# Unishe April
**Unishe April** (উনিশে এপ্রিল, "Nineteenth April") is a 1994 Bengali-language drama film written, directed, and edited around a single day in the lives of a celebrated classical dancer and her estranged daughter, in [Rituparno Ghosh](https://www.edgepedia.org/rituparno-ghosh)'s second feature[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/fullcredits/) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info). It won the [National Film Award for Best Feature Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-award-for-best-feature-film) (Golden Lotus) and the Best Actress award for [Debashree Roy](https://www.edgepedia.org/debashree-roy) at the 1995 National Film Awards[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/awards/), and is credited with reviving urban Bengali audiences' habit of going to the cinema[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Rituparno Ghosh, his second feature after *Hirer Angti* (1994)[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/fullcredits/) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms) |
| Lead cast | Aparna Sen as Sarojini Gupta, Debashree Roy as Dr. Aditi Sen, with Dipankar Dey (Somnath), Prosenjit Chatterjee (Sudeep), and Chitra Sen (Bela)[5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/19th-april) |
| National awards | Golden Lotus for Best Feature Film and Silver Lotus for Best Actress (Debashree Roy), 1995; nominated for the New Currents Award at the Pusan International Film Festival, 1996[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/awards/) |
| Setting | One day, April 19, the father's death anniversary and the day Sarojini wins a prestigious award[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29) |
| Production | Producer Renu Roy for Spandan Films; budget reported as Rs 1.8 million (Rs 18 lakh) by *India Today* and approximately Rs 2 million (Rs 20 lakh) by the film's executive producer[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms) |
| Format | Color, 14 reels, 35 mm; censor certificate dated December 30, 1994, Kolkata, rated U[7](https://www.bengalfilmarchive.com/filmography-details.php?t=MjA4MA%3D%3D) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info) |
| Audience rating | 7.7/10 on IMDb (about 650 votes)[5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/19th-april) |
## Spoilers
### Story and structure
The film follows Aditi Sen (Debashree Roy), a medical student in New Delhi who returns to her mother's Calcutta home on April 19, the anniversary of her father's death and the day her mother, the classical dancer Sarojini Gupta ([Aparna Sen](https://www.edgepedia.org/aparna-sen)), wins a prestigious award[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29). Aditi grew up largely in boarding school after her father's death while her mother pursued her dancing career, and she harbors resentment toward her for that neglect[8](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/national-capital-region-ncr/unishe-april/ET00015374). The film tracks the two through a single day: Sarojini is visited by reporters and basks in the attention of the award, while Aditi grieves that her mother cannot share her sorrow over her father[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29).
The crisis comes when Aditi's boyfriend Sudeep ([Prosenjit Chatterjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/prosenjit-chatterjee)) calls from New Delhi to say his family objects to his marrying the daughter of a dancer[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29). According to the Indiancine.ma summary, most of the film takes place in a single night in Calcutta, ending with the two women reconciled not through resolution of their problems but by reconfirming the filial bond[2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info). *India Today* noted the recurring role of the telephone, which interrupts mother and daughter whenever they try to share something important and figures in the climax[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29).
The film is widely described as inspired by [Ingmar Bergman](https://www.edgepedia.org/ingmar-bergman)'s *Autumn Sonata* (1978), another drama of a famous performing mother and her resentful daughter[9](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/unishe-april-1994/) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info). A Bengali-language academic account instead links it to [Satyajit Ray](https://www.edgepedia.org/satyajit-ray)'s *Jon Aranya* (as transliterated in that source)[10](https://communications.ulab.edu.bd/sites/default/files/ulabian-13-12-bangla.pdf).
## Production
Ghosh came to the film from years in the advertising industry[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29). His first film, the children's film *Hirer Angti* (The Diamond Ring), achieved cult status in film circles but was never released commercially[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29). The National Film Development Corporation had the *Unishe April* script modified but still rejected it[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29).
**Financing was precarious.** Executive producer Souvik Mitra recalled that no producers came forward at first, and that Aparna Sen introduced Ghosh to Renu Roy[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms). Roy could pool about Rs 1.2 million (Rs 12 lakh) of an approximately Rs 2 million (Rs 20 lakh) budget and told Ghosh to begin shooting; composer Jyotishka Dasgupta, cinematographer Sunirmal Mazumdar, and editor Ujjal Nandi worked for free or for token remuneration, and a corporate backer brought in by Roy finally paid for post-production[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms). *India Today* reported the budget as Rs 1.8 million (Rs 18 lakh), paid for by Spandan, a Calcutta-based cultural organization[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29).
The credited crew included Sunirmal Mazumdar on camera, Ujjal Nandi as editor, Jyotishka Dasgupta as composer, and Indranil Ghosh for art direction[7](https://www.bengalfilmarchive.com/filmography-details.php?t=MjA4MA%3D%3D).
## Release
The release record is inconsistent across sources. *The Times of India* places the release in March 1994[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms), and a RadioBanglaNet retrospective gives 14 March 1994[11](https://radiobanglanet.com/unishe-april-25-years-rituparno-ghosh-director/); the eTimes movie database gives 11 October 1994[12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movie-details/unishe-april/movieshow/66133877.cms); the Bengal Film Archive records a release on 17.05.96 at the Minar, Bijoli, and Chhabighar cinemas[7](https://www.bengalfilmarchive.com/filmography-details.php?t=MjA4MA%3D%3D); and [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) lists 12 May 1996[8](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/national-capital-region-ncr/unishe-april/ET00015374). The censor certificate was issued in Kolkata on December 30, 1994[2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info), which is consistent with a 1994 premiere followed by a later general theatrical run, but no single source reconciles the dates.
