Based on a short story by Bengali writer Prafulla Roy, the central idea developed by director Dasgupta, tells the story of a girl, Lati, whose mother Rajani is a prostitute living and working in a brothel in rural India. Rajani plans to offer her daughter to an older man, a rich husband and protector to her daughter. Lati, however, wants to return to school and finish her studies. Unwilling to pay such a price for material success, she runs away to Calcutta. The discovery of this new world is described parallel to other stories of emancipation, such as that of three young prostitutes, of an aged couple going nowhere and man’s n landing on the moon. In a surrealistic approach typical of the director, a clumsy cat and an intelligent donkey are also present in the film. —IMDb
Buddhadeb Dasgupta (Bengali: বুদ্ধদেব দাশগুপ্ত Buddhodeb Dashgupto) (born 1944) is a poet and prominent contemporary Indian filmmaker, most known for films like Bagh Bahadur, Tahader Katha, Charachar and Uttara. Five of his films have won the National Film Award for Best Film, Bagh Bahadur (1989), Charachar (1993), Lal Darja (1997), Mondo Meyer Upakhyan (2002) and Kaalpurush (2008), while Dooratwa (1978) and Tahader Katha (1993) have won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali. As a director he has won National Film Award for Best Directing twice, for Uttara (2000) and Swapner Din (2005). Over the years he has published several works of poetry including Govir Araley, Coffin Kimba Suitcase, Himjog, Chhaata Kahini, Roboter Gaan, Sreshtha Kabita, and Bhomboler Ascharya Kahini O Ananya Kabita.
Buddhadeb Dasgupta was born in 1944, in Anara near Puruliya in Southern West Bengal, and was third of nine siblings. His father Tarkanta Dasgupta was a doctor with the Indian… read more