| Damu | |
| Director: | Raja Sen |
| Producer: |
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| Screenplay: | Mohit Chatterjee |
| Story: | Narayan Gangopadhyay |
| Based On: | Panchaananer Haati |
| Starring: | |
| Music: | Jatileshwar Mukherjee |
| Cinematography: | Shakti Banerjee |
| Editing: | Snehasish Ganguly |
| Production Companies: | --> |
| Distributors: | --> |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Bengali |
Damu (Bengali: দামু) is a 1996 Indian Bengali-language drama film directed by Raja Sen[1] and produced by the Government of West Bengal. It is based on Narayan Gangopadhyay's novel Ponchanoner Haati (Bengali: পঞ্চাননের হাতি) and is Sen's directorial debut. The film was released on 26 October 1996 and won National Film Award for Best Children's Film.
Damu is an innocent orphan who lives in the village with an old man Panchanan. He develops a friendship with Panchanan's granddaughter Runku. One day he carelessly promises her an elephant ride through the village. But it is impossible to manage an elephant in the village, hence Runku is disappointed. To fulfill the promise, Damu sets out in search of an elephant. In his journey, he faces humiliation, taunting, harassment but does not lose hope. Finally, Damu comes across a circus but the manager refuses to meet him. Circumstances arise where Damu saves the circus from a gang of a robbers. Out of gratitude, the circus manager allows Damu to borrow an elephant and Runku gets her elephant ride in the village.