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Rabindranath Tagore was a polymath if there ever was one. The Renaissance Man of India (lovingly referred to by the sobriquet “Kobi Guru”, or The Great Bard) was a poet, composer, song writer, novelist, short story writer, playwright and painter (and prolific in each of these); he was also a philosopher, nationalist, educationist, social reformer, humanist, great admirer of natural sciences, and tireless spokesperson for world peace. India’s greatest genius and one of the most versatile geniuses the world has ever known, he was also the biggest idol of Satyajit Ray, a versatile genius himself. The documentary Rabindranath Tagore, which might as well be qualified as “Genius on Genius” (aptly quoted by one of my professors while introducing it to the audience), was made on the occasion of the bard’s birth centenary as homage to the Bengali Nobel laureate by one of his most devoted pupils. The film chronicles the life and times of Tagore, along with references to his fascinating lineage, his incredibly progressive philosophies, and his vision for a world sans war and violence. It comprises of both original footages as well as some dramatized sequences, with Ray’s baritone providing the stirring narration. Ray reportedly remarked about the documentary, “Ten or twelve minutes of it are among the most moving and powerful things that I have produced.”
Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Documentary
Language: English/Bengali
Country: India
Aparna Sen, who made her debut in the Samapti segment in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya, and had established herself as a popular face on the silver screen over the next couple of decades, decided to move behind the camera; and boy, did she make a marvelous debut as a director! Adapted from her own story, 36 Chowringhee Lane is the tale of Violet Stoneham (Jennifer Kendal), an ageing and severely lonely Anglo-Indian lady who lives at a squalid apartment block at the titular address in Calcutta, and teaches Shakespeare at a girls’ school. Set over a period of one year, the film follows the unlikely friendship she strikes with Nandita (Debashree Roy), her former student and now a beautiful young lady, and her intellectual but unemployed fiancé Samaresh (Dhritiman Chatterjee). Their accompaniment and youthfulness bring joy and cheerfulness into her drab and uneventful life, oblivious of the couple’s ulterior motives, viz. making use of her apartment when she’s at school. The cycle of happiness, as expected, does come crashing down when one Christmas night, post their marriage, she ends up realizing that she isn’t a part of their life any more – resulting in a powerful and profoundly tragic climax. The lovingly shot and leisurely paced movie boasts of excellent turns, with Jennifer Kendal’s incredible performance being the standout feature in this deeply humanistic film.
Director: Aparna Sen
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama
Language: English/Bengali
Country: India
Satyajit Ray once mentioned, “… the one film that I would make the same way, if I had to do it again, is Charulata”. Adapted from a semi autobiographical novella by the great Rabindranath Tagore, this complex and haunting love triangle is set at the backdrop of the Bengal Renaissance – a movement that led to the formation of “modern” India. Bhupati (Sailen Mukherjee) is an upper class Bengali intellectual who is forever engrossed in the political newspaper he edits and prints; consequently Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee), his beautiful and educated wife, has immersed herself into Bengali literature to alleviate her ennui. The arrival of Bhupati’s young cousin brother Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), a sensitive poetry-loving vagabond-at-heart, breaks her stupor, and before long, the emotionally fragile Charu finds herself falling for the bohemian Amal. The exquisitely paced film boasts of stirring performances by the three leads, with Madhabi and Soumitra’s being truly astounding. The film comprises of a slew of unforgettable moments, right from the opening where Charu is whiling her time with her opera-glasses, and the one with Charu riding on her swing in complete abandon (perhaps an homage to Kurosawa’s Ikiru), to the terrific freeze-framed finale (reminiscent of Truffaut’s The 400 Blows). The scene where Amal slowly looks towards Charu, who’s standing at a distance, while Bhupati is mournfully speaking on trust, oblivious to Charu’s growing feelings for Amal – well, that was devastating! And Kishore Kumar’s rendition of the classic Tagore song Ami Chini Go Chini was cinema at its purest. The film boasts of great set designs, marvelous usage of light and shadows, and a lovely score (the latter by Ray himself).
p.s. This is my 500th movie review at Cinemascope, and what better way to reach this milestone than via a movie by my favourite filmmaker. So here's a hop, skip and jump from me!
Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Romantic Drama/Psychological Drama/Political Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India
Noukadubi, released on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, one of the most staggering geniuses known to humankind, is Rituparno Ghosh’s tribute to the great bard for his enormous influence on him, as on innumerable others. The story, set in pre-independent India, is a labyrinthine, emotionally charged four-pronged love story filled with high tragedy and complex human interactions, and comprising of a liberal dose of timely (as well as unfortunate) coincidences. At the centre of the film lie four exquisitely etched characters – Ramesh (Jishu Sengupta), an introverted middle-class law student; Hemnalini (Raima Sen), an rich young lady who’s intellectually liberated way beyond her times; Kamala (Riya Sen), a naïve semi-literate village girl whose life has been a series of tragedies; and, Nalinaksha (Prosenjit Chatterjee), a mild-mannered music aficionado-cum-respected doctor. Jishu is quite brilliant, and so is Raima, while Prosenjeet is all restraint in his small role; but the revelation of the film turned out to be Riya, hitherto known for everything but acting. The film, which comprises of some lilting Rabindra Sangeet (Songs of Tagore), and boasts of great cinematography, is yet another feather in the cap of Rituparno Ghosh – the filmmaker par excellence who seems incapable of doing any wrong as he keeps churning one finely crafted movie after another.
Director: Rituparno Ghosh
Genre: Drama/Romance
Language: Bengali
Country: India
After Life Goes On, Memories in March turned out to be the second English film (with spatterings of Bengali and Hindi) by an Indian director on the trot for me. Some might find similarities with Arekti Premer Galpo, given that both are based on gay relationships, and has the brilliant Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh in front of the camera rather than behind it; but suffice it to say, they are poles apart cinematically. Upon the tragic death of a young guy from Delhi, who was working in an ad-agency in Calcutta, his grief-stricken mother arrives in the city – only to find revelations about her son that leaves the conservative lady shell-shocked. Deepti Naval has given a powerful performance as the grieving mother who slowly comes to terms with the uncomfortable truths about her son, and ends up developing warm bonds with the intellectual Rituparno Ghosh (her deceased son’s “companion”) and the lovely Raima Sen (who had a crush for him). Debutante Sanjoy Nag’s assured direction has been ably complemented by the restrained and natural performances, and a wonderful, layered script by Rituparno. Though the movie, or Rituparno the actor, are nowhere as spellbinding as the his first venture in front of the camera, this melancholic, sensitive, nicely paced and superbly photographed human drama (filled with a host of memorable sequences) still remains a satisfying watch.
Director: Sanjoy Nag
Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Psychological Drama
Language: English/Bengali/Hindi
Country: India
Ghare Baire belongs to that phase of Satyajit Ray’s life when his health was fast deteriorating and his movies began to be clubbed by the moniker “Lesser Ray”. Yet this movie is proof enough that even a “lesser Ray” was better than the best works of most filmmakers. One of the fellow bloggers, in his exceptional review of this film, compared Ghare Baire with Charulata, the movie Ray qualified as his personal favourite, and I completely agree to the points made. Adapted from a novel by Rabindranath Tagore, a ‘Renaissance Man’ with few equals, the story is based with the political turmoil surrounding the partition of Bengal (the then-hotbed of independence struggle) in British-ruled India forming the vital backdrop. And, in a state of fierce upheaval as this, brews a psychologically complex love triangle between Nikhil (Victor Bannerjee), a rich and mild-mannered landlord with mindset way ahead of his times, Bimala (Swatilekha Sengupta), his bold and liberated wife, and Sandip (Soumitra Chatterjee), a staunch nationalist, firebrand speaker, and Nikhil’s childhood friend. The film, that was supposed to have been Ray’s debut feature, boasted of a trio of memorable performances, with Soumitra Chatterjee absolutely outstanding as always as the enigmatic and morally ambiguous Sandip. Ray also made great use of Kishore Kumar’s voice in this otherwise verbose and volatile film.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Romance/Political Drama/Historical Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India
Satyajit Ray painted a dark and searing examination of urban life in his masterful Calcutta Trilogy; Seemabaddha was the second installment of the trilogy. While Pratidwandi examined the left-wing affiliations of the city’s educated youth, and Jana Aranya portrayed the dark underbelly of the city, in Seemabaddha Ray focused on the corporate side of 1970s Calcutta. The protagonist here is Shyamalendu Chatterjee, a smart, intelligent, ambitious and upwardly mobile young man, who is just a step away from a grand promotion. Around the same time he gets an extended visit by Sudarsana (Tutul), his pretty sister-in-law, he discovers a problem with what ought to have been the company’s latest shipment, which in turn could seriously jeopardize his corporate ambitions. Based on a cue that Tutul gave in jest, he hatches a secret, sinister plan to set things right. The film, straightforward narrative-wise, is in essence a subtle and fascinating character study, as also a probing look into the socio-political commentary. Barun Chanda, as the likeable Sales Manager in a big British firm, is excellent, but the cake is taken by Sharmila Tagore as the enigmatic young lady, whose penetrative mind manages to see beyond the artificiality of Shyamal’s existence. The expertly photographed, marvelously written and crisply paced film, with a terrific finale, leaves its viewers with uncomfortable questions rather than just easy answers.
Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Urban Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India
