‘Ray’ of Realism: Studying the Influence of Italian Neorealism on Satyajit Ray’s Cinema
By:-
Anurag MeshramRoll No 080PNR No 08050121016AV Batch 2011SIMC UG
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DECLARATION OF ORIGINAL WORK
This is to certify that the work that forms the basis of the research, ‘Ray’ of Realism:
Studying the Influence of Italian Neorealism on Satyajit Ray’s Cinema, is original
work and carried out and analyzed by me and has not been submitted anywhere else
I certify that all the sources of information and data used by me are fully acknowledged
in the research.
Anurag MeshramRoll No 080PNR No 08050121016AV Batch 2011SIMC UG
2
INDEX
Content……………………………………………………………………………Page No.
Preface 6
Aims & Objectives, Research Design 8
1. INTRODUCTION 9-22 Realism v/s Idealism 9 Genesis of Italian Neorealism 10 Understanding Italian Neorealism 13 Italian Neorealism and Satyajit Ray 15
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 23
3. METHODOLOGY 36
4. ANALYSIS 40-91
Pather Panchali 40 Aparajito 59Apur Sansar 74
5. NEOREALISM IN INDIA POST RAY 92-106 Neorealism and Ray’s contemporaries 92 Neorealism and New-Age Bollywood 99
6. CONCLUSION 107
7. BIBLIOGRAPHY 111
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PREFACE
"Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun
or the moon."- Akira Kurosawa.
A great compliment indeed from one great auteur to another. Satyajit Ray is one of
India’s most admired and respected directors of all times. His close association with
Rabindranath Tagore and involvement in the Bengali Renaissance combined with his
exposure to a variety of foreign films and his interactions with cinematic geniuses such as
Jean Renoir, brought about an unique blend of eastern and western sensibilities that his
cinematic style came to be recognized for.
Through his films, Ray chronicled the process of social change and the emerging
‘modern India’. In Ray’s own words, “the modern is not conceived in terms of past,
instead it emerges through a dynamic relationship with the post.” That is the reason why
Satyajit Ray is often credited with introducing modern themes to the otherwise tradition-
bound Indian cinema Right from his debut film, Ray had started the process of brining
about a paradigm shift in the formlaic Indian cinema.
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His films belong to a meta-genre that includes the works of Akira Kurosawa, Alfred
Hitchcock, Charles Chaplin, David Lean, Federico Fellini, Fritz Lang, John Ford, Ingmar
Bergman, Jean Renoir, Luis Bunuel, Yasujiro Ozu, Ritwik Ghatak and Robert Bresson.
Amongst all of the Western influences on his cinema, I chose to study the influence of
Italian Neorealism. A brief encounter with Italian Neorealist films during his stay in
London culminated into his first film, Pather Panchali, and ultimately into the Apu
Trilogy, which can be regarded as the best example of the use of neorealistic aesthetics in
Indian cinema. Therefore, as the title of the dissertation suggests, Ray truly brought in a
‘ray of realism’ to Indian cinema.
The introduction of neorealistic aesthetics and themes by Satyajit Ray’s cinema and its
further progress and popularity in the Indian context, thus, seemed to be an interesting
area to explore for my graduate dissertation.
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AIMS & OBJECTIVES
1) To study the stylistic and thematic influences of Italian Neorealism on Satyajit Ray’s
cinema
2) To study how Neorealism has grown and developed in India, post its introduction by
Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy
RESEARCH DESIGN
Primary Sources:
Content Analysis
Interview
Secondary Sources:
Books
Articles
Documentary
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INTRODUCTION
Realism v/s Idealism: the debate is never-ending. Idealism, according to the American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, means "The act or practice of envisioning
things in an ideal form." A practice which takes into account the subject’s thinking and
intellect and thereby gives meaning to the object. In other words, idealism is about
achieving perfection, and hence it depends entirely on the definition of ‘perfection’ that
the subject has in his/ her mind. The perception, the interpretation of the ‘object’ that the
‘subject’ has, gives it a meaning.
In stark contrast to this ideology, realism is "the inclination towards literal truth and
pragmatism" (ibid). Realism is all about accepting life as it is; things as they are. Realists
believe every ‘object’ has a reality of its own irrespective of the subject’s interpretation
of it. Realism, in essence, is thus about naked facts, passion and materialism
Between these two extremes, comes in Neorealism. Neorealism is a step forward in
realism and questions the ‘excessive objectivity’ that realism talks about. Neorealism
does not accept the total obliteration of subject that is espoused in realism. It is a
philosophy which acknowledges the presence of both the ‘subject’ and the ‘object’ and
talks about the layers of interpretations and coding and decoding of meaning that takes
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place because of this interpretation.
Neorealists take into account the social truths and contextualties that affect the observer’s
objective reality. Therefore, the observer combines the subjectivity and objective reality
and partakes in the endless process of interpretations. The neorealist aspiration is towards
an objective disinterested analysis of the social order.
Neorealism in cinema, developed in Europe post the World War II, primarily deals with
films that bring forth elements of reality and depict themes and characters close to real
life as compared to conventional, formulaic films.
Genesis of Neorealism:-
Fascism, a political thought, categorized by the exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial
control, ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943. The government, headed by the dictator, Benito
Musollini, believed in suppressing people’s public behavior and was averse to the idea of
plurality of voices. Italian cinema under Musollini were primarily concerned with pro-
Fascism propaganda, although the level of propaganda in Italian cinema did not reach the
level of German or Russian films that were under the rule of totalitarian leaders.
The main problem with the films produced in that era was that they were divorced from
reality and were only interested in promoting a positive image of Italy elsewhere in the
world. Crime and immorality, particularly, were subjects that the government did not
want to depict on screen.
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There were, thus, mainly three kinds of films that were produced under the rule of
Mussolini. They were:-
Black Films:- which championed the Fascist ideology. They were mostly short-length
news reels, often played before the main films. This was the most important form of
Fascist propaganda cinema.
White- telephone films:- were films that belonged to the ‘other end of the spectrum’.
Usually stories set in middle-class Italian families, these films were melodramatic and
usually in the lighter vein.
Apart from ‘black’ and ‘white-telephone’ films, there was another kind of cinema that
was produced in Italy which was somewhere in between the spectrum. These films were
mostly war-films, with fictional story-lines and huge doses of propaganda.
Several attempts were made by the government to control and organize the film industry
by forming several bodies, groups and corporations. In 1933, for instance, the
government passed laws to ‘preserve the integrity’ of Italian films abroad. According to
these regulations, Italian films could not be dubbed in foreign languages and it was
obligatory for all foreign films to be dubbed into Italian.
In addition, the Fascist government promoted pro-Fascism films by the means of
providing grants to the extent of 100% funding, to films which portrayed a positive image
of Fascist Italy.
Mussolini, infact, named himself the principal orchestrator in Italian Cinema, by placing
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a picture of himself behind a film-camera, with a spin-off Lenin’s quote:- “Film is the
most powerful weapon” at the Cinecitta’s studios.
With the end of the World War II, Fascism also came to an end and by 1944, Italy was
occupied by the Allies. The fall of Fascism meant that the voice of the working class and
proletarians could now be heard. There was a strong urge, an angst amongst people to tell
the world about the true conditions that existed in post-War Italy, and this is precisely
what a group of filmmakers did. They showed an absolute disregard for old cinema and
its codes and conventions. This group of filmmakers went instead, for gritty reality. The
basic tenets of this movement were that cinema should focus on its own nature and role in
society and that it should confront audiences with their own reality. This movement
came to be known as Italian Neorealism. A movement that merged cinematic realism ( a
tendency already present in the Fascist period) with social, political and economical
themes that were always suppressed under the Fascist regime.
Although most critics credit Roberto Rosellini’s Roma citta` aperta (Rome Open City) as
being the first neo-realist film, Luchino Visconti’s Ossesione (Obsessions, 1942), which
was about a labourer, who becomes a murderer because of his lust and passion for a
woman, was actually the landmark of the neo-realist film movement. Infact, it was
Antonio Pietrangali, the script-writer of Visconti’s film, who coined the term Italian
Neorealism.
Poetic Realism can be considered as a precursor to Italian Neorealism. It was more of a
tendency than a movement that lead up to the World War II. Championed by directors
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such as Jean Renoir and Pierre Chenal, these films were about marginalized characters,
love and disappointment. A tone of nostalgia and bitterness was echoed in films
belonging to this movement.
Visconti’s apprenticeship with Jean Renoir proved to be very fruitful for him. His
interactions with Renoir and close association with his work gave him a good
understanding of Renoir’s cinematic style. Visconti’s first film, Ossessione, as a result,
draws hugely from Renoir’s film, Toni, in which Visconti assisted the legendary French
auteur.
Understanding Italian Neorealism:-
As proclaimed by one of the greatest neorealist filmmakers, Roberto Rosellini, Neo-
realism was both a moral and aesthetic cinema. As a movement that arrived as a result of
the displeasure of filmmakers at the restrictions put on their freedom of expression,
neorealism, sought to make realism more than an artistic stance. It aimed at bringing forth
“life as it is” in post-War Italy.
The stylistic and thematic characteristics of Italian Neorealism, which reflect this
ideology, are as follows:-
1. The Resistance (against the Fascist)
2. Devastation caused by World War II
3. The Working Class Poverty
4. Humanism
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5. Urban space and its periphery
6. Inspired by actual events
7. Ambiguous endings
8. Shooting on location
9. Use of natural lights
10. Post synchronization of sound (dubbing)
11. Use of lower-grade film stocks (such as 16mm)
12. Grainy “documentary like” mise-en-scene
13. Use of non-professional actors
14. Use of long takes
15. Little use of editing/ montage
16. Use of wide depth of field.
Although not all neo-realist films met the above mentioned criteria. It was infact, only
one film, De Sica’s Ladri di bicicletti (Bicycle Thieves, 1948), that met all of these
tenets. Visconti’s La Terra Trema (The Earth Trembles) also includes most of these
stylistic and thematic devices except for the fact that it was a literary adaptation.
