Charulata- ‘The one with the least defects’
That’s how Ray described his famous masterpiece in an interview. According to him, this was the movie which he would make exactly the way it was if he had to do it again. That’s a very interesting claim because when it was released in 1964, there was intense debate and criticism about how Ray had adapted Tagore’s novella “Nashtanir” (The Broken Nest). Ray apparently furiously defended his adaptation and wrote a detailed reply to his critics about the art of screenwriting and filmmaking. We can only guess if the choice of his favorite movie was affected by this turn of events.
Having said that, it is very easy to be blown away by the master class that the movie undoubtedly is. It may not be easy, if you have been fed on a diet of a ‘cumshot every ten minutes’ type of a movie but try. I, on my part, am not even going to try and review the movie, I’m way over my head here but if you are interested you can read what better people than me have written here, here and here .
But quickly, the story is this- Charu is the lonely wife of a wealthy man, Bhupathi, who is more interested in his political newspaper than his artistic wife. Nevertheless, Bhupathi is a kind and caring husband who asks Charu’s brother to come and work with him thinking that Charu will have some company with her sister-in-law, Manda. Unfortunately, Manda with her inferior mind and taste is boring company. It is the arrival of Amal, Bhupathi’s younger brother, who is gregarious and artistic, at their home which triggers the chain of events. Bhupathi asks Amal to try and get Charu to write as he feels she has the talent for it. Amal and Charu get along famously as their minds and natures are compatible. Charu realizes that she has feelings for Aman which are more than what would be permitted in their current relationship. Amal meanwhile is blessedly ignorant but eventually does realize that he has the power to cause his beloved brother much harm. Bhupathi meanwhile is shattered to find that Charu’s brother on whom he had placed his financial trust has duped him and shares this news with Amal. Amal leaves the home never to return again so that he may not inadvertently disturb the last vestiges of his brother’s life. Charu is heartbroken but as she and Bhupathi pick up the pieces of their lives, a letter from Amal arrives which will change their lives forever.
The story above might not seem very remarkable- there is no violence, no adultery and no melodramatic remonstrations (Did you by chance happen to see ‘Sorry Bhai’?!). It is in the subtle display of powerful emotions that Ray captures your mind, body and soul and doesn’t let go. A lot of credit obviously goes to the material which is drawn from Tagore’s story but Ray’s cinematic choices are exemplary. Look out for the following-
Charulatha’s loneliness- The opening scene in the movie is now legend. A long 10-15 minute sequence in which there is no dialogue but solely catering to a snapshot of her lonely life.
Bhupathi’s character- The kind and caring husband who is willing to give a vocation to Charu’s good-for-nothing brother just so that she could have some company.
Amal and Charulatha- Their initial interactions are filled with fondness, affection and an easy chemistry. Amal calls Charu the ‘modern woman’ while Charu kids Amal about getting married.
Charu’s realization- Another legendary scene with Charu on a swing singing a song when she suddenly realizes her true feelings for Amal.
Amal’s obliviousness- as he sings a romantic song to his imagined lover with Charu in the room who blushes in spite of herself.
Amal’s awareness- when he sees the efforts that Charu is willing to put in order to win his respect, admiration and love.
Bhupathi’s tragedy- Every one of the three main characters has their own tragic turn but it is Bhupathi where the creators’ sympathy first lies. His passion, the newspaper lies in tatters in the floor.
A Resolution- which is matter-of-fact and life changing at the same time. Amal has left for ever leaving behind ‘A Broken Nest’.
A few YouTube videos-
This Tagore Song (Ami Chini Go Chine Tomar) is the song which shows Amal’s obliviousness. Notice how Amal seems completely bereft of any motivation but how the song affects Charulatha. In the end she collects Amal’s shoes to embroider them as a route to show her affection.
Notice the beautiful camera angles in this song. The exhilaration on Charulatha’s face and the uneasy realization of its cause- a person who keeps hovering in and out of her vision. Priceless!
An excerpt from the documentary on the great man-
Tags: Charulata, Ray, Tagore
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
@D&C,
Anna Karenina reserves a place for Leo Tolstoy in the world of literature and Charulata does same thing for Satyajit Ray in the world of cinema.
Both the great creators have created other illustrious works also but these creations can represent them in their highest glory.
Charulata represents overall vision and approach of Satyajit Ray as a director.
To study Ray’s directorial vision, his Mise en scène, Charulata is the best film.
His technical approach, his way of developing the characters, his visual way of showing a tale, his capability to capture and exhibit the psychology and emotions of the characters, his creation of a cinematic space, everything is so clear in this film.
Exemplary film.
@ D&C- actually its difficult to write anything/say anything more on the movie because it certainly is a classic.For anyone who’s seen it & who’s seen a lot of other Ray’s work it wouldnt be too difficult to soak in its brilliance.Ami chini go chine tomar by Kishoreda
is simply fantastic.Good that you’ve written this post.Time to watch this movie again sometime soon.
im so much enamoured by ray’s films, have got DVDs of almost all his movies, and Charulata is certainly the best of the best. madhabi mukherjee was simply brilliant as the bored housewife.
as sethu says, time to catch up with it once more.
Well a nice post keep it up.
While watching movies like this you so desparately want to make movies.
Adultery has been long dealt in history of world cinema.This is the movie which tackles with such sensitivity and maturity.Not single scene of skin show which are must for this kind of such subjects in our Mainstream masala movies directed by I.V.Sashi and Bhatt camp.
Most comment sections on articles on Satyajit Ray’s works stay silent. Most people feel themselves too insignificant to comment and others simply have not experienced his works.
A hand counted few like me, who has seen his all works but fall short of words to express the superiority, can only get inspired by your article, to see the movie once again.
Somehow like all other famous Directors of the world Soumitra remains as the Director’s actor. Madhabi probably shares same importance as Sharmila Tagore to portray the ‘cinematic poetry’.
I think in a place like PFC- Satyajit Ray should be a separate Catagory altogether. Would love to discuss his other works too.
Cheers!
~uh~
I also think this link would help Ray fans understand what Ray himself thought about his works, makes an outstanding read for people who has seen all his films.
Cheers!
~uh~
uh- Thanks for the link. I had read the interview before but it felt good reading it again. Why don’t you write something on PFC on Ray and his movies?
Cheers! Nice approach to a review. I am gonna steal it!
Tushar- Go ahead and steal the approach but don’t forget to mention the source!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/10/movies/10ray.html?th&emc=th
Thanks for the link arrfan…