We know how pretty well Satyajit Ray depicted the protagonist Apu in ‘Apur Sansar’ – someone in an accidental marriage, lonely life as a student, his love for his wife and at later stage an inconsolable sense of loss.
While they travel in a carriage (cow-pulled cart) to drop Apu’s wife for the delivery of the would be baby, an ‘enchanted’ husband Apu throws a question,
“Tomar chokhhey ki acchey bolo toh (What is there in your eyes)”.
On the backdrop there is a glow of the match stick and Sharmila’s face is lit up.
But his wife’s response is yet again very short but romantic in its own form -- ‘Kajal’.
Saumitra Chatterjee is shown at his 'best' – bearded and pensive eye lost in his own thoughts. He is to overcome the sadness of wife’s death and an anguish against his son. Apu throws away all the pages of his manuscript – of an incomplete novel which he wanted to dedicate to his wife (a promise made to her).
The filmmaker (Ray) and actor (Saumitra) make a perfect combine as Apu holds his both hands facing upwards and his face having reconciled to fate.
Critic Chidanand Das Gupta once said that was : “Ray’s way of slowly bringing about the events outward and inward, in perfect relationship to each other....”.
Born 2 May 1921, Ray breathed his last on April 23rd, 1992. Ray handled some of the complicated plots very well.
Siddhartha's character makes in film 'Pratidwandi' may force the viewers
ponder on the weak organisational aspect of the Naxalite movement.
At one point, Siddhartha sold his medicine books to present sister Tunu with Che Guevara's 'The Complete Bolivian Diaries', but later is not attracted to the Naxal movement by commitment.
His friend calls him a thinker and not a doer. True, Siddhartha thinks of firing a bullet at Sutapa's boss's ribs but does not.
However, Siddhartha bursts out in the climax scene and screams at the job interviewers: "Are we animals?"
(In 1987, France awarded him the 'Legion of Honour'. In 1985, Ray received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honour. He was also honoured with the Bharat Ratna)
In fact, 'Pratidwandi', Jana Aranya and Seemabaddha are part of the legacy films or 'Calcutta Triology' of Ray.
Seemabaddha (made in 1971) chronicles the tale of Shyamalendu's life, portraying the other side of Calcutta, where people are not exploited.
Instead people have taken the position of exploiting others.
Talking about Soumitra and Satyajit Ray, one is reminded of a popular statement in cine-world that Cinema is more often a real vehicle of action.
Long back, an acclaimed film writer Chidanand Das Gupta had written “To Ray, cinema is like the Greek theatre, the action takes place off screen, while on screen, we see the reaction to it”.
Therefore, when one analyses Soumitra Chatterjee’s performance in some or all of Ray’s films – like popular ones ‘Apur Sansar’ or even at later day’s ‘Shakha Prashakha’ and ‘Ganashatru’, we must bear in mind the context Ray must have created and fine tuned the protagonists as portrayed by Chatterjee.
Spare a few minutes to see the film ‘Apur Sansar’ made in 1959 and one would certainly appreciate that the relationship between Apu and his (accidental wife) Aparna is one of the most perfect depictions of love.
A good observer of the film would not miss a point that Aparna’s fragile beauty has a touch of infinite and perhaps also undefined ‘sadness’! But Apu’s admiration for her grows up mere formality and even infatuation.
At one point Apu says: “Amar Lekha amar janya koto boro jano, tumi taar cheye o boro
“You know how I love and admire my writing. I love you even more, you are even greater”.
(As a journo and regular blogger – one can find the remarks autobiographical.
But it may or may not be for one particular Father-in-law's daughter.)
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Charulata (1964) or Ghare Baire (1984) were also great films. In later years, he made films like Agantuk (The Stranger).
Adapted from Satyajit Ray’s short story 'Atithi', the film Agantuk (made in 1991) touches contemporary issues pretty well.
The movie unfolds as a quiet yet probing drawing-room drama. Anila (Mamata Shankar) receives an unexpected letter from a long-lost Chhoto Mama uncle, Manomohan Mitra.
She knows nothing about the man in the last 35 years. But the prodigal uncle has expressed his wish to stay with her family in Calcutta. Anila's husband, Sudhindra (Dipankar De), is immediately skeptical, suspecting the man might be an imposter.
Utpal Dutt was a perfect choice for the role of principal protagonist. And his interaction with Dhritiman Chatterjee also throws larger debate of human civilisation and the achievements. Utpal throws a good one-liner about mother tongue -- that is Bangla - something Bengalis are so proud of.
Pause for a while - come to contemporary settings - West Bengal's elections, the rise of a right-wing party and the talk about identities.
Reflect on this response from Chhoto Mama:
"Je jinish manushe manushe beeved srishti kore, ami take mani na, religion eta korei.
(I don't believe in anything that divides people, which religion certainly does. Organized religion does especially. For the same reason, I don't believe in caste)."
In 1975 made film 'Jana Aranya' we find another instance of a social decay.
A semblance of corruption or revolution, two extremes, made Somnath's father anxious.
"The unemployed youth have only two choices left, either corruption or revolution!"
This showed how the youth of Calcutta stood at the crossroads in the 1970s. One can always ask - has anything substantial changed in the last five-six decades in the state of West Bengal or in a Bengali life.
Finally, any write up on Satyajit Ray is incomplete without reference to the 1955 movie ‘Pather Panchali’.
In this award winning film, Indira Thakran is only a distant relative and the film’s children (first creation of Apu included) love her not just because she is their kin; but they are drawn to her as she represents a ‘mysterious force’ of life and perhaps even death.
In a lighter vein, Bengal's 'mysterious force' of life or even death may come out of EVM boxes on May 4. Will Bengalis still favour status quo ?
ends
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