Visconti’s earliest films, Ossessione, which can be considered as a landmark in Italian
Neorealism movement, found itself amidst a lot of controversy when it was released,
inspite of it being heavily censored. Visconti, through his tale of passion and sensuality
that lead a man to commit a heinous crime like murder, defied the government’s decrees
of showing cleanliness and propriety on screen.
One of the most celebrated and revered films of this era is Roberto Rosellini’s Roma
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citta` aperta, based on real events that happened in Rome during the period between
1943-1944, while the city was still under the German control. The film is about the
happenings of Italian-Resistance during a three day period. The difficulties that Rosellini
faced during the production of this film, in the form of shortage of money and stocks, is
what gives his film its authenticity. Rosellini had to use newsreels, which eventually gave
the film a grainy and documentary film, for which it is best remembered.
The neorealism movement lasted for about ten years, infact fourteen years, if we take into
consideration the last Neorealist film, De Sica’s Il tetto (The Roof, 1956), that was made.
With the appointment of Giulio Andereotti as Director of Performing Arts, Italian
Neorealism, as a movement, saw its demise in the early 1950s. Andereotti was given
extensive powers because of which he could control the bank loans given to films which
he thought were “too neorealistic” and he was also in a position to deny screening rights
to any film that projected Italy in a negative light. The Cold War mood of the early 1950s
also contributed to the governmental dislike of the social realism inherent in these films.
All these factors eventually lead to the death of the Italian Neorealist movement.
However, despite its demise, it impacted cinema world-wide. The French New Wave
Movement, particularly, acknowledges the influence of Italian Neorealism. In the Indian
context, one of the greatest auteurs of all time, Satyajit Ray introduced Italian Neorealism
to the Indian audiences.
Italian Neorealism and Satyajit Ray:
Satyajit Ray: one of Indian cinema’s most revered and admired auters ever. A
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revolutionary director, who is credited with amalgamating modernism into tradition-
bound Indian cinema. Some call him a classist while some a humanist. But as author
Suranjan Ganguly in his book, “Satyajit Ray: in search of the modern” writes, it is indeed
impossible to label the genius of Ray. “While almost all of his (Ray’s) films are rooted in
the Bengali milieu and made primarily for the Bengalis, they are trans-cultural in their
larger impact.”
Talking of influences in Ray’s cinema, they are as varied and as diverse as Italian
Neorealism to Jean Renoir to Mozart to Bresson. “While Ray’s films have been
shaped by his cosmopolitan, modernist, twentieth century perspective, they reveal a value
system that has more to do with the nineteenth century. Such paradoxes are common in a
cinema generated within a postcolonial society, especially one that is characterized by
bewildering diversity.” writes Ganguly.
Nineteenth century Bengal did influence Ray’s cinematic vision to a major extent and it
is mainly due to his upbringing. Ray grew up in nineteenth century Calcutta. Born in a
family of artists, he was naturally drawn to fine-arts, music and culture. Ray showed
extraordinary skills at painting and drawing and a great understanding of music. As he
reached his mid teens, he had developed a taste for European classical music, particularly
Mozart and Beethoven. Around the same time, Ray came in touch with his ‘cinephile
self’ and rarely missed the screening of any Western film that was screened in the city.
He has infact, confessed in many of his interviews that he learnt film-making simply
through watching films. Going to an English-medium school ensured that Ray studied
Western literature and culture, which shaped his vision in the long run.
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The turning point in Ray’s life however, acme when he went joined Shantiniketan, the
art-school founded by the great Rabindra Nath Tagore. “I was not conscious of any roots
in Bengal at all. That happened in Shantiniketan”, is how Ray sums up his experience of
the school. Perhaps it was his experience at Shantiniketan that brought him closer to the
Bengali Renaissance movement as well.
The Bengali Renaissance Movement is a movement questioning the orthodoxy and
superstitions of people, with special reference to the emancipation of women,
abolishment of sati, popularizing education, uplifting the status of people belonging to the
lower castes. The movement which started with Raja Ram Mohun Roy, saw many
journalists, poets, writers, social reformers, painters and artists joining in, who aided the
transition of ‘medieval’ India to ‘modern’ India. While there was an outburst of Bengali
literature and art, cinema as a medium was still waiting for its ‘Renaissance Man’.
Cinema, which was considered as the movement of nouveau riche had not percolated not
yet made a mark. In status, it was still following literature and the great potential that
cinema had as a tool to bring in social change and aid the process of Bengali Renaissance
had not happened. RabindraNath Tagore, realizing the potential of cinema and the need
for cinema to partake in this revolution wrote a letter to Sisir Kumar Bhaduri (famous
actor of Bengali theatre)’s brother Murari. Rabindranath Tagore made certain very
significant statements on the cinema a free translation of which is provided by author
Chidanand Dasgupta in his book, The Cinema of Satyajit Ray::
Form in art changes according to the means it uses. I believe that the new art that could
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be expected to develop out of the motion picture has not yet made its appearance. In
politics, we are looking for independence, in art, we must do the same. Every art seeks to
find its own independent manner of expression within the world it creates; otherwise its
self-expression is undermined for the lack o confidence in itself. The cinema is so far
acting as a slave to literature- because no creative genius has arrived to deliver it from its
bondage. This act of rescue will not be easy, because in poetry, painting or music the
means are not expensive, whereas in cinema, one needs not only creativity, but financial
capital as well.
This gap, this position was filled by none other than Satyajit Ray, who is often for this
reason, considered to be the last Renaissance Man. As Chidanand DasGupta further
expounds on Ray’s contribution to cinema and social change at large, by saying, “In
cinema, the aftermath of Phalke moved towards social films and away from mythology
which Phalke himself continued to hug. Shantaram and Vinayak made films with a
notable modernist swing in tune with the country’s urge towards the contemporisation of
its culture. Nonetheless their apprehension of the particular genius of cinema as a
medium was inadequate; the realistic fragment of life as the basic building block of
cinema of many different kinds had not come into its own. Myth still dominated,
overwhelmed fact. A fusion of cinema’s realistic vocabulary with the Indianness of style
and statement had to await the arrival of Satyajit Ray. “
After his stint at Shantiniketan, Ray found employment at a British advertising agency
based in Calcutta and worked as an illustrator. Soon after, his passion for cinema drove
him and he founded the Calcutta Film Society along with other prominent members of
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the Calcutta film and literary circuit. The Calcutta Film Society took out journals wherein
the members would write about the problems they thought Indian cinema had. The
society, however, did not just concentrate on Indian cinema, but on world cinema, at
large. Some of the cinephiles who found a platform in the form of this film club also
became well-known film-critics in the future. Ray met many a filmmakers through his
association with the Calcutta Film Society. Prominent amongst them are: Jean Renoir,
Nikolai Cherkassov, John Huston amongst others.
Jean Renoir, the famous proponent of French Poetic Realism, a movement, which is
touted as the precursor to Italian Neorealism, played a major role in shaping Ray’s views
and style as a filmmaker. Ray met Renoir while he was in Calcutta to shoot his film The
River on the banks of Ganga, during the period between 1948-1949. Ray wrote a lot
about Renoir in the journal Sequence and had close interactions with the director. He
even closely observed the way Renoir worked and his cinematic style. Renoir was also
impressed with Ray’s understanding of Indian culture and values and his creative genius.
“Two remarks of Renoir are perhaps the most significant pointers to the characteristics of
Ray’s work in the future. The first was a humanist statement about characterization in
Renoir’s films, that he loved all his characters and could not condemn any.: ‘The trouble
is that everybody has his reasons (for doing as he does)’.. of no filmmakers other than
Renoir himself has this been more true than of the early Ray. The second statement that
worked as a catalyst on most of the Indian filmmakers was: ‘When Indian cinema gives
up the imitation of Hollywood and tries to express the reality around itself, it will come
across a new national style’” (The Cinema of Satyajit Ray, Chidananda Dasguprta)
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Ray’s rendezvous with Italian Neorealism primarily happened when his employers at the
ad-agency sent him to London. The city gave Ray an opportunity to watch more films,
and in the process hone his skills as a filmmaker. At one of such film screenings, Ray
watched Vittorio De Sica’s legendary film, Bicycle Thieves. Ray had been toying
with the idea of making Pather Panchali, his first film, which he wanted to shoot in actual
locations and with non-professional actors. Folks back home had been quite apprehensive
of his decision to move away from conventions. He carried a notebook with him to
London and as he watched films, he would make sure that he takes down notes which
would help him while directing his directorial debut.
Ray was moved by De Sica’s film and Italian Neorealism made a great impact on him.
Reminiscing about the days spent at London, Ray writes in the introduction of his book,
Our films, their films, “All through my stay in London, the lessons of Bicycle Thieves
and neo-realist cinema stayed with me".
The lessons he learnt from the film definitely went a long way in terms of strengthening
his belief in films that dare to defy conventions. As author Suranjan Ganguly writes,
“Italian neorealism had offered him a model that would be set in the heart of rural
Bengal. On his way back to India, he began to draft the screenplay of Pather Panchali/
Song of the little Road (1955), which would revolutionalize Indian film and place it on
the map of international cinema.”
Pather Panchali was just the beginning. Ray heralded an era of neorealism in India.
