Aparna - Behind the camera
No conversation about cinema can be complete without the mention of Aparna Sen. One of the greatest Indian filmmakers in history, it’s no coincidence that she hails from a family of filmmakers from Kolkata. The year 1981 marked the beginning of her glorious career. That was the year when Aparna won awards across the globe for her debut, 36 Chowringhee Lane. Was that beginners luck? It certainly wasn’t, for over the years, each of her films have left their mark the world over. Paromiter Ek Din, Mr. & Mrs. Iyer and 15 Park Avenue, each echoed the success of her first film.
A mere five years since her debut, Aparna was awarded the Padma Shri in 1986 for her contribution to Indian cinema. That certainly wasn’t her last. Since then, she has received coveted awards and served on juries at the most prestigious film festivals across the world.
The Japanese Wife is her newest endeavour - poised to be another jewel in her distinguished career.
36, Chowringee Lane
It’s the year 1981. The director of the film has never been behind a camera before. Neither has the writer. What
happens next? It becomes one of the most awarded Indian films of all time. A then unknown Aparna Sen
creates history.
In the film, in a recently independent India, Violet Stoneham is an ageing English teacher who lives a quiet and uneventful life at Kolkata’s 36, Chowringhee Lane. This quite life turns on its head when a former student, Nandita pays a visit with her author-boy friend, Samaresh.
Violet is delighted, particularly when Samaresh decides that he would like to work on a novel in her apartment. What becomes of it? Do feelings of affection get the better of the protagonists? Or for his book, does Samaresh explore more than just his imagination?
Setting the tone of all of Aparna’s future ventures, the film received its fair share of awards and accolades the
world over.
Awards
1982 Golden Eagle Award - Best Feature Film - Cinemanila International Film Festival
1982 Golden Lotus Award - Best Director - National Film Awards (India)
1982 Silver Lotus Award - Best Cinematography - National Film Awards (India)
1982 Silver Lotus Award - Best Regional Film (Hindi) - National Film Awards (India)
1983 Best Actress - Evening Standard British Film Awards (UK)
1983 Nominated - Best Actress - Bafta Awards (UK)
Paromiter Ek Din
With Paromiter Ek Din, Aparna Sen added another masterpiece to her glorious career. 
Released in the year 2000, the film marks yet another milestone in Aparna’s glittering career.
A young girl, Paromita is married into a traditional Bengali family in Kolkata. After marriage she
discovers she does not have much in common with her husband Biresh.
Biresh has a serious drinking habit which is unacceptable to her. Going against the usual Indian family clichés, Paromita develops a special bond with her mother-in-law, Sonaka and becomes attached to Khuku, her sister-in-law. She identifies with Khuku because her own child, Bablu, is born with a disability. As a result, Biresh finds this difficult to accept and becomes even more irritable with Paromita, but Sonaka consoles her in her grief. This thin bond breaks with the passing away of Bablu.
By now, Biresh begins an affair with another woman and Paromita finds herself taking a liking for Semiran, a filmmaker she had met at a spastics society. Through the film, the one relationship that stays constant and even grows to the point of love, is the rather odd pairing of the mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law.
Awards
2000 Fipresci Prize - Venice
2000 Special Mention Award - Ecumenical Jury’s
Mr. & Mrs. Iyer
The story mirrors a frightening reality in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks and the Gujarat carnage through a masterfully told plot. It was conceptualized as a love story set amidst violence but ultimately says a lot more. A Muslim man and a Brahmin woman get to know each other on a fateful cross-country bus trip to Kolkata.
The film reflects Aparna Sen's humanism depicted through finely blended emotions of communities, beliefs
and individuals. 
Nationally lauded and internationally acclaimed, Mr. & Mrs. Iyer is one of Aparna’s cinematic masterpieces.
Awards
2002 Netpac Award - Locarno International Film Festival (Switzerland)
2002 Best Feature Film - Hawaii International Film Festival (USA)
2003 Audience Award - Best Feature Film - Philadelphia Film Festival (USA)
2003 Golden Lotus Award - Best Director - National Film Awards (India)
2003 Silver Lotus Award - Best Actress - National Film Awards (India)
2003 Silver Lotus Award - Best Screenplay - Natiovnal Film Awards (India)
2003 Nargis Dutt Award - Best Feature Film on National Integration
2003 Best Screenplay - Cinemanila International Film Festival (Philippines)
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