of the death sentence.

On the day of his release he goes to meet Mini and discovers that she has grown up into a 15-year-old girl who is about to get married. Mini does not recognize the aged Rahmat, who realizes that his daughter must have forgotten him, too. Mini's father advises him to go back to his homeland and Mini's mother gives Rahmat the money for travel out of the wedding budget to which Mini agrees; she also sends a gift for Rahmat's daughter.

==Cast==

* [[Chhabi Biswas]] as Rahmat
* Tinku (Oindrila Tagore) as Mini
* [[Radhamohan Bhattacharya]] as Mini's Father
* [[Manju Dey]] as Mini's Mother
* [[Jiben Bose]] as Jailor
* [[Asha Devi]] as Maid
* Md Al Amin as Photographer
* [[Kali Banerjee]] as a fellow jailmate
* [[Jahor Roy]] as Bhola, the man-servant
* [[Nripati Chatterjee]] as a borrower

==Production==
The Afghanistan part in the film was shot in Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/kabuliwala-movie-bengali-revisiting-tapan-sinha-rabindranath-tagore |title=Revisiting Tapan Sinha's Kabuliwala |last=Ghosh |first=Sankhayan |date=28 August 2021 |website=[[Film Companion]] |access-date=13 August 2024 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227193241/https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/kabuliwala-movie-bengali-revisiting-tapan-sinha-rabindranath-tagore |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Awards==

*[[National Film Awards]]<ref name="4thawardPDF">{{cite web|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/4th_Nff.pdf|title=4th National Film Awards|publisher=[[Directorate of Film Festivals]]|access-date=2 September 2011|archive-date=25 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225070937/http://dff.nic.in/2011/4th_Nff.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
**[[4th National Film Awards|1956]] – [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film]]
**1956 – [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali]]
*[[Silver Bear|Silver Bear Extraordinary Prize of the Jury]] – [[7th Berlin International Film Festival]]<ref name="Berlinale 1957">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1957/03_preistr_ger_1957/03_Preistraeger_1957.html |title=7th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners |access-date=2010-10-11 |work=berlinale.de |archive-date=4 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404105035/http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1957/03_preistr_ger_1957/03_Preistraeger_1957.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
* [[Kabuliwala (1961 film)|Kabuliwala]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|id=49393|title=Kabuliwala }}

{{NationalFilmAwardBestFeatureFilm}}
{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Bengali}}
{{Kabuliwala}}

[[Category:Films based on works by Rabindranath Tagore]]
[[Category:Bengali-language Indian films]]
[[Category:1957 films]]
[[Category:Indian children's films]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Tapan Sinha]]
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Best Feature Film National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Bengali films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Films based on Indian novels]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ravi Shankar]]
[[Category:Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:1957 Bengali-language films]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:1957 drama films]]

{{1950s-Bengali-film-stub}}

Kabuliwala 1957 film - Revision history

ChenHleeLiyue at 06:46, 7 March 2026