Agantuk

• Utpal Dutt: Manomohan Mitra
• Rabi Ghosh: Ranjan Rakshit
• Subrata Chattopadhyay: Chanda Rakshit
• Dhritiman Chatterjee: Prithwish Sengupta
• Bikram Bandyopadhyay: Satyaji

Agantuk - The Visitors ( Bengali: আগন্তুক, Āgantuk ) is an Indian film directed by Satyajit Ray from 1991.

Action

Anila Bose receives a letter from her uncle Manomohan Mitra, who went abroad 35 years ago and has never written to her, with the announcement of his visit. He wants to spend a week in his hometown of Kolkata and she was his only remaining relatives in which he hopes to Bengali hospitality. Anila is willing to accept him, but her husband Subindra is skeptical that it is not a scam. Before his arrival, they therefore first close off everything of value.

Manomohan Mitra impressed with an excellent linguistic style of his Bengali what Subindras only reinforced suspicions, he calls his wife on to ask to see Mitra's passport. Mitra noted Subindras mistrust and stunned him as he pushes him his passport with the remark in his hand, that such documents are to fake nowadays fast and he already had to take more time to figure out if he is a real or fake uncle. The son Satyaji is thrilled by the stories of weltgereistenen Mitra. This tells the experience from his work as an ethnologist in almost all parts of the world. Since Subindra alone are not up to pass judgment on Mitra, he has his friend, the lawyer Prithwish Sengupta invited to " test " for the next evening.

On the first night, however, the friendly couple Rakshit invites; the man is an actor by profession. Mitra will immediately notice that he is to be tested and plays the game with. Towards the end of the evening he asks directly: How do they find me, uncle yes or no?

Subindra and Anila notice at night that his uncle actually still should be granted to an inheritance, but he has long been dead, would have to be explained. Subindra learns the next day by its investigation when Testament administrator that an inheritance for Manomohan was shelved.

The second test in the evening with the attorney Sengupta runs catastrophic. Manomohan can first attach his vast knowledge. They discuss religion ( Mitra does not believe in things that build barriers between people as it does religion), God ( Mitra finds it in the modern world more and more difficult to believe in the "perfect " ), technological progress ( Mitra towards modern science and technology skeptical ). Then he tells his resume: he was already at school always best, then five years has lived with Indian tribes ( Santal, Kol, Bhil, Naga, Munda, etc. ), then went to Europe to study anthropology, lived among the Indians and has written reports for the UN about this. It develops a dispute between Sengupta and Mitra on civilization. Mitra holds primitive peoples civilized because they have all the signs of a civilization already and that for food radiate homeless beggars in the streets of New York in his eyes much less civilization. On demand Mitra regrets not to have eaten human flesh to be able to, because it should not taste bad. Here About Sengupta loses his nerve and calls on Mitra to identify themselves or to leave the house the Bose.

Anila and Subindra Bose, both now convinced of the authenticity of the uncle, are sad to be found the next morning the room empty. Go to the executor and learn that Mitra is with him. The old man says that he has Mitra last seen 35 years ago and just tried in vain to entertain him, and that Mitra has presented to his astonishment among PRESENTATION his passport. Subindra Bose is ashamed.

In a neighboring Santal village, into which Mitra has withdrawn, they meet him and ask him to come back - he agrees, as they came to him. Together they watch a tribal dance of the Santals.

Again in Kolkata leave of Mitra is conciliatory. He leaves behind a letter to be opened only after his departure, gives in his entire inheritance to his niece.

Background

The last film in Satyajit Ray's work can be counted as his best work; it is the film adaptation of his own short stories. The film remains interesting even after repeated viewing. While one without knowing the outcome of the story, which is able to share doubts about the authenticity of the uncle, with a repeated view is the effort of the uncle to put his genuineness demonstrated in the center of attention.

Satyajit Ray speaks through the words Mitras his own thoughts - against bigotry and limits of thought and action of any kind, as well as a distinct religion, progress and civilization doubt.

The following year, the director won the Oscar for his life's work.

Awards

• Venice Film Festival 1991 FIPRESCI Prize

• Best Picture
• Best Director