Bengali cinema, according to Chidanand Dasgupta, was always contemptuous of the
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“documentary” realism of Pather Panchali during the long period of its fund and indeed,
underneath a show of respect for his world stature, it continues to be so.
Ray however, never looked back and continued with his conviction. He always opposed
Indian cinema’s following the Hollywood model. The superficiality and the over-
powering ‘studio-stamp’ is what Ray was dissatisfied with. At a speech at Asia Society,
New York, in 1981, he said that he had not only learnt what to do from Hollywood films,
but also what not to do.
As Ray writes in his book, Our films, their films, “It should be realized that the average
American film is a bad model, if only, because it depicts a way of life so utterly at
variance with our own. Moreover, the high technology polish, which is the hall-mark of
the standard Hollywood product, would be impossible to achieve under existing Indian
conditions. What Indian cinema needs today is not more gloss, but, more imagination,
more integrity and more intelligent appreciation of the limitations of the medium.”
Through all of Ray’s films, be it the Apu Trilogy or the Charulata phase or even his later
and more experimental films, Ray continued to make films that reflected Indian society
and its woes just as Italian Neorealist films did. Ray showed the path less trodden, the
style of film-making where gritty reality overtook gloss, where actors and characters
‘lived lives’ on screen rather than ‘enacting scenes’ at studios. Moving ahead with times,
Ray as a director, never shied away from the ‘unconventional’. As Chidanand Dasgupta
writes, “Seldom has a film director’s work chronicled the process of social change over a
long span of time as Satyajit Ray’s. the subjects of his film range over the shifting social
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scene in India for over one hundred and fifty years. Devi (The Goddess, 1960), is placed
in the 1980s, Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players, 1977) in the 1850s, Charulata
(1964)’s story is laid in 1879, Jalsaghar (The Music Room, 1958) is at the turn of the
century, the Apu trilogy in the early years of the century. Sadgati (The Deliverance,
1981) was written by Prem Chand in the 1930s about an unspecified, as it were, timeless
period; Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973) deals with the British-made wartime
famine of 1943; besides he of course made contemporary films. Even within the
contemporary subjects, it is possible to identify minute divisions of periods marked by
particular tendencies. There was, needless to say, no planned exercise going over the year
grid by grids; Ray picked the subjects at will and at different times according to what he
felt concerned with, what he happened to read and met the exigencies of filmmaking at a
given time. “
The dissertation is a tribute to the great auteur Satyajit Ray and aims to study the
influence of Italian Neorealism on his cinema. The dissertation also attempts to study and
question the presence of neorealist aesthetics and themes in contemporary Bollywood
popular films, in order to understand how Italian Neorealism spread in the country after
Ray introduced it to the Indian audiences.
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Book:- Satyajit Ray: In Search of the ModernAuthor:- Suranjan Ganguly
“As the man credited with ushering modernity into tradition bound Indian cinema, Ray
remains an enigmatic figure”, is how author Suranjan Ganguly begins his book on Ray,
titled “Satyajit Ray: In search of the modern”. The statement pretty much sums up the
author’s reason behind writing the book. Satyajit Ray, who revolutionalized filmmaking
in India through his understanding of Indian issues and ethos while amalgamating them
with a Westen radical viewpoint, is considered to be the last Renaissance Man. Due to
this near perfect fusion of Eastern and Western influences in his work, Ray is often
termed as the modernist who heralded in an era of change in film-making. Suranjan
Ganguly, through his book attempts to question and interpret the validity of this belief.
Suranjan Ganguly hails from Ray’s city, Calcutta. He studied at St. Xavier’s
College and Jadavpur University. After this, he shifted base to the United States, where
he obtained his doctorate degree from Purdue University. He is chair of Film Studies at
the University of Colrado, Boulder and teaches subjects ranging from European to Asian
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Cinema. He has written for prestigious film journals such as Sight and Sound, Film
Criticism, East-West film journal, Asian Cinema , amongst others. He was always
amazed by the genius of Ray and had been writing several pieces on him in journals, such
as Film Criticism, The Journal of South Asian Literature and the Journal of
Commonwealth Literature. Ganguly’s enthusiasm for Ray finally translated into a book
in the year 1997 where he wrote the book over a period of seven months in Ray’s and his
own city, Calcutta.
The book, essentially is a study of modernity is Ray’s work through six of his films,
namely: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Apur Sansar, Charulata, Aranyer Din Ratri and
Pratidwandi. It studies Satayajit Ray’s work with special emphasis on the Bengali
Renaissance period and how it influenced his thought process and personality, at large.
Ganguly gives an account of Satyajit Ray’s childhood and his growing up years in
Shantiniketan, where he got an opportunity to understand, and connect to his Indian roots.
At the same time, Ganguly affirms that Western influences, particularly, the influence of
Jean Renoir and De Sica’s shaped up his cinematic style to a great extent. Ganguly
asserts that it is Ray’s East-West cosmopolitanism becomes the undercurrent in all his
films.
The author draws interesting parallels between conflicts and Ray’s cinema. According to
him, Ray’s films primarily were about documenting India, the constant process of change
that India is going through as a pluralist nation, filtered through the experiences of men
and women who seek to define themselves vis-à-vis conflicting forces. Conflicting forces
such as the feudal and the modern, tradition and progress, the village and the city, the old
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and the new, which he showcased through his films, are shaping composite modern
identity, that according to Ganguly, defines Indianness for Ray.
He substantiates this by giving an account of Ray’s works and how it has been a constant
process of documenting and depicting a nation that is in perpetual growth, right from
Shatranj Ke Khiladi (1977) in which the conflicting forces of feudalism and colonialism
come forth to Devi (1960), where Ray crafts a gritty tale of a woman in Rural Bengal
caught in midst of superstition, fanaticism and hysteria, amongst his other films.
Gangualy chooses to study six films, in particular, which define and are representative of
the changes that came about in his work. While the Apu Trilogy introduced neorealistic
aesthetics to Indian cinema, where Ray told Apu’s tragic story, devoid of the
melodramatic framework that Indian cinema had come to be associated with, Charulata
saw Ray’s shifted interest in telling “tales through the woman’s eyes”. The author also
discusses two of Ray’s later films, Aranyer Din Ratri and Pratidwandi, where certain
changes evolved in Ray’s cinematic style. As he writes in the conclusion of his book,
“From Apu learning to write in Pather Panchali to Siddharth’s crisis of choice in
Pratidwandi, it is possible to trace the trajectory of Ray’s modernity as it evolves from an
enlightened humanist’s faith in progress to the gradual erosion of that faith.”
It is this entire process of change in Ray’s cinema that Suranjan Ganguly’s book critically
chronicles that I chose to study it for my dissertation. Without going much into the nitty-
gritties of Ray’s aesthetics, Suranjan Ganguly talks about the broader philosophical,
cultural and intellectual framework within which Ray worked. The correlation of India’s
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growth and development as a society and Ray’s cinematic work provided for an
interesting read to understand the societal themes and issues that he showcased through
his work. Since ‘neorealism’ as a movement is about social contextualities and the
observer’s objective reality, I found the book very useful in terms of acquainting me with
Ray’s value-system, his beliefs and the societal truths of that era.
Ganguly particularly gives an interesting account of the changes that came about in Ray’s
work in the Nehruvian and post-Nehruvian era. He talks about how Ray’s career as a
filmmakers began in the nation-building years and how he shared Nehru’s vision of
modern India: the liberalist-humanist, cosmopolitan agenda. Ray’s admiration for the
Nehruvian modern India and the resultant influence it had in terms of the socio-historical
space within which Ray worked as an artist have been explained well in the book.
Towards the conclusion of the book, Ganguly has brought into notice how this vision,
this belief in Tagorean ethos changed over time in society and was reflected poignantly in
Ray’s later films, such as Jana Aranya.
Satyahit Ray: In Search of the Modern, thus, takes an analytical look at Ray as a
filmmaker, as a modernist, vis-à-vis, focusing on issues such as human subjectivity,
importance of education, women’s emancipation, the rise of the middle class and the
post-Independence search for identity, that formed the core of his cinema.
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Book:- Our Films, Their filmsAuthor:- Satyajit Ray
The book is a collection of essays written by Ray himself on the craft of filmmaking and
the problems involved in it. The collection of opinions, views, anecdotes and
interpretations shared by Ray through this book goes to show the keen eye and passion he
had for cinema. The apt dose of humour and the breezy style in which the book is written
make it an absolutely amazing book to read for all Ray enthusiasts.
Ray talks in depth about his Calcutta Film Society days in the Introduction chapter. The
struggle to sustain the film club and go on in times of adversity and problems cropping up
from the film industry, which branded the film club members as people who’s sole aim in
life was to bicker and find faults in films, and from the families of some members who
felt “cinema would hamper the sanctity” of their homes. The personal details and tone
with which Ray narrates this incident connects the reader almost instantaneously to this
young cinephile and his ambition to be a filmmaker.
The first thirteen essays essentially talk about Indian cinema, its problems and its growth.
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Talking about the making of his films, Pather Panchali and Jalsaghar, Ray tells us about
the different economic adversities that he had to face. From Bengali cinema’s obsession
with the Hollywood-based model to stories that were alienated from reality, the
production, distribution and economic hindrances that directors had to face, Ray
discusses all these and several other things that, according to him, proved detrimental to
cinema’s development and expansion as a medium. Throughout the book, Ray campaigns
for cinema to be treated as an art form and for it to be given its due as all other art-forms
are. Ray affirms his belief in the power of the medium that started off as the medium for
the ‘nouveau riche’, but has the potential to bring in change, almost as much, if not more,
than other art forms.
