The Expedition

1962 Drama 150 minutes Directed by Satyajit Ray

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About The Expedition

Narsingh, a proud Rajput taxi driver played by Soumitra Chatterjee, loses his license after rash driving and drifts toward a rural town in his 1930 Chrysler. The Marwari Sukhanram pulls him toward a smuggling deal. Narsingh wants Neeli, a Catholic schoolteacher who has no interest in him and elopes with a disabled lover. Gulabi, played by Waheeda Rehman, is drawn to him while Sukhanram is trafficking her. Knowing that, Narsingh forces her to sleep with him. He then breaks with the smugglers and gets her away before she is sold to a lawyer in the ring. Satyajit Ray wrote, scored, and directed the Bengali film. The Bengali title is Abhijan.

Cast & crew

More about The Expedition

Bholanath Roy produced it. The script comes from Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s 1946 novel. Soumendu Roy photographed it. Dulal Dutta edited it. Bansi Chandragupta was art director. It opened on 28 September 1962. Satyajit Ray’s site times it at 150 minutes. Wikidata lists 145. Rabi Ghosh plays the assistant Rama. Charuprakash Ghosh plays Sukhanram. Ruma Guha Thakurta plays Neeli. The Academy Film Archive preserved it in 2001.

Themes

  • A taxi driver who loses his license
  • A smuggling offer and a woman being sold
  • A teacher who leaves with someone else
  • Narsingh
  • Gulabi
  • Neeli
  • Sukhanram
  • Chrysler
  • Birbhum
  • Abhijan

Making

Ray shot the taxi and the hills in Birbhum, with Chandragupta’s sets and Roy’s camera staying on the Chrysler and the rocks.

Look

Soumendu Roy shot the Chrysler on the Birbhum roads and the Mama Bhagne rocks.

Music

Satyajit Ray wrote the score.

Preservation

The Academy Film Archive preserved the film in 2001. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.

Notes

  • It is Rehman’s first Bengali film and Ray’s fourth with Chatterjee.
  • The Mama Bhagne rocks are used as a picture of a man carrying his own sins.
  • R. D. Bansal is not the company on these credits. Abhijatrik is.
  • A Commons file uses the Bengali title and the year.

Awards

  • National Film Award, Second Best Feature Film (10th National Film Awards)
  • BFJA Award, Best Film
  • BFJA Award, Best Director (Satyajit Ray)
  • BFJA Award, Best Actor (Soumitra Chatterjee)
  • BFJA Award, Best Supporting Actor (Rabi Ghosh)

Scenes

  • Narsingh loses the license and keeps driving the old Chrysler.
  • He helps Neeli leave with the man she has already chosen.
  • He pulls Gulabi out before the smugglers sell her.

Influenced by

  • Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay’s novel Abhijan (1946)

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (অভিযান - বাংলা চলচ্চিত্র (১৯৬২).webm)

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