Neel Akasher Neechey

Neel Akasher Neechey (Bengali: নীল আকাশের নীচে Nil akasher niche, "Under the Blue Sky") is a 1959 Bengali language drama film directed by Mrinal Sen and produced by Hemanta Mukherjee, starring Kali Bannerjee, Manju Dey, Bikash Roy in lead roles. The film was based on the Mahadevi Verma short story Chini Feriwala.^[3]

Neel Akasher Neechey
Screenshot
Directed by	Mrinal Sen
Written by	Based on the short story "Chini Feriwala" written by Mahadevi Varma[1]
Produced by	Hemanta Bela Production
Starring	Kali Banerjee Manju Dey Bikash Roy Smriti Biswas Suruchi Sengupta Ajit Chatterjee Rasaraj Chakraborty Monu Mukherjee
Cinematography	Sailaja Chatterjee
Music by	Hemanta Mukherjee
Production company	New Theatres[2]
Release date	20 February 1959 (1959-02-20)
Running time	133 minutes
Country	India
Language	Bengali

Set in the background of the last days of the British Raj in Calcutta, the film explores the lives of a number of characters, including the platonic relationship between an immigrant Chinese wage worker, Wang Lu, and the main female character Basanti. The film had overt political overtones and was the first film to be banned by the Government of India.^[4][5] The ban was effective for two months.^[6]

Plot

Set in the 1930s, the film tells the story of an honest Chinese hawker, Wang Lu, who sells silk in Calcutta's streets while refusing to get involved in the opium trade run by his fellow countrymen. He feels a sisterly affection towards Basanti, the wife of a lawyer who is engaged in a nationalist political group. Basanti is arrested and imprisoned causing Wang Lu to get involved with her political group. He later returns to China to join the resistance movement against the Japanese invasion of China in 1931.^[7]

Cast

• Kali Bannerjee as Wang Lu
• Manju Dey as Basanti
• Bikash Roy as Basanti's husband
• Smriti Biswas as Maki
• Suruchi Sengupta
• Ajit Chatterjee
• Rasaraj Chakraborty
• Mei-Lin Jiang as Mei-Lin in special appearance

Soundtrack

Songs

No.	Title	Playback	Length
1.	"O Nadi Re"	Hemanta Mukherjee	4:13
2.	"Neel Akasher Neechey Ei Prithibi"	Hemanta Mukherjee	3:48

All lyrics are written by Gauriprasanna Mazumder; all music is composed by Hemanta Mukherjee.