Ray goes deeper into explaining the reader about the processes, the details and theories
involved in film-making. Expressing an overall dismay at the culture of gloss and
glamour that had taken over the Indian film industry, Ray says that the need of the hour is
to explore and discover a film idiom that inherently is more Indian and reflects our
intelligence and integrity. Leaving almost no aspect of film-making untouched, Ray talks
in detail, about songs and their importance in films. He discusses the need, the trends, the
picturization and the Western point of view of Indian cinema and music and sums up the
chapter by saying, “I feel less anger and more admiration for the composer who can lift
the main theme of finest movements of Mozart’s finest symphonies and turn it into a
filmi geet and make it sound convincing”.
In the later half of the book, Ray talks about some of the greats of world-cinema ranging
from Truffaut to Renoir to Kurosawa. Ray reminisces about his meeting with French
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director, Jean Renoir, who he met while Renoir was in Calcutta to shoot his film The
River, and talks about the articles he had written his work. Renoir shaped Ray’s
cinematic style to a major extent and Ray cherishes his interactions with the great French
auteur.
Ray speaks positively of the Italian Neorealism Movement and the resulting New Wave
that came about in cinema. Arising out of financial constraints and economic problems,
the cinema, according to Ray, has created new cinematic idioms which defy ‘polish’. He
discusses about his first rendezvous with Italian Neorealist cinema while he was in
London. The style inspired him so much that he finally found the courage and motivation
to go ahead and shoot his debute film, Pather Panchali, the way he wished to: in actual
locations, with amateurs. Italian Neorealism, De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, therefore,
gave him the courage to defy the conventions of the stereotypical Bengali cinema that
was being made at that time.
He discusses the works of several Italian filmmakers and gives the readers a firm
grounding of how the Italian film industry works. He compares and contrasts the
cinematic styles of Antinioni and Fellini, for instance, and talks about their cinematic
representation of ‘reality’ with a strong undercurrent of human emotions that carry their
films forward.
This book also displays the immense grasp that Ray had over the history and the
development of film as a medium, in Hollywood and film industries of other countries.
Right from the problems, to styles to influences, reading the book is almost like
interacting with Ray, the filmmaker and the person. Certain qualities of Ray’s persona,
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like his objectivity also shines through his book. A case in point is the chapter he has
written on his contemporaries, Shyam Benegal, M.S. Sathyu, Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani.
Ray provides a brilliant analysis of their work, avoiding any kind of bias. Although he
does include some severe criticism of their work, but at the same time, there is not even a
tinge of professional jealousy or one-upmanship in his analysis.
Reading Our Films, Their Films, proved to be a great learning experience, not only from
the point of view of my dissertation topic, but in terms of understanding the genius of
Satyajit Ray, his works, his views and his love for the craft.
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Book:- The Cinema of Satyajit RayAuthor:- Chidanand Dasgupta Author Chidanand Dasgupta’s association with Satyajit Ray dates back to their Calcutta
Film Society days. Ray, Dasgupta, Bansi Chandragupta and a few others founded the
society, which gave a platform to cinephiles all across the city to watch and get exposed
to the best of world cinema.
The book, The Cinema Of Satyajit Ray portrays this close association that the author
Dasgupta shared with Ray. The book is considered to be one of the most comprehensive
accounts of Ray’s work and his extraordinarily creative career as a filmmaker spanning
over four decades.
The most important thing that sets the book apart is the fact that it studies Ray’s evolution
as a director, keeping his socio-cultural context in mind. The author gives in a detailed
account of Ray’s upbringing in an artistic family, their closeness to Tagore, Ray’s
involvement in the Bengali Renaissance and his stature as the ‘last Bengali Renaissance
Man’. Dividing Ray’s cinematic styles into different era, Chidanand Dasgupta writes
about how the first ten years of Ray’s cinematic journey saw him make films that
primarily emphasized on individuality and humanism, and later moved on to tread new
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paths, new directions, through films, such as Agantuk.
An exclusive chapter on the Apu trilogy studies nature of Ray’s humanism, particularly
with respect to his admiration for Tagorean beliefs and rejection of the Marxist
methodology. Dasgupta’s attempt to study the societal framework that existed at that
point of time in relation to Ray’s cinema helps the readers understand Ray’s thought
process and the representation of ‘reality’ in his films. Dasgupta talks about how Ray
succeeded in making his trilogy more believable and less romanticized than the novels on
which it is based on. It is in this process that Ray introduced “a modicum of present day
realism”. Dasgupta talks in detail about Ray’s departures from the literary originals and
substantiates this with examples such as the scene where Apu and Durga chase the train.
The emphasis on literary sources in the film is not limited to this chapter alone, but the
author talks about the literary sources used by Ray and the departures from the original
sources throughout the book.
The book also studies the various influences on Ray’s cinematic style, particularly
highlighting his interaction with Jean Renoir. Jean Renoir’s familiarity with the Calcutta
Film Society and Chidanand Dasgupta ensures that the comments and quotes made by
Renoir about Indian cinema and Satyajit Ray, are recounted with a very personal touch
and tone. Dasgupta also tells us about Ray’s amazement at watching Italian Neorealist
films and how they impacted his style of film-making. Dasgupta draws parallels between
the characterizations in Umberto D, Bicycle Thieves and other neorealist films with the
films of Ray.
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The chapter on contemporary realities showcased in Ray’s films talk about how he dealt
with emerging issues and shifted his attention to the urban landscape. Dasgupta studies
films like Mahanagar, Ganashatru, Pratidwandi amongst other films of Ray and gives an
in-depth analysis of how these films marked a sort of a paradigm shift in Ray’s brand of
realism.
Dasgupta also discusses the creative approaches adopted by the great auteur. His
understanding of cinema as a medium and his familiarity with Ray gives his writing a
sort of a credibility and authority which is quite rare. He talks about how Ray held his
scripts close to his heart. How his scripts were characteristically vague and open-ended
and made use of devices such as sketches, notes, concepts, etc. The way Dasupta narrates
incidents about Ray on the set of his films, on how excited and involved he would get
about all aspects of film-making sort of creates an instant connect with the readers and
helps one relate to the cinema of Satyajit Ray at a closer and more personal level.
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DOCUMENTARY:-
LINK: -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQAQSX2aDAI&playnext_from=PL&feature=PlayList&p=29E94BE2D2636AD2&playnext=1&index=20
Website: www.youtube.com
Title: Satyajit Ray on Cinema
The documentary opens with a scene where Satyajit Ray directing a scene on location.
The VO introduces Ray and a few shots into the film, a conversation with the great
auteur, Ray begins. Ray talks about working with amateurs and how important
improvisation begins in such a scenario. He talks about the early period of his film-
making, where he would make one film every year. He says that this was partly due to
the fact that it gave him an opportunity to keep the unit together and bond with his actors
and technicians.
The documentary then takes us back to Ray’s childhood and his growing up years in
Shantiniketan, where he realized that he was not talented enough to be a painter and thus,
joined a joined British ad-agency based in Calcutta. It is here that Ray talks about the
‘autobiographical element’ of the Apu Trilogy. As a child, who lost his father at the age
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of two, Ray says that he could identify with Apu’s character. The discussion about Ray’s
childhood years also sees him answer questions about his identity, with respect to his
East-West fusion upbringing. When the interviewee poses the question of “Do you think
your are Indian enough?” Ray answers by saying, “Yes, I think I can be Indian enough if
the need arises”, bringing forth the ‘Renaissance-inspired modernist’ aspect of his
persona.
As the documentary moves forward, Ray talks more in detail about his aesthetics as a
film-makers, with special reference to death and the use of symbolism. He describes two
scenes, one from Pather Panchali where Durga, Apu’s elder sister witnesses the death of
her paternal aunt in a forest and the other where Apu’s father dies in front of him in
Aparajito. In both the scenes, the director beautifully avoids falling into the realm of
cliché’ and melodrama and chooses to depict the devastation, the horror of death through
creatively envisioned metaphors.
Expounding more on the use of metaphorism in his cinema, Ray talks about one of the
symbolical common link that binds the three stories of the Apu Trilogy together, which is
the train. He explains how he used the train, starting with Pather Panchali to Apur
Sansar, to stand for a lyrical metaphor to a devastating one.
The brief documentary provides an interesting study of Ray’s childhood, his career, his
cinematic vision, particularly, his aesthetics as a director. His preference for shooting on
location, use of symbols, spontaneity and improvisation are some aspects that are
highlighted through this documentary. It is well-made and manages to give the viewer an
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experience of engaging in a conversation with the great director himself. Photographs of
Ray, his mother and father gives increases the connect and the footage from his films
have been edited well to create a montage that beautifully supplements the experiences
that Ray recounts over the duration of the documentary.
METHODOLOGY
Reading film as text has been the main research methodology incorporated in
this research project. While studying each film, care was taken to interpret and analyze
the isolated scenes, layers, shots and other aesthetic and thematic devices
used by the director. Satyajit Ray’s debut film, Pather Panchali, along with, Aparajito
and Apur Sansar, which form the Apu trilogy, is studied and discussed at length in this
dissertation. The trilogy has thus, been taken as the primary case study in order to explore
and understand how neorealism was introduced in India by Satyajit Ray.
The Apu Trilogy:- As discussed in the introduction, Ray on his return from London,
decided to put to use all the lessons that had stayed with him while watching Italian
Neorealist films. While he had already thought of using non-professional actors and
shooting on locations, the exposure to De Sica’s film provided an impetus to Ray’s
resolve to go ahead with his debut project, Pather Panchali, as he had planned.
Based on semi-autobiographical novels by Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay, namely, Pather
Panchali and Aparajito, the trilogy is based on the journey of a young boy called Apu,
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from boyhood to manhood and the hardships and hurdles that he has to face in his
journey.