Reported runtimes also differ: 2 hours 13 minutes on Apple TV and [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch)[13](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/unishe-april/umc.cmc.2jojp75d6gaw4t6cvu5a169zf) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/19th-april) against 2 hours 18 minutes on eTimes and Rotten Tomatoes[12](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movie-details/unishe-april/movieshow/66133877.cms) • [14](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/unishe_april); Indiancine.ma lists 138 minutes[2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info).
## Reception and awards
The film won two [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) in 1995: the Golden Lotus for Best Feature Film, with the jury citation praising "a complex and impeccable rendition of fragmenting family relationships in urban India," and the Silver Lotus for Best Actress for Debashree Roy, cited for her "complete identification with character of lonely doctor"[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/awards/). It was also nominated for the New Currents Award at the 1996 Pusan International Film Festival[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/awards/).
**Box office and audience.** Mitra recalled that after [Uttam Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttam-kumar)'s demise, urban Bengalis had largely stopped going to theaters, but *Unishe April* ran housefull, with packed night shows and full parking lots at the Minar, Bijoli, and Chhabighar cinemas[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms). *India Today*, reviewing it in 1995, called it a powerful film by a new director in a Calcutta industry that had produced little of note since Satyajit Ray's death, and singled out the performances of Sen and Roy, with Roy's inspired turn a surprise after years in Bengali commercial cinema[6](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29).
Retrospective criticism has been broadly favorable with reservations. The Chasing Cinema retrospective credited the performances but found the script's handling of Aditi's romance and its storm-and-suicide imagery clichéd, rating it 3.9 out of 5[9](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/unishe-april-1994/). On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 45% Tomatometer from three reviews; Shubhra Gupta of *The Indian Express* wrote that Ghosh's "spiky relationship drama about a successful mother and resentful daughter gave us a new voice in Bengali cinema"[14](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/unishe_april).
## Legacy
The film marked Ghosh's arrival as a major filmmaker and began a career that produced 19 films and 12 National Film Awards before his death in 2013[9](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/unishe-april-1994/) • [15](https://bangla.bdnews24.com/glitz/article1896015.bdnews). It is listed as the 42nd National Film Award winner for Best Feature Film, for 1994[16](https://www.eporasona.in/2021/09/national-film-award.html?hl=ar). Indiancine.ma's summary notes that it departed from the melodramas of its time, which were aimed at "female and rural" audiences, and instead addressed the urban middle class[2](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info).
The film remains available on Indian streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Hoichoi, and Eros Now[17](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/unishe-april-734853.html). The title was later reused for an unrelated eight-episode Bengali web series about the 1970s death mystery of Surupa Guha, directed by Arindam Sil and starring Arifin Shuvoo, announced in 2023[18](https://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/ott/rpo9a6qsl9).
## References
1. [Unishe April (1994) - Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/fullcredits/)
2. [Unishe April (Rituparno Ghosh) – Info View, Indiancine.ma](https://indiancine.ma/AJCY/info)
3. [Unishe April (1994) - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111559/awards/)
4. [Rituparno Ghosh's Unishe April turns 25, Times of India (April 19, 2019)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/rituparno-ghoshs-unishe-april-turns-25/articleshow/68953359.cms)
5. [Unishe April streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/19th-april)
6. [Understanding mother - India Today (June 30, 1995)](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/19950630-award-winning-bengali-film-unishe-april-explores-the-mother-daughter-bond-807490-1995-06-29)
7. [Unishe April | Filmography | Bengal Film Archive](https://www.bengalfilmarchive.com/filmography-details.php?t=MjA4MA%3D%3D)
8. [Watch Unishe April Movie Online, BookMyShow Stream](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/national-capital-region-ncr/unishe-april/ET00015374)
9. [UNISHE APRIL (1994), Chasing Cinema (August 11, 2016)](https://chasingcinema.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/unishe-april-1994/)
10. [ইউল্যাবিয়ান, ULAB Communications](https://communications.ulab.edu.bd/sites/default/files/ulabian-13-12-bangla.pdf)
11. [পঁচিশে 'উনিশে এপ্রিল', RadioBanglaNet](https://radiobanglanet.com/unishe-april-25-years-rituparno-ghosh-director/)
12. [Unishe April Movie: Showtimes, Review, Songs, Trailer, Posters, News & Videos, eTimes](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movie-details/unishe-april/movieshow/66133877.cms)
13. [Unishe April, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/unishe-april/umc.cmc.2jojp75d6gaw4t6cvu5a169zf)
14. [Unishe April, Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/unishe_april)
15. [ঋতুপর্ণ ঘোষের জন্য প্রণাম, ভালোবাসা ও ফুলের সুগন্ধ, bdnews24 Bangla](https://bangla.bdnews24.com/glitz/article1896015.bdnews)
16. [জাতীয় চলচ্চিত্র পুরস্কার - National Film Award, Eporasona](https://www.eporasona.in/2021/09/national-film-award.html?hl=ar)
17. [Unishe April Movie (1996), Digit Binge](https://www.digit.in/digit-binge/movies/unishe-april-734853.html)
18. [কলকাতায় শুভর 'উনিশে এপ্রিল', Prothom Alo (August 2, 2023)](https://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/ott/rpo9a6qsl9)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Films in other Indian languages*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license