The Japanese Wife

<p>Snehamoy Chatterjee ( ) and Miyage ( ) are pen pals who develop a deep and emotional relationship. Eventually, the pair exchanges wedding vows through letters. Seventeen years pass but they never meet, yet the bond of marriage is strong between them. This unusual relationship is tested when a young widow, Sandhya ( ), comes to stay with Snehamoy along with her eight-year-old son Poltu. Snehamoy and the little boy bond and the arithmetic teacher discovers the joy of palpable bonds and fatherhood. He also develops an inexplicable thread of understanding with Sandhya.<br /> Despite this, Snehamoy remains loyal to his unseen Japanese wife. When Miyage is diagnosed with cancer and falls ill, Snehamoy takes a long leave of absence from his school and tries to find a cure for her illness. Snehamoy sets out one day during a storm to talk to the closest oncologist in Calcutta, but leaves upon realisation that without Miyage physically being there, the doctor can do little. The storm turns violent, with harsh wind and rain. Snehamoy stops to call Miyage, and the exposure to the cold causes him to catch when he returns to his house. Due to the continuing storm, no villagers are able to travel to Gosaba by boat to obtain the antibiotics required to cure his infection, and he dies some days later. After the sea calms down, Miyage, who is dressed in a white sari and has a shaved head (due to her chemotherapy, but not because she feels she is a widow since she did not know Snehamoy died) visits the house of her late husband. Sandhya welcomes her. The production of the film started in April 2007. This is the first time has made a film based on someone else’s story. This movie is based on the title story of by Bengali Indian author , who writes from and is an engineer by training. This film was earlier titled as , but later changed to the name of the original story title. The shooting locations are and in and the cities of and . Aparna Sen had seen ‘s work in and and felt that he was a good, controlled and intelligent actor. In an interview Aparna states that her choice of him for three of her films in a row is because she “can deconstruct him completely and mould him differently in any which way I can. Few actors have this kind of malleability”. Aparna Sen’s daughter was the first choice for the role now played by . For her role, her name is not mentioned in the original short story, but Aparna Sen named her “Sandhya”. Aparna told the that “Raima as Sandhya shared perfect onscreen chemistry with Rahul. Both are shy and refined and suited the characters well”. For casting in the title role, Aparna said “We had hired an agency and chose her after auditioning 12 girls. She is a sensitive woman and an intuitive actress. Hence, she got a feel of the character quickly enough. She didn’t know any English. We had to converse with her through her translator who was always on the sets.” The film received positive to very positive reviews from critics in India. of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, and gave it an excellent review saying that, “There is such beauty, restraint and minimalism in this akin-to-a-haiku film, it transports you into another world altogether.” She praised the acting of all the lead actors, saying “Rahul Bose is in stellar form with his village boy look and his Bangla Angrezi. Raima Sen is delectable as the reticent, shy widow and Moushumi Chatterjee is a revelation.” of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and gave a good review and praised the acting and direction, saying that, “Despite its leisurely pace and its wildly implausible premise, populated with believable, flesh-and-blood characters who have real fears and anxieties that you can connect with.” of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and praised the acting, but criticized the pace of the film, saying “How much you enjoy Aparna Sen’s The Japanese Wife is directly proportionate to how patient you are. The film is slow to the point of being painful. And yet, if you stay with it, The Japanese Wife is a rewarding experience. It’s rich with yearning and sadness and yet hopeful, in a quiet way.” Omar Qureshi of rated the film 5 out of 5 stars and called it “zoombastic”. had a decent opening with a 44% theatre occupancy. Released on only 32 prints, the film had an 88% initial collection according to Saregama Films. In order to combat piracy, DVD was released in India only a month after the film’s theatrical premiere. Despite this safeguard, the film was pirated soon after cinematic release and was sold online before the film’s producers were able to file an injunction against the company. It was purchased by Databazaar Media Ventures for distribution in where it was released through , and on 13 July 2010. In the , the film was shown on , on 25 April 2011.</p>