The first film, Pather Panchali, marks the birth of the protagonist Apu and thereby,
introduces the boy who’s life we are going to witness through the span of the trilogy. The
film is about the trials and tribulations that Apu’s family has to go through because of
extreme poverty that they have grown used to. Satyajit Ray, through the simple narrative
and strong emphasis on emotions and human dignity in this film, brought in a breath of
fresh air to the otherwise formulaic Indian cinema. The newness and the uniqueness of
the film was not limited to the aesthetic devices, such as on-location shoots, the use of
natural lights and longer takes, but the way this grim tale of a poverty-stricken family was
narrated by Ray, without going overtly melodramatic at any point, is what set the film
apart. Ray’s emphasis on finer details, right from the nuances of the characters to the
background score to the carefully designed costumes, all added up to form a lyrical and
realistic portrait of rural Bengal of those times.
Pather Panchali is succeeded by its equally brilliant and powerful sequel, Aparajito.
Based on Bibhutibhushan Bandhapadyay’s novel, Aparajito and the later half of Pather
Panchali, the film tells the tale of Apu, the adolescent, who after losing his father decides
to shift to Kolkata to pursue higher education. The tale about Apu’s estrangement from
his mother, his dilemmas, his search for an identity, his quest for knowledge, acts like a
perfect bridge between Pather Panchali, the first film and Apur Sansar, the concluding
part of the Apu trilogy. Ray roots for the importance of education and progress
throughout the film, representative of the emerging ‘modern India’ of that era. The
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second half of the film focuses on the ever-expanding distance between Aparajito and his
mother, which ultimately results in her death. The film’s appeal lies in the very believable
characterizations, simple narrative and the way the director has realistically captured the
transformation that education and thereby, modernity had brought in society.
Moving over to the last installment of the Apu trilogy, Apur Sansar,
portrays the young Apu as an educated man, harbouring literary ambitions. The story
revolves around Apu’s marriage to Aparna, her subsequent death at childbirth, Apu’s
giving up all hopes and eventually finding a ray of hope in the form of his young son,
who he had estranged blaming for his mother’s death. The story is again
based on Bibhutibhsushan Bandhapadyay’s novel, Aparajito and beautifully sums up the
touching trilogy. The film ends with Apu carrying his son on his shoulders standing at the
same village road, which we had witnessed in the first and the second film. As author
Chidanand Dasgupta says about the film, “it progresses with natural logic which makes
its poetry completely authentic, arising entirely from the events themselves and never
appears to be imposed on them by the filmmaker”. The way Ray builds up Apu and
Aparna’s relationship, the way he slowly brings about events, makes Apur Sansar “Ray’s
most personal film in the nature of the emotional charge it carries within,” in the words of
Dasgupta.
Ray, through the Apu trilogy succeeded in brining a fresh new dimension to Indian
cinema. He made cinema more believable, more ‘real’. The trilogy, particularly, Pather
Panchali, by virtue of its being a film about poverty and hardships, could easily fall into
the realm of clichéd representation of a poor family, replete with melodramatic incidents
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and elements. However, Chadanand Dasgupta talks about precisely the reason that makes
the trilogy different. “Poverty in the trilogy, especially, Pather Panchali, is grim,
unadorned, real; and we know that it is not only something that this family suffers from,
but that it also symbolizes a vast mass of humanity in India. The poor are no statistic
here; indeed, as a mass lumped together they are inconceivable to the trilogy, where they
are, before all else, individual human beings.” It is this connect, this true to life
characterization and flow of events, this spontaneity, this abstractness, this strong sense
of humanism that runs through all of Ray’s films, particularly, the Apu trilogy that
makes him one of the greatest neorealists ever. Therefore, this dissertation studies the
influence of Italian Neorealism on Satyajit Ray’s cinema through interpreting and
analyzing the Apu trilogy.
INTERVIEW
An interview with author, Suranjan Ganguly, was conducted over the internet, in order to
ensure a better understanding of his writings on Ray. Excerpts of the interview have been
used in the concluding chapter of this research project.
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ANALYSIS 1 : Pather Panchali, (Song of the Little Road) Year of Release: 1955
Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), marks Ray’s the beginning of Ray’s
cinematic journey. The film is based on a novel by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay.
Satyajit Ray had thought of making this film on real locations and with non-professional
actors. However, this was quite shocking to his friends and contemporaries who were
primarily fed on a diet of conventional and formulaic cinema. The process of breaking
free and going ahead with what he believed in took Ray a while and his experience at
London, where he had a chance to see some great Italian Neorealist films indeed boosted
his morale. Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, particularly, played a very important role
in terms of inspiring and motivating Ray to make his debut film, Pather Panchali, the
way he wished to make it.
Pather Panchali is the first part of the Apu Trilogy, the journey of a young boy born in a
poor household in rural Bengal and the different phases in his life, from being a child to
an adolescent to a man and eventually a father. Aparajito and Apur Sansar are the other
two films of the trilogy.
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Ray, through this film, introduced Indian audience’s to his brand of lyrical realism.
Although the film essentially is a grim tale of poverty, death and harsh realities that a
family in rural Bengal has to grapple with, at no point does the director choose to go
melodramatic. The ‘slice of life’ appeal of the film and the way it unfolds on screen has a
certain rhythm about it which effortlessly transports the viewer to that day and that era.
The film shines because of its universal humanist appeal. The characterization is well
rounded and real, which helps the viewers to strike an instant chord. In spite of all their
problems, the woes, there is a certain dignity about the characters of the film. The tone of
the film does not force people to take pity on the characters and their lives, rather it
presents a matter of fact account of the family’s trials and tribulations.
PLOT SUMMARY:
The film, as stated above is about the life of a miserably poor family in rural Bengal.
Harihar, the patriarch, is a priest and earns a meager living. He hopes to make it big one
day by writing scholarly plays and poetry. Harhihar is married to Sarbajaya, a strong lady
who looks after the household and constantly hopes and dreams for a better future.
Harihar and Sarbajaya have a daughter named, Durga, naught, vivacious and
effervescent, she shares a strong bond with Indir Thakrun, her paternal-aunt, who shares
the roof with them. Indir Thakrun, is an elderly woman, on the threshold of ‘second
childishness’, who loves being pampered and looked after.
The fact that Indir Thakrun lives with the family does not go down too well with
Sarbajaya, as it adds extra burden to the family. The family already grappling with
39
poverty finds it difficult to sustain the childish demands of the elderly Indir Thakrun.
Durga shares a special bond with her Pishi (paternal aunt) and because of this she goes
out of her way and steals fruits from the neighborhood orchard (which once belonged to
them). She gets caught several times for her petty crimes and white-lies, which angers her
self-respecting mother, Sarbajaya. Indir Thakrun, therefore, is asked to leave the
households many a times by Sarbajaya. She leaves at times, only to come back after a
few days.
The birth of Apu, the male child is an occasion of immense joy and happiness for the
entire family. Sarbajaya, is aided by Indir Thakrun and Durga take up maternal roles for
Apu. From singing lullabies for Apu, the child, to dressing him up for school, as he grows
up, he is the apple of everyone’s eyes.
Apu and Durga share a very special and intimate relationship. Not only is she is an elder
sister to Apu, but more than that, she is his friend, his accomplice. They chase the village
candy-seller together, experience the invitation of urban life in the form of witnessing a
train for the first time and even share the melancholic moment of discovering Indir
Thakrun’s dead body. Apu is dependent on his elder sister and stands by her, especially
on an occasion where she is alleged to have stolen a neckpiece belonging to a estranged
relative.
Harihar who is the sole bread earner of the family is exploited by his employers and does
not even manage to get regular wages. His employment opportunities are few and far in
between. He often goes out of the village to try and earn some money or on the look out
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for some employment opportunity.
While on a visit out of the city, Durga, the daughter succumbs to death, after falling ill.
As Harihar returns home, with gifts for his family and a saaree for his daughter, he
discovers that she is no more. Finding it tough to deal with the death, devastation and
deprivation that village life has to offer, the family decides to move to the city, in search
of a better tomorrow.
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CHARACTERIZATION:
Satyajit Ray crafts each character beautifully and realistically on screen. He takes his
share of creative liberties and deviates to an extent from the characterizations etched out
by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay in his novel by the same name.
A very important point about the characterization of the film is that none of the characters
are uni-dimensional. There is no black or white. There are no heroes or villains. Every
character is shaped by the social milieu which is what makes the characterization more
believable and real.
The character of Apu:
Unlike the novel by Bibhutibhshan Bandapadhyay, where the character of Apu was the
be all and end all, Ray’s characterization of Apu does not shower him with all the
importance. Apu in Pather Panchali, the film, although is pampered and looked after by
all, is just another member of the family. The relationships that Apu experiences within
his familial set-up, forms his character, his identity.
It is this relationship of Apu with his community that author Suranjan Ganguly explains
through recounting the scene where Apu ‘opens his eyes to the world and the cinematic
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audiences’. He writes, “When Apu opens his eye, it is a supremely epiphanic moment
celebrated with a burst of music. In a two-shot, Durga steals upon him sleeping and
stretches a tear in the sheet covering his face to reveal a closed eye. She pries it open with
her fingers and pushes aside the sheet. From the close up of the eyes, Ray cuts to a one
shot of Apu sitting up in bed, revealing himself to us. Thus, one-shot isolates and frames
Apu in a way that proclaims his independence and self-consciousness while affirming the
connectedness to the community his mother and sister offer him.”
As the author further expounds upon this by saying that “the shot defines him as an
active and conscious agent whose sense of self- “I”- will be an inseparable from the sense
of being an “eye”. Although, we will not witness the trilogy exclusively from Apu’s eyes,
how he reacts to what he sees will shape our awareness of his world”.
