Mahanagar (The Big City)

This Satyajit Ray film addresses issues involved in the modernization of societal roles of the sexes in India. The film concentrates on the personal difficulties of one family as their financial situation forces the daughter-in-law/wife/mother out of her traditional role in the home and into the work place. The father is furious, mother disappointed, husband humiliated, and the child confused.

The wife is very good at her job of door-to-door saleswoman and as she rakes in the cash her husband's life falls apart - very much like the patriarchal system itself. Out of work, the husband is jealous and suspicious of his wife, and while worrying about her he entirely ignores his father, who embarks on a shameful quest to collect money from his former pupils under the pretext of being neglected by his son. The movie ends on a hopeful note, with both bread winners jobless, the husband and wife equal at last and happy about it. Another not-to-be-missed, entertaining classic.

WORTH WATCHING
3.5 out of 5

Plot: 4
Imagery: 4
Originality: 3
Soundtrack: 3
Overall: 3.5

Nayak (The Hero)

This Indian film by Satyajit Ray has a definite Italian quality to it, with especially obvious similarities to Fellini's 1960s pictures. The main actor even bears a strong resemblance to Marcello Mastroianni, and his character is, much like Mastroianni in 8 1/2, trapped and jaded by the entertainment business. In Nayak, a popular movie star travels to Delhi to receive a prize of some sort, but having decided at the last minute to go, he has no choice but to take a common sleeper. On board he finds himself surrounded by nosy fans, a fiery old man, a conniving couple, and many other characters, all of whom distract him from his 'wish' to sleep and be ignored. As the train rolls on, the star - confined to a compartmentalized locomotive - is compelled to lower his suave, detached manner and reveal some of his troubling past. Unfortunately, the film displays little of Ray's talent for musical composition, though it does employ esoteric dream sequences, illuminating flashbacks, and a few cutting criticisms of the state of Indian cinema. In short, a tightly crafted, insightful, and witty film.


Worth Watching
3.5 out of 5
Buy this film: Nayak - The Hero

Plot: 3
Imagery: 4
Originality: 3
Soundtrack: 3
Overall: 3.5

Charulata

Satyajit Ray's film about a lonely, upper-class wife of a newspaper editor, set in British-run India during the late 19th century, is an intricate look at the effects of neglect and repressed desires. As her husband pours all his attention into his political publication, Charu - a lover of literature - develops a relationship with her husband's young cousin, an idealistic, flirtatious writer. The film contains nothing too radical by today's standards, considering our obsession with shock and graphicness, but in some ways that is a relief - within the conservative social setting the relationships are no less real, and the conflict develops with revealing subtlety. While the film seems very slow at times, the viewer's boredom ought to allow for greater empathy for the constantly idle life of the lonely Indian housewife. Fans of the soundtrack to Wes Anderson's Darjeeling Limited will recognize the director/composer Ray's beautiful title theme.

WORTH WATCHING
3.5 out of 5
Buy this film: Charulata

Plot: 3
Imagery: 3
Soundtrack: 4
Originality: 3
Overall: 3