Adalat o Ekti Meye

The film is framed as a courtroom trial, and the story is narrated through flashbacks. Urmila (Tanuja), a young schoolteacher, goes on a holiday to the sea resort of Gopalpur. Her vacation turns into a nightmare as she is gang-raped on the beach by four rich young men. This is only the beginning of her ordeal. The film shows the difficulties she faces in her quest for justice. Her friends and colleagues begin to avoid her. Her fiancé can't handle the situation, and their engagement is broken off. Even her father, though supportive of her wish to bring the culprits to book, turns against her. One of the most striking scenes of the film is set in his office. Tired of answering solicitous, yet prurient, questions from his colleagues, he places on his desk a placard that reads "My raped daughter is well". The families of the culprits are rich and influential, and try their best to subvert the legal process. The police officer who investigated the case is placed under suspension. Urmila faces humiliating questions during the trial, as well as unwanted media attention, but eventually gets justice.

• Tanuja - Urmila
• Manoj MitraThanare Gobinda (police officer)
• Devika Mukherjee
• Patanjali Guhathakurta
• Nirmal Kumar

• Direction - Tapan Sinha
• Production - Dhiraj Kumar Chakraborty
• Music - Tapan Sinha
• Cinematography - Bimal Mukherjee
• Editing - Subodh Roy

When the film was made, its theme was a bold one. Although completed in 1981, its theatrical release was delayed.{{cite book|title=Oh Calcutta vol. 9|year=1981|location=Calcutta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywpDAAAAYAAJ&q=adalat+o+ekti+meye}} Many databases list it as a 1982 film, though at the National Film Awards in 1982 it was in competition with other 1981 films. Perhaps due to the discomfort of middle-class audiences, the film did not enjoy the commercial success of some of Sinha's other films. However, in later years it has been consistently listed as one of his best works.{{cite news|title=The beat of an unheard music|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080817/jsp/calcutta/story_9698910.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113082043/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080817/jsp/calcutta/story_9698910.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 November 2013|accessdate=7 November 2013|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=17 August 2008}}{{cite news|title=A master storyteller|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/A+master+storyteller/1/26777.html|accessdate=7 November 2013|newspaper=India Today|date=30 January 2009}}{{cite news|title=Tapan Sinha gets Dadasaheb Phalke Award|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-07-21/india/27943630_1_national-film-awards-film-maker-tapan-sinha|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130526131029/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2008-07-21/india/27943630_1_national-film-awards-film-maker-tapan-sinha|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 May 2013|accessdate=13 November 2013|newspaper=The Times of India|date=21 July 2008}} The film has been hailed as a strong feminist statement that "questions the integrity of the unsympathetic patriarchal judicial system that stigmatises the victim rather than punishing the criminals".{{cite web|title=Tapan Sinha {{!}} Upperstall.com|url=http://www.upperstall.com/people/tapan-sinha|accessdate=15 November 2013}}

In a recent (2019) assessment of the film, a reviewer hails the film as "one of the beacon feminist movies much ahead of its time". She applauds the film for not opting to have a "male saviour", unlike other films that deal with rape. Urmila fights her battle on her own.{{cite web |last1=Bhattacharya |first1=Rimli |title=Adalat O Ekti Meye Opts To Not Have A "Male Saviour" For A Rape Victim |url=https://feminisminindia.com/2019/11/22/adalat-o-ekti-meye-not-male-saviour-rape-victim/ |website=feminisminindia.com |date=21 November 2019 |access-date=4 April 2021}}

Adalat o Ekti Meye has been restored and digitised by the National Film Archive of India. {{cite web |title=Digitized and Restored Films List |url=https://nfai.nfdcindia.com/upload/circleIconPdf/1499148501_Digitized%20and%20Restored%20Films%20List.pdf |website=nfai.nfdcindia.com |publisher=National Film Archives of India |access-date=23 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630135159/https://nfai.nfdcindia.com/upload/circleIconPdf/1499148501_Digitized%20and%20Restored%20Films%20List.pdf |archive-date=30 June 2018 |url-status=live }}

• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali at the 29th National Film Awards. Citation: For its powerful presentation of the problems of rape and its shattering after-effects in the life of a woman.

{{Reflist}}

{{IMDb title|0155473}}

{{National Film Award Best Feature Film Bengali}}

{{Tapan Sinha}}

Category:Bengali-language Indian films

Category:Best Bengali Feature Film National Film Award winners

Category:1980s Bengali-language films

Category:Indian drama films

Category:1981 films

Category:Indian courtroom films