This beautifully defines the functionality of Apu’s character in Pather Panchali. The film
is not so much about him, but more about him in relation to his world, that we discover
through his experiences and his reactions. A case in point in the scene, where Apu’s
daunting, innocent eyes witness the physical abuse that is meted out to his elder sister
Durga by the mother when she hears complaints about the necklace theft. The impression
the event leaves on Apu and the way he reacts when he finds the necklace towards the
end of the film establishes the connection Apu had with his deceased sister, his want, his
need to bury the past (as he throws the necklace in a pond) and his view of the social-
construct that surrounds him.
Apu’s character, in the novel, shares a special quest for knowledge and a unique bond
with nature. Ray does not really explore these aspects in Pather Panchali. Satyajit Ray,
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however, does draw parallels between the education at the schoolhouse with its emphasis
on dogma and discipline and Apu’s sensibilities. As author Suranjan Ganguly writes,
“Apu’s first experience of education is in Pather Panchali in the village school run by the
local grocer who combines business with teaching. Finding Apu grinning, he admonishes
the boy. Does he think this is a playhouse? Apu’s answer would probably be in the
affirmative given the raised dais on which the grocer-teacher “performs” and the resulting
comedy that accompanies his histrionics. The medium close-ups of Apu’s face show him
watching, absorbing, but clearly not relishing his first contact with this playhouse
academis where students learn by rote. When a boy is hauled up for playing knots and
crosses and brutally caned, Ray cuts to a shot of a petrified Apu watching the beating—
perhaps his first dislocating experience of the adult world. We never see him at school
again, although we know he continues to attend it. Clearly, a boy of his sensitivity needs
less than the schoolhouse can offer, with its emphasis on dogma and discipline.”
It is this sensitivity of its male characters that Pather Panchali stands for. As a reviewer
writes about the main male characters of the film, Harihar and Apu, in his blog, the male
characters in Pather Panchali, “are more soft-featured and sensitive than the women;
these guys are more likely to spontaneously break into song than to grunt or give
someone a sock in the jaw.”
Durga:- Durga plays a central character in the film. Her characterization, more or less
conforms with the characterization of Durga in Bandhapadhyay’s novel. Durga is guided
by her wants and desires; her desire for tasty, fancy food, her desire for jewellery and
ornaments, her desire to make people around her, especially Indir Thankrun happy, her
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desire to protect and guide her younger sibling Apu.
The character is as real as real can get and sums up beautifully the desires and aspirations
of an adolescent girl. Being close to Indir Thankrun, she goes to the extent of stealing
fruits from her neighbour’s orchard, proving how genuine her love is. In the scene where
Apu and Durga follow the candy-seller to their neighbour’s home, Durga is guided by the
need of hunger, of relishing and savoring sweets that their modest living conditions don’t
allow them. While she asks her neighbour for the necklace and appreciates its beauty, we
see her desire for vanity. It is the expression of these desires openly and wanting to do
something in order to fulfill them that makes Durga a very strong character indeed.
The character of Durga is the first child of the family, yet, her desires, her wants remain
subservient to her younger brother’s because of the societal preference for the male child.
She helps out her mother with household chores, cooks and takes care of Apu almost like
his mother. In spite of these restrictions that are put on her by virtue of being a girl child,
there is a certain brashness, a rebellious streak in her. Although she never explicitly flouts
any orders given by her parents, but implicitly, her the child-woman yearns to be able to
do things her way. The scene where Durga makes Apu taste the pickle, while swearing
him to secrecy that he won’t tell their mother, the scene where in spite of her mother’s
ignorant attitude towards Indir Thakrun’s demands, she hands him over the fruits that she
had stolen for her and of course the scene where Durga takes along her brother to
‘discover’ the secret about the train bring forth the inherent childishness and carefree
nature of Durga.
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The financial and social status of her family plays a great role in shaping up her
personality. In the forest picnic scene, where all the girls talk about their marriage and
finding a perfect match, Durga disapprovingly says that she knows that she won’t get
married. This is followed by a somber expression on her face. Again at her friend’s
marriage, while witnessing the rituals, Ray zooms on to Durga’s face, who is seen
shedding tears in the background. Her tears represent the internal conflict between her
wants and her family’s conditions which force her to suppress her wants.
The scene where Durga gets drenched in the rain also brings to notice several aspects of
her persona. It marks perhaps the very first time when Durga literally lets her hair down
and enjoys herself to her heart’s content. Following her carefree rendezvous with the rain,
Durga sits besides her brother and covers him with her saaree’s pallu, trying to protect
and comfort him. The scene beautifully sums up the relationship between Durga and her
younger brother Apu. However, nature’s blessing, in the form of rain, soon turns out to
be nature’s fury as Durga falls ill and eventually dies in the next scene. The entire
sequence of events, at some level, also highlight the relationship between the girl child
born in that era, her dreams, hopes and ambitions and the societal curbs and hurdles that
she had to go through.
Harihar:
Harihar epitomizes the romantic, emotional, artistic dreamer. As a man who has
been exploited by his employers and his own folks, he has no ambition or want of taking
a revenge or moving ahead in life. He is far away from the societal changes that are
taking place.
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The poverty of the family, the ill-fortune, the grief does not hit him hard as he lives in his
own paradise where things will work out one day. Through out the film, the character of
Harihar is shown dreaming about the day that will change their lives, when they would be
able to make two ends meet. However, at no point does he consciously try or question the
reasons behind the way things stand. He is a priest and has employment opportunities few
and far in between, but harbours aspiration of writing poetry and scholarly articles. There
is a direct disconnect between Harihar’s dream world and his real world.
As the main patriarch of the family, Harihar is not a very successful father or husband.
He is not able to fulfill the desires of his wife or his kids, even though he wants to see
them happy, primarily because of his passive attitude and lack of ambition. Although he
is very fond of his children, but, in terms of shaping their world-view, he does not really
contribute much, partly because of the fact that he is mostly out looking for employment
opportunities.
In the scene where Harihar and Sarbajaya talk about Apu’s Annaprashan (a Bengali ritual
where the child tastes ‘real food’ for the first time), Harihar assures Sarbajaya that they
would celebrate the occasion with much aplomb even though they are going through a
financial crisis. When Sarbajaya tries to reason it out with him, he portrays his typical
escapist attitude by saying that everything will be fine one day. The portrayal of
Harihar’s character in Ray’s film is quite feeble as compared to the character written by
Bandopadhyay.
Sarbajaya: The character of the mother is very important in the film. Essentially a
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backward, uneducated rural Bengali house-wife, Sarbajaya can be termed as narrow-
minded. The way she behaves with Indir Thakrun, her attitude towards the elderly sister-
in-law may be read as negative, but the fact remains that the extreme poverty and the
sacrifice that Sarbajaya has had to go through in life has made her react to situations the
way she does. Her life revolves around her children and their happiness it is here that
Indir Thankrun appears to be more of a hindrance. She believes that Thakrun’s presence
has had a negative impact particularly on Durga as she had started stealing things for
Indir Thankrun. As a result of this and due to the extreme hardships that she has to
go through to make the two ends meet, Sarbajaya comes across as bitter at times, but
certainly not negative.
She is a dedicated wife and mother, who always puts her husband’s and children’s wants
before hers. She constantly hopes for a better future and has faith in her husband’s
dreams of a brighter future for the family. Although, compared to Harihar, Sarbajaya is
more realistic and practical. It is Sarbajaya who gives Harihar the much needed ‘reality-
check’ from time to time, which motivates him to keep going.
The most important factor that comes across through the character of Sarbajaya is her
self-respect. All through the touch times that the family has to go through, at no point
does Sarbajaya give up or ask for help. She puts her dignity and the family’s pride at the
forefront. Even as Harihar leaves home in search of a job and does not return for a very
long time, leaving the family in shambles with no food and no money, Sarbajaya refuses
to take the help of her neighbors and family members. She arranges some money by
selling off some crockery but still does not accept favors from anyone.
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Sarbajaya is also very moralistic. She cannot stand people pointing a finger at her
daughter for stealing things. The violent scene where Sarbajaya brutally beats up Durga
and throws her out of the house shows her absolutely hatred for dishonesty and the
importance of self-respect.
In a touching scene where Sarbajaya talks to her husband about the wants and desires she
had while stepping foot into his world, his household, the viewers get a glimpse of the
simplicity and aspirations of the woman. The extreme poverty and grief has made her
suppress her feelings and live a life which just revolves around ensuring a better future
for her kids. She gives a balance to the dreamer Harihar’s life and being. She is
practically the head of the family.
Indir Thakrun: Perhaps the most lovable character of the film, Indir Thakrun establishes
the link between the old and the new, the era gone by and the times that are to come. She
is the most neglected member of the family. On the threshold of second childishness,
Indir Thankrun wants everyone to shower their attention on her and to show love, respect
and care for her. However, due to the financial crunch and the deprivation that has
become a common part of the family, she is often ignored infact, disrespected by
Sarbajaya.
She keeps shifting places. At times when Sarbajaya forces her to leave their household,
she goes and lives with some other family of the village only to come back later. Over the
years of her stay with Apu’s family, she has grown to share a special bond with them
Indir Thankrun is very fond of Durga as she is the one who fulfills and listens to all his
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whims and fancies. She treats Durga like her own daughter.
Ray brilliantly shows the interrelationship between money and love through Indir
Thakrun’s character. Due to the pressing problems that the family goes through they
show a disregard for Indir Thankrun, who eventually dies at a bamboo grove. Her death
also marks the end of an era, a sort of a new beginning for the family in the film.
