Did you know Chetan Anand's debut 'Neecha Nagar' won Palme d'Or (Best Film) at the Cannes?

Back in 1946, renowned filmmaker, Chetan Anand made his directorial debut with Neecha Nagar, which was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Hayatullah Ansari. His debut film found its way to the French Rivera and won the prestigious honour at the first-ever Cannes Film Festival. The movie was awarded the Palme d’Or (Best Film) award in the same year of its release. Chetan Anand's movies were highly praised by the critics and received love from the audience. 

Chetan Anand's Neecha Nagar won Palme d'Or at Cannes

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Neecha Nagar featured Chetan Anand’s wife Uma Anand, Rafiq Ahmed, Kamini Kaushal, Rafi Peer, Hamid Butt and Zohra Sehgal. The music score was taken care of by Ravi Shankar. It is the first and the only Indian film to gain recognition at the Cannes Film Festival with eleven of the eighteen entered featured films.

The film is a pioneering effort to showcase social realism in Indian Cinema. The plot revolves around a wealthy landlord Sarkar (played by Rafi Peer) who decides to direct all the waste into the village in order to make space for his real estate project. In the latter scene, the poor villagers can be seen getting agitated against his plan and a protest is held. The protest is led by Balraj (played by Rafiq Anwar).

Neecha Nagar's cast details

Rafiq Anwar

Alongside being an actor, Rafiq Anwar was also a director. He is popular for films such as The Spy Who Loved Me, Neecha Nagar and Ilzaam. He was married to Edith Reich and passed away in 1977 in England.

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Uma Anand

Uma Anand was an actor, journalist and broadcaster, who tied the knot with the director Chetan Anand in the year 1943. She has also written Dev Anand, Vijay Anand and Chetan Anand starrer Taxi Driver. She was an editor of Sangeet Natak which was a journal published by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. Uma has also penned many children books which were translated into several languages by National Book Trust of India. She published her last book Chetan Anand: The Poetics of Film which was co-authored with her eldest son Ketan Anand.

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Kamini Kaushal

The film also marks the debut film for actor Kamini Kaushal. She later went on to appear in popular movies such as Biraj Bahu, Do Bhai, Shaheed, Nadiya Ke Paar, Bade Sarkar, Jailor, Do Raaste, Prem Nagar, Maha Chor, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, Sanyasi, Dus Numbari, Santosh. Kamini has bagged Filmfare Best Actress Award, BFJA Best Supporting Actress Award, Kalakar and Filmfare Life Time Achievement Awards and many more.

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