I had watched a few more of Satyajit Ray's exceptional movies, following are some of my thoughts about them......
Pratidwandi - The Adversary (1970)
This is the sort of movie that can have polarizing opinions from the viewers. The young Dhritiman Chatterjee (I didn’t recognize him at first
) plays the protagonist who is a youth in search of a job in the India of the 70s. Unlike today, there are no clear avenues to pursue with the grim political scenario prevalent.The movie deals with the impact the city has on the educated youth and the price it extracts from them. The protagonist is confused, angry, wavering and has frequent episodes of hallucinations in which he has flashbacks and intuitions. One half of him is willing to play the part of the society expects him to, and he dutifully attends interview after interview with the hope of getting a job. But his other half, the adversary, wants to question the system and everything it stands for, there is the unmistakable existential angst which makes him lash out. When an interviewer asks him
“do you love flowers?” he doesn’t hesitate much to retort,
“not unconditionally”, showing his defiance to authority figures and mocking their stand.
His relation with his pretty younger sister is also precarious and his brother seems to have taken up a cause with the communist movement. So he is the only one left out without a purpose. Ray uses camera angles and close ups to show the protagonists emotions intermixed with the situation India was in the 70s, exceedingly well in this masterwork. Compared to the rest of his filmography I had seen so far, this appeared to be a bit abrupt when it comes to the dream sequences, but on the whole it captures the mood very well.
After watching the movie and a quick peek through the Wiki page has revealed that this movie is part of what later was known as the
“Calcutta Trilogy”, the other two being,
“Seemabaddha - Company Limited (1971)” and
“Jana Aranya - The Middle Man (1975)”. I’m yet to watch the other two.
Charulata - The Lonely Wife (1964)
This movie is an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s story,
“The Broken Nest”. I had in the past, seen a different take on this story, but I was never prepared for the visual feast that Ray had managed to assemble for this movie. In one word, brilliant
After watching
Mahanagar, I was enthralled by Madhabi Mukherjee’s performance in it. With
Charulata she outdoes the high benchmark that she has set, in portraying the intelligent, bored and lonely wife. The rich husband (Shailen Mukherjee) is trying to find meaning and spend his time by running an “ideal press” and is quite obsessed with the endeavor. The neglected Charu finds solace in the company of the free-spirited and outspoken younger brother of her workaholic husband, Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), who starts noticing and appreciating her literary talents. Amal’s entry into their placid but tepid existence is shot by Ray in the backdrop of a dust storm, a probable hint on the things to come. Their platonic relationship is quite subtle and a joy to watch, and at times reminds us of the author Tagore and his relation with his brother's wife Kadambari devi.
Ray, in this movie, raises the benchmark which he has set in getting the details right and paying attention to them throughout the movie. Not a single shot is extra and each frame is so beautifully captured as if a painting is frozen in time. The initial shots show (without a single word being spoken) the frustration and boredom Charulata faces, trying to while away her time. She is part of the elite India, whom her husband terms as the
idle rich. The socio-economic class of people shown here are such a stark contrast to
Mahanagar which came a year earlier, but Ray gets it all right and Madhabi shines through her character with aplomb.
Teen Kanya - Three Daughters(1961)
This series of short movies consists of three independent stories adapted from Rabindranath Tagore’s works. Wiki says that the initial video release was called
Dui Kanya (Two Daughters) with the third story omitted, but the Academy archives released the full international version. The three stories doesn’t have a common thread and happen at different times, the only connecting link being the author and the director.
“Story 1: The Postmaster” is probably the most poignant of the three with the excellent Anil Chaterjee playing the city born new recruit who comes in as a postmaster in a remote village. After
Mahanagar, I was really looking forward to watching him in this movie and he does deliver very well his role as the bored and naive postmaster. But in my view what stole the show from Anil himself was the little girl called Ratan, who plays his housekeeper. She is a poor, thin and orphan kid, but in every sense of the word, she is better equipped at dealing with her world than her master is. Quickly they develop a bonding and the subtle way in which Ray portray’s it is perhaps some of the finest moments in any movie I had ever seen. This is the sort of tale we wish had never ended, as with his
Pather Panchali this too is like a quiet river which meanders and flows, taking its own course when faced with obstacles. My only gripe is that this flow ends too soon
“Story 2: Samapti - The Conclusion” is the longest running of the three and deals with a young man who rebels against his arranged marriage and instead falls for a high-spirited, headstrong and childlike girl (keeping a squirrel for a pet
) from his village. Soumitra Chaterjee as Amulya and Aparna Sen as the girl, Mrinmoyi are excellent. As with many other Tagore’s works, the story delves into the nature of marriages, and the loss of independence it brings about to the free spirited souls entering into it. Will it change their way of thinking and outlook? Is such a change needed for the greater good? Ray, adds his own magic to the tale with the inclusion of intricate details in each shot, humour and a pivotal scene which on its own brings out the essence of the story, the transition from the girl to a woman. All of this stays with us long after the movie has ended.
“Story 3: Monihara - The Lost Jewels” when watched back to back with the others, fell short of my expectations and lacked the depth the other two had. But nevertheless is a haunting take on a woman’s obsession with jewels in the hope of filling up a void in her life and where it leads her to. The tale is narrated in a story within a story framework and has a climactic twist, quite unlike Tagore
.