Like this, Satyajit Ray succeeded in painting a true to life picture of rural Bengal with
near perfection, where inspite of differences and hard-feelings, the neighbours double up
as extended family, especially in times of crisis.
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AESTHETICS:
Although shot in a shoe-string budget, the film presents the grim, true to life account of a
poor, rural Bengali family with such power that it leaves a great impact on the viewer.
Establishing the film as a real ‘panchali’- which means a folk-song or ballad in Bengali
starts right fom the credit roll which is hand-written on white paper.
Closely following the Italian Neorealist school of aesthetics, Ray chose to go ahead with
casting newcomers and non-professionals in key-roles. Kanu Bannerjee, who played the
role of Harihar, the father, was the only established actor in the film. The rest of the
starcast comprised amateurs and non-professionals. The role of Sarbajaya was played by
Ray’s friend’s wife, Karuna Bannerjee, who was a stage actress of the IPTA. Similarly,
the role of Durga was also played by stage-actress, Uma Dasgupta. Ray had to hunt for
the right actor to essay the role of Apu on screen. He did not want to cast an experienced
child-actor. He published ads in newspapers and eventually Subir Bannerjee, was spotted
by Ray’s wife in their neighbourhood to play Apu. The most challenging thing in terms
of casting ahead of Satyajit Ray was finding a suitable actress to play Indir Thakrun on
screen. He chose Chunibala Devi, a former stage actress living in a brothel to finally
portray the role.
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The quaint, little village road has been used as a metaphor of life in the film. The way it
has been filmed, through long, lingering shots give it a life of its own and establishes its
being. The road stands testimony to the family’s trials and tribulations. It represents the
family’s hope when Harihar treads the village path to look for new opportunities, it
represents happiness in the form of young Apu who goes around running all over the road
every time his father writes back home, it represents the sweet bond that the brother-sister
duo share when they follow the candy-seller together on the same village road, it
represents the family’s sorrow when the dead-body of Indir Thankrun is taken away
through that road, and of course it represents the family’s detachment and disillusionment
with village life in the final scene when they decide to leave for Benaras. The road
therefore, truly, portrays all the colors and hues of the life that family leads.
The avoidance of melodrama in a movie that in essence talks about death, deprivation
and poverty is very tough job indeed, which Ray has mastered in the film. Going out of
the realm of clichéd representation, Ray has depicted events and happenings as they are,
without even a hint of melodrama. A case in point is the two death scenes that Ray has
dealt with in the film. First is the death of Indir Thakrun in the bamboo grove. Shot in a
manner that builds mystery, Durga and Apu ‘discover’ the dead-body of their aunt amidst
the forest. As Durga spots Indir Thakrun sitting all by herself in the forest, she leans
forward towards her and calls out ‘pishi’. When that does not garner a reply, she makes
repeated efforts to draw the attention of her beloved aunt. After several such attempts,
Indir Thakrun’s crippled body falls flat on the ground and the water container that she
usually carries with herself falls in a puddle of water with a thud. Ray zooms on to the
vessel floating in the water, which represents the loss, the spirit set free of the body. The
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next scene is of a procession where the villagers take Thakrun’s body for cremation. The
entire sequence is devoid of emotional outbursts and melodrama, which, infact makes it
more hard-hitting.
In the second death scene of the film, which happens to be Durga’s, Ray draws a straight
metaphor between nature’s fury and death. As Durga lies on her bed, with her mother by
her side, the weather suddenly goes from bad to worse, strong, destructive, harsh wind
starts blowing and knocking at their doorstep, almost representing death. As the nature’s
fury grows darker and more destructive, Ray shows the idols of Lord Ganesha, shaking
and the light of the diya flickering because of the strong winds, symbolizing the conflict
between the good and the evil, God’s wish and fate, belief and destiny. Durga’s mother
tries hard to save her daughter, but can’t. As Apu calls out to her neighbour saying that
his mother is worried about her sister and needs help, we see Durga dead as the
neigbourhood woman reaches their house. Apu innocently asks her, “Didi ghoomoche?”,
(Is my sister sleeping?) as the mother, Sarbajaya sits shattered besides Durga’s dead-
body.
Strong and innovatively written scenes and breaking the mould of stereotypical reaction
to death is what makes these two scenes so moving and powerful. Ray succeeds in
presenting the starkness, harshness and brutal reality of death as morbidly as ever.
This style of avoiding melodrama and presenting situations as they are was new to
Bengali cinema at that point in time. Recounting a defining scene of the film, critic Vijay
Mishra compares Ray’s sensitivity towards filmmaking to Vittorio De Sica’s.
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“I do believe it was the offer of a guava by Durga to old Indir Thakrun, the aunt who had
come to Harihar Ray and his wife Sarbajaya's house to die. Subsequent viewing of the
film now reinforces that memory. It is a touching image, but not done with the kind of
sentimentality or excessive purging of emotion I had come to associate with popular
Indian cinema. Here the camera was simply observing an offer and a response, like a
ritualistic act. The image, momentarily frozen, redeemed for me the film. It was a point
of contact with the possibilities entertained in some of the Indian films I had seen, and
here for once a new kind of realism, the neo-realism of the Italian masters, was being
used for Indian effects. I had seen this in De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, but the impact,
because of my own cultural upbringing, was much more immediate”
Moving over to the background music, which plays a great role in carrying this film
forward. Pather Panchali is one of Pandit Ravi Shankar’s earliest films and the renditions
of sitar give its music a very haunting quality. The tune of “Probhu din je gelo shondha
holo” plays mostly during the scenes featuring Indir Thakrun and finally when she
dies,we get to hear a few verses of the song that establishes a connect between the senile
age woman and God. The background score of the film is an eclectic mix of different
ragas of Indian classical music. Ravi Shankar builds up beautiful tempo in most of the
scenes of the film, particularly the candy-seller chase sequence, where the playful music
perfectly supports the awe-inspiring visual imagery. The strong music piece used at
Durga’s death scene signifying the harshness of nature makes the scene heightens the
impact of the film. Sitar and flute are the main instruments used in the background score
of the film.
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The background music beautifully supports the story of the film. In the scene when
Sarbajaya, unable to control her anger, starts slapping Durga for her petty cries, the loud,
background score and muted dialogue is symbolic of the anger that Sarbajaya is
experiencing. Even towards the end of the film, when Sarbajaya breaks the news of
Durga’s death to Harihar, Ray decides to mute the dialogue again the strong music of
Ravi Shankar takes over and hits the viewers hard making them feel the pain and
anguish that the protagonists are feeling. The music, therefore, has not at any point, been
used as a gimmick. The background score supports and supplements the story well.
In terms of pace of the film, it has a very languid, easy-going feel about it. The first half
of the film, especially, takes its time in getting the viewers acquainted with the nitty-
gritties of the life of the family that the viewers are going to witness for the rest of the
movie. Ray has been quoted as saying that he chose to shoot the film in a ramblings as he
wanted to depict the true essence of rural Bengal, which exists in rambles.
Long takes and minimal editing gives the viewers a chance to live the film, to experience
the film. Ray has also worked up an interesting interplay of lights and shadows in the
film. Natural lighting has been used and Ray has used lighting as an important visual
signifier. In a scene where Sarbajaya, distraught with the conditions of her household,
starts reading the letter written by Harihar, Ray uses light and shadow cleverly. As
Sarbajaya reads the words that Harihar has managed to find a good employment
opportunity and plans to come back home in a few days, we see Sarbajaya move from
darkness to light, representing how the news filled her heart and their lives with joy. The
light here is a metaphor for joy and hope. Similarly, in the scene where Indir Thakrun
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recites a Bengali folk-story to Durga and Apu, Ray has brilliantly drawn parallels with
the story that is being told and the character of Indir Thakrun through an interesting game
of light, shadow and voice-overs.
The cinematography by debutant cinematographer Subrata Mitra is brilliant and the fact
that the camera is inconspicuous at the same time so much in notice was a first in Indian
cinema. The sequence where the kids spot a candy-seller and follow him to the other side
of the village boasts of some great visual appeal. The pied-piper’ effect that the candy-
seller has on Durga and Apu, the long walk down the village road, crossing the river
while we get to see their reflections on the river water makes the sequence come alive
and gives the viewers a feeling of being a part of the procession along with Apu and
Durga. It is truly representative of the ‘poetic realism’ that Satyajit Ray is revered for
introducing in cinema.
The cinematography also shines through in the ‘train scene’. Right from capturing
Durga’s expressions of astonishment and surprise when she hears a distant noise of the
train engine to the shots where the train passes through their village, leaving behind a trail
of dark smoke and signifying the change that is to come, the invitation of the cities,
Subrata Mistra does a brilliant job indeed as a debutante technician.
The emphasis on details, such as the tattered blanket of Indir Thankrun, the ornaments
and vessels, Sarbajaya’s saarees, everything adds up to the overall feel of the film and
makes it more of an experience of seeing the reflection of one’s own life on screen that a
constructed film. Pather Panchali, truly is a landmark film in the ‘Indian Neorealism
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Movement’.
ANALYSIS 2: Aparajito, The Unvanquished Year of Release: 1956
The second part of Satyajit Ray’s neorealist Apu Trilogy, Aparajito draws from the last
part of Bibhutibhushan Bandhapadhyay’s Pather Panchali and the first half of his second
novel, Aparajito. The film acts like a bridge connecting the child Apu of Pather Panchali
fame to Apu, the man, the father of Apur Sansar. It traces the Apu’s journey from
childhood to adolescence, vis-à-vis his quest for knowledge, his moving away from home
and his growing estrangement from his mother, Sarbajaya.
While Pather Panchali saw Ray exploring the intricacies of life in rural Bengal, Aparajito
sees Ray capture the process of departure, shifting between village and city life. Through
adolescent Apu’s disenchantment and disillusionment with traditional village life and his
complete lack of interest in following his father’s occupation of being a priest, Ray
focuses his attention on depicting the emerging ‘modern India’. Apu’s hunger for
education and knowledge comes through in the second part of the trilogy, establishing his
character as a progressive young boy of the Nehruvian modern India.
The themes of moving away from home in the quest for education and a better life is
timeless and perhaps that is the reason why Aparajito is a film that one would be able to
relate to even in today’s fast-paced life. The charm of Aparajito lies in its depiction of the
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beautiful city of Benaras, in its realistic portrayal of life of the family after the death of
the primary bread-earner, because of the sensitivity with which the director has shown the
growing distance between Apu and his mother, which finally results in her death.
Aparajito stands out because of its perfect blend of eastern and western sensibilities and
most importantly for its sheer simplicity.
As famous critic, James Berardinelli writes, “Aparajito was filmed forty years ago, half
way around the world, yet the themes and emotions embedded in the narrative are
strikingly relevant to modern Western society (thus explaining why it is called a "timeless
classic")…Aparajito is an amazing motion picture. Its rich, poetic composition is
perfectly wed to the sublime emotional resonance of the narrative. For those who have
seen Pather Panchali, Aparajito provides a nearly-flawless continuation of the journey
begun there. Yet, for those who missed Ray's earlier effort, this film loses none of its
impact. On its own or as part of the Apu Trilogy, Aparajito should not be missed."
More than just bridging the first and last films of the Apu Trilogy, Aparajito is a
complete film in itself. A film that perfectly and captures the era of transformation that
India was going through, with the coming in of Western education, science and literature.
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PLOT SUMMARY:
The film opens with Apu exploring the bylanes of the holy-city of Benaras. His family,
following the incidents that the audience witnessed in Pather Panchali, has now moved
to Benaras (Varanasi) in search of a better life and better opportunities. Harihar works as
a priest and earns a meager income, while Sarbajaya looks after the household.
Ray brilliantly captures the ghats, temples, and architecture of the holy city, in the first
half of the film. One day Harihar collapses at the ghat and is brought home. He falls sick
and the family goes through a rough patch. Harihar soon breathes his last breaths as
Sarbajaya sends Apu to fetch a glass of holy Ganges water for his dying father.
Sarbajaya takes over the family’s responsibilities after the death of her husband.
Financial and monetary concerns force her to take up the job of a maid. Apu also helps
her out with daily chores at the house-hold where she works. The family where the
mother and son work decides to move to a new place and persuade Sabajaya and Apu to
join them. Sarbajaya agrees but later changes her mind as she visualizes Apu’s future as a
servant.
The mother, therefore, takes her son along to their ancestral village, where their relative
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initiates Apu to priesthood. Apu shows a complete disregard for the profession and one
day while chasing a group of happy children to their school decides that he wants to go to
school.
On Apu’s insistence, Sarbajaya decides to send him off to school. Apu proves to be a
very hardworking and diligent student and wins a scholarship to pursuer higher education
in Calcutta. On hearing the ‘good-news’, Sarbajaya grows wary of sending her son to an
unknown place. She is scared of being lonely and the well-being of Apu. Apu however,
manages to convince Sarbajaya and soon leaves for Calcutta.
The city opens up several opportunities for Apu. He lives alone in an unknown city,
while studying in the days and working at a printing place at night. Apu moulds into an
independent and modern young adult. The change, however, is not all positive. On one
side where the village boy Apu learns to live independently and on his own, on the other
side, this ensures his constant estrangement with his mother who awaits his visits back
home in their village, only to be disappointed. As Apu’s visits to his village decreases
and the distance between him and his mother increases, Sarbajaya dies in a mysteriously
crafted death scene.
Apu returns to an empty home on hearing about his mother’s ill health and is immersed in
the pain of losing his mother. The loss, however, does not deter him or change the course
of his life. We see Apu treading the familiar quaint, little village road, in the climax of the
film, symbolizing the process of his ‘moving on with life’.
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CHARACTERIZATION:
Apu: While Apu was just one of the main characters in Pather Panchali, he gains more
prominence in Aparajito. The film can be seen as the starting point from where Apu takes
over the responsibility of carrying the story forward. The first half of the film gives the
viewers an opportunity to see and explore the holy city of Benaras through the character
of Apu. As he wanders around the ghat, observing priests and other people, loiters
around in the temples feeding monkeys, and roams around in the bylanes of the city, the
audience travels with Apu and gets acquainted with the town that is now home for Apu
and his family.
Apu is shown as a sensitive, nature-loving and observant child. He is the apple of his
parents eyes and their lives revolve around him. Strangers, like the priest who
accompanies Harihar to the family’s home also develop a liking for him because of his
sweet and adorable nature. In the absence of Durga, his elder sister, who played a major
role in Pather Panchali, Apu is now on his own and loves exploring the town that is
unknown to him.
Apu’s quest for knowledge and pursuing formal education is more overt in Aparajito than
it was in Pather Panchali. The adolescent Apu represents the generation of emerging
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‘modern Indians’, for whom Western education, the sciences and literature held utmost
importance. Apu comes across as a progressive individual who shows disregard for his
priesthood, which he is forcibly initiated into. The fact that he talks to his mother about
his desire to join a school and later argues with her to go to Calcutta for pursuing higher
education shows how ambitious Apu is and how he strives hard to achieve his goals.
The process of estrangement that Apu and his mother go through is also a metaphor for
Apu’s breaking free at some level. The adolescent Apu, who is disenchanted with the
poverty and backward life of rural Bengal wants to move forward in life, wants to chart
his own course. At the same time, there does exist a chord that binds him with his mother
and this is evident from the dilemmas he faces on issues like smoking or bunking school.
The dilemmas, the confusions that Apu goes through are typical of almost all youngsters
his age, who are on the threshold of adult life.
Towards the end of the film when Apu realizes that he has been orphaned and he has no
one to go back to, he does not break down or give it all up, instead he decides to move
ahead in life. The journey his character embarks upon in the last shot of the film, on one
hand signifies his step ahead towards city-life to where now belongs, on the other-hand, it
also signifies his step towards manhood.
Sarbajaya:- The other central character of the film Aparajito is Sarbajaya. Sarbajaya
epitomizes the real, the true house-wife of that day and age. She is a doting mother, a
dutiful wife looks after the entire household.
Although the character of Sarbajaya had hints of selfishness in Pather Panchali,
particularly in the way she dealt with Indir Thakrun, Aparajito sees the ‘selfless’ side of
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Sarbajaya. After the death of her husband, she takes up the charge of managing the
household entirely on her own. She works as a maid and tries all that she can just to
ensure that her son, Apu has a good future. She suppresses her feelings and her fear of
being lonely to send her son to study in Calcuta. Even when she falls seriously ill, she
does not allow her neighbours to inform Apu about her illness so that he doesn’t worry.
All through the film, Sarbajaya makes compromises and arrangements to see her son
happy.
Dignity is the most important virtue of Sarbajaya’s character, whichwas introduced early
on in Pather Panchali in the scene where she rejects taking monetary help from her
neighbours. In a scene from Aparajito, where the landlord tries to make a pass at her
while Harihar is unwell, Sarbajaya’s reaction is very strong. She turns and scares him by
picking up a dagger, symbolic of the ‘shakti’ avatar of the Goddess. In yet another scene,
where she sees the owner of the house where she works as the maid ordering Apu around,
she makes a quick decision of quitting the job and settling at the village with her son as
the very thought of her son growing up to be a servant is discomforting for her. Both
these instances show the the self-respecting and dignified side of Sarbajaya’s personality.
Aparajito, in essence is a film about journey, about moving on and Sarbajaya’s character
also represents this perfectly. After the death of the husband, Sarbajaya’s character does
not show any over the top, melodramatic emotions, rather Ray sensitively portrays the
family, and in particularly, Sarbajaya’s decision to look ahead and search for the silver
lining.
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The second half of the film shows the growing distance between Sarbajaya and Apu and
the resultant sorrow and pain that Sarbajaya has to go through. She feels lonely and
religiously awaits her son’s arrival from the city, which unfortunately does not happen as
often as she would like. Yet at no point in the film does she force Apu to leave everything
and come back home. Her character in Aparajito, like in the previous film, has
tremendous strength and dignity.
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THEMES:
Critic Robin Wood talked about how the first film of the Apu Trilogy, Pather Panchali,
has a few cues which indicate that Apu will eventually break away from his mother’s
way fo life and head down the modern road. Some prominent Indian critics did not
appreciate this remark and retorted that as a westerner, Wood “had no understanding of
the dep bonds between mothers and sons in India”. Woods prediction comes true to a
large extent, in the second part of the tilogy, Aparajito. Although the adolescent Apu
loves and respects his mother in own way, but at the same time, the film explores Apu’s
yearning to break free.
Throughout the film, Apu tries to break away and evolves as an individual who wants to
live life on his own terms. Things that once enthralled Apu, like the village life, now bore
him. He does not find anything interesting or inspiring about being a priest either and the
scene where he comes back after doing Puja and rushes off to play like other children his
age reflect the restlessness, the freedom that Apu so desires.
A dialogue in the film spoken by the headmaster of Apu’s school, while encouraging him
to read more books, “We may be rooted in a remote corner of Bengal but that does not
mean our minds should be confined here.” perfectly sets the tone of the movie Aparajito.
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It’s a film about evolvement, progress, moving ahead, changes and the consequences of
those changes