Xandrieth Xs This is one brilliant movie. Kousik Ganguly is really making his mark. Relating two lives - a fictional and a real without overdoing it and the same time being honest and yet capturing every emotion.... Just amazing.... One important thing.... Watch the Apu Trilogy of Satyajit Ray before watching this movie cause you won't be able to enjoy the emotions and nostalgia fail to understand the greatness of this movie.... It's really sad how cinema forgets the talented childhood actors who don't try to get into the world of movies after growing up.... They deserve acknowledgement.... To conclude is a #MustWatch an should not be missed at any cost. And to the Apu Trilogy fans, it is not a reboot. You people should definitely watch this....

Purnendu Dey (purnenduvianworld) Just watching this film and writing a critique on it without having watched all the three films of 'Apu Trilogy' would be considered an impertinent move and a Himalayan mistake to boot. 'Apur Panchali' can be considered one of the best films in Bengali cinema and also the world over. It being not just a rehash of the reputed trilogy, the film explores quite a few precious moments of mainly the famous child actor (Subir Banerjee) of 'Pather Panchali' and how his life was meant to develop some 'uncanny' parallels with the story of the three films. Kaushik Ganguly has touched upon the very tender issues that have gone unheeded until now.A child who had became famous and came to be known to the whole world as the child Apu, later on went into the unknown, cooped-up and covert depths of personal life, which, however, did not keep abreast with him till the very end. Almost like Apu, Subir Banerjee also lost the members of his family in a sequence and was left alone and aloof - just like a deliberate social outcast. He was living life on his own terms until when, quite abruptly, Arka searches Subir out and coaxes him to attend an honorary ceremony for one of the most celebrated child actors of all time. Here, Subir betrays his listless and short temper gradually engendered by the buffets of fortune and life drawn somewhat by The Almighty from the 'Apu Trilogy', it seems. But Arka makes Subir realize the latter's real worth. In the way, childless Subir gets beck a son, fatherless Arka gets back a father and we get back the child actor of 'Pather Panchali.'The story of the film is told in a way that places the reel-and-the-real parallels very subtly. While the trilogy's scenes are shown we relieve the moments, but we turn very sympathetic when they are reverberated in the child actor's real life. Parambrata assays the character of younger Subir and Parno assays Ashima. They act like real people. There's one moment when Parno says ways to look after himself while Ashima would be staying away from Apu. The director keeps things very simple which raises the level of the film to great heights, seen in few directors in Bengal. Apart from the director, the writer Kaushik also stands firm and high above most of the playwrights in the celluloid arena.Sirsha Roy's cinematography touched upon the softest parts of an artiste's life that tell upon our lachrymal glands. Bodhaditya Banerjee has also done no less commendable job. Art direction by Mridul Baidya and Saswati Karmakar stands par excellence. Without it the film would not have got it's archival look. The excellent music that wafts throughout the movie makes one feel nostalgic and catches up with the original films of the trilogy to not a less extent.To sum up, it's a film not to be given a miss at any cost, whatsoever.

bshljtbaruah80 First of all accolade for Kaushik Ganguly for creating this masterpiece. A life story told/depicted in such a brilliant manner; such that it has turned out to be an unforgettable cinematic experience...a milestone in not only Bengali cinema but in world cinema as a whole. Watching 'Apur Panchali' is like regressing back to the world of Satyajit Ray...reliving those characters, those moments after almost 60 years. Now that's quite a magical experience indeed! I have watched many a movies of Kaushik Ganguly and he is no doubt a fantastic director. But with 'Apur Panchali' he has made his mark as one of the greatest. He definitely deserves the Silver Peacock award! Everything been sublime with Apur Panchali..say it the direction, the casting, the casts' performance and most remarkably that (recreated) background score..its simply fantabulous! Over all, a never to miss, a perfect once in a lifetime creation that you would like to cherish in your heart for ages just like Ray's Apu Trilogy. Moviewise 9 and +1 for Kaushik Ganguly....for gifting us this wonderful piece of cinema after a long long time

sesht Let me start off by saying that I don't remember much of the Apu trilogy, because I was at an age where Arnie in 'Predator' or 'Commando' made a bigger impression on me than someone depicting the vagaries of Indian life, that too in the stilted framing of yesteryear, that too in monochrome.When I heard that this one was playing in town, and that it showed the life of one of the more largely ignored child actors of all time, I was interested in seeing that aspect of life, because, let's face it, I am at an age now where I understand how it is to be ignored, to be neglected, and yet plod on with life like a (for lack of a better simile) zombie does.This movie is framed very interestingly, with 3 narratives criss-crossing simultaneously. 1, the near-present, where a FTI student takes the old man through the motions of traveling to Germany to be felicitated for being 'Apu'. 2, that part of the ignored, frustrating life this old man had, after tasting near-success with his childhood acting stint, where he;s trying to go through the motions of being a dutiful householder. 3, and perhaps the most intriguing choice of all, since it (IMO) does not serve the main narratives much except as a curio/diversion, portions from the Apu trilogy that mirror this householder's life, where we're supposed to understand that he's living through his painful present, whilst re-living their memories from the shoot.The technical aspects are great, with the footage and the flashback framed in monochrome, and the near-present portions filmed in color. The score is sparse, yet magnificent, rivaling the other masterpiece of scoring this year, from the Indian Indie diaspora - Aankhon Dekhi.I now have a crush on Parno, and for me, all her interactions with Parambrata, though few and sparse (that word again), clichéd, yet supremely sweet, always put a smile on my face. Contrast this with the darkness that pervades the protagonist's life, and you have quite a few sweet memories to cherish, like he does all through.I thought the director's grasp on his craft was found wanting with a few in-your- face/unsubtle choices he made initially, but though they do remain as fact, he more than makes up for it by staying on-target, and delivers a simple peep into the not- so-special life of another Indian living in obscurity. Pity they didn't get the real Subir to enact it all, and a testimony to the actor/s who did, making us forget that this is a movie, not a slice-of-life.Not to be missed at the local multiplex.