The Japanese Wife
The Japanese Wife | |
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Directed by | Aparna Sen |
Screenplay by | Aparna Sen |
Story by | Kunal Basu |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Anay Goswamy |
Edited by | Raviranjan Maitra |
Music by | Sagar Desai |
Distributed by | Saregama Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 105 minutes |
Country |
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Languages |
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The Japanese Wife is a 2010 Indian
The story revolves around a young
) over letters and remaining true and loyal to her throughout his life, while actually never meeting her.Plot
Snehamoy Chatterjee (Rahul Bose) and Miyage (Chigusa Takaku) are pen pal friends who develop a deep and emotional relationship. Eventually, the pair exchange wedding vows through letters. Seventeen years pass but they never meet, yet the bond of marriage is strong between them. This unusual relationship is tested when a young widow, Sandhya (Raima Sen), comes to stay with Snehmoy along with her eight-year-old son Poltu. Snehmoy and the little boy bond and the arithmetic teacher discovers the joy of palpable bonds and fatherhood. He also develops an inexplicable thread of understanding with Sandhya too. Despite this Snehmoy remains loyal to his unseen Japanese wife. When Miyage is diagnosed with cancer and falls ill, Snehmoy takes a long leave of absence from his school and tries to find a cure for her illness. Snehmoy sets out one day during a storm to talk to the closest oncologist in Calcutta, but leaves upon realization that without Miyage physically being there, the doctor can do little. The storm turns violent, with harsh wind and rain. Snehmoy stops to call Miyage, and the exposure to the cold causes him to catch pneumonia when he returns to his house. Due to the continuing storm, no villagers are able to travel to Gosaba by boat to obtain the antibiotics required to cure his infection, and he dies some days later. After the sea calms down, Miyage, who is dressed in a white sari and has a shaved head (a tradition of Hindu widows + due to her chemotherapy) visits the house of her late husband. Sandhya welcomes her.
Cast
- Rahul Bose as Snehamoy Chatterjee
- Raima Sen as Sandhya
- Chigusa Takaku as Miyage
- Moushumi Chatterjee as Maashi
- Rudranil Ghosh as Fatik
- Kunal Basu: Special appearance
Production
The production of the film started in April 2007. This is the first time Aparna Sen has made a film based on someone else's story. This movie is based on the title story of The Japanese Wife and Other Stories by Bengali Indian author Kunal Basu, who writes from Oxford and is an engineer by training. This film was earlier titled as The Kite, but later changed to the name of the original story title.
The shooting locations are
Casting
Aparna Sen had seen Rahul Bose's work in English, August and Split Wide Open and felt that he was a good, controlled and intelligent actor. In an interview Aparna states that her choice of him for three of her films in a row is because she "can deconstruct him completely and mould him differently in any which way I can. Few actors have this kind of malleability".[5]
Aparna Sen's daughter Konkona Sen Sharma was the first choice for the role now played by Raima Sen.[6] For her role, her name is not mentioned in the original short story, but Aparna Sen named her "Sandhya". Aparna told the Hindustan Times that "Raima as Sandhya shared perfect onscreen chemistry with Rahul. Both are shy and refined and suited the characters well".[7]
For casting Chigusa Takaku in the title role, Aparna said "We had hired an agency and chose her after auditioning 12 girls. She is a sensitive woman and an intuitive actress. Hence, she got a feel of the character quickly enough.[7] She didn’t know any English. We had to converse with her through her translator who was always on the sets."[8]
Reception
Critical reception
The film received positive to very positive reviews from critics in India.
Box office
The Japanese Wife had a decent opening with a 44% theatre occupancy. Released on only 32 prints, the film had an 88% initial collection according to Saregama Films.[11]
Home media
In order to combat piracy, The Japanese Wife DVD was released in India only a month after the film's theatrical premiere.
Awards
- Star Entertainment Award for Best Film
- Star Entertainment Award for Best Director, Aparna Sen
- Star Entertainment Award for Best Cinematography, Anay Goswamy
- Best Film Award at the 2010 Hidden Gems Film Festival[16]
- Silver Crow Pheasant Award (Audience Choice) at 2010 International Film Festival of Kerala[17]
References
- ^ "Aparna Sen's 'The Japanese Wife' to be released on April 9". Outlook India. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
- ^ "Hindustan Times". Aparna Sen Next film. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
- ^ "Hindustan Times". The Japanese wife hits theatres in October. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2008.
- ^ "The China Post". New film probes Indian-Japanese romance. Retrieved 1 May 2007.
- ^ "Sunday Tribune India". Touching account of love. Retrieved 10 June 2007.
- ^ "Bollywood Humgama". Konkona opts out of her mother's film. Retrieved 12 March 2007.
- ^ a b "Hindustan Times". Madhusree Chatterjee's Interview of Aparna Sen. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- ^ "Screen India". Searching the Japanese Wife. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- ^ Rajeev Masand (10 April 2010). "Masand: The Japanese Wife, a charming love story". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ Anupama Chopra (9 April 2010). "Anupama Chopra reviews: The Japanese Wife". NDTV. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ Indo-Asian News Service (13 April 2010). "Prince going strong at the Box Office". NDTV. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
- ^ Sampurn (12 May 2010). "Actress Raima Sen launches DVD of "The Japanese Wife"". Thaindian News. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
- ^ Shoma A Chatterji. "Oney Seal Fighting Piracy and Releasing Bangla Films in North America". Calcutta Tube. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ "Aparna Sen's 'The Japanese Wife' set for US distribution". Sify. 2 April 2010. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ "Channel 4 TV listings". The Guardian. 25 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ "'The Japanese Wife' wins at Hidden Gems Film Festival". Indian Express. 5 November 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
- ^ "Top prize for Colombian film". The Hindu. 18 December 2010. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
External links
External videos | |
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Full movie on YouTube |
- The Japanese Wife at IMDb
- The Japanese Wife at ReviewGang