OVERLAY REPORT

Regarding Satyajit Ray’s **Aparajito (1956)**, the second installment of the Apu Trilogy, the film achieved immense critical success internationally, most notably winning the **Golden Lion** (Best Film) at the Venice Film Festival. While the film itself won numerous prestigious "Best Film" awards, individual acting nominations were rare for Indian actors in international circuits during the 1950s. However, there is one significant and historic exception regarding the performance of **Karuna Banerjee**, who played Apu’s mother, Sarbojaya. ### Karuna Banerjee: BAFTA Nomination Karuna Banerjee received a nomination for **Best Foreign Actress** at the **1959 BAFTA Awards** (British Academy Film Awards) for her role in *Aparajito*. This was a landmark achievement, as it was one of the first times an Indian actor was recognized in a lead acting category by a major Western academy. #### Who she was up against: The 1959 BAFTA category for Best Foreign Actress was exceptionally competitive, featuring some of the most iconic performances in cinema history. Karuna Banerjee was nominated alongside: 1. **Simone Signoret (Winner):** For *Room at the Top*. Signoret won both the BAFTA and the Academy Award for this role. 2. **Ingrid Bergman:** For *The Inn of the Sixth Happiness*. 3. **Elizabeth Taylor:** For *Cat on a Hot Tin Roof*. 4. **Giulietta Masina:** For Federico Fellini's *Nights of Cabiria*. 5. **Anna Magnani:** For *Wild is the Wind*. 6. **Joanne Woodward:** For *No Down Payment*. ### Context on Other Cast Members * **Kanu Banerjee (Harihar):** Although his performance as Apu’s father was highly praised for its pathos, he did not receive major individual international award nominations. * **Pinaki Sengupta and Smaran Ghosal (Apu):** The two actors who played Apu as a child and an adolescent, respectively, were non-professionals. While their naturalistic acting was a cornerstone of the film’s "Neorealist" acclaim, they did not feature in individual acting award categories. ### Domestic Awards In India, the **National Film Awards** were in their infancy. While *Aparajito* won the **President's Gold Medal for the Best Feature Film** in 1957, the National Film Awards did not introduce individual categories for "Best Actor" or "Best Actress" until 1967. Therefore, no member of the cast could have won a National Award for acting at the time of the film's release. ### Summary The only actor from *Aparajito* to be nominated for a major individual acting award was **Karuna Banerjee**. Her BAFTA nomination placed her in the company of Hollywood and European legends like Ingrid Bergman and Elizabeth Taylor, cementing her performance as Sarbojaya as one of the greatest in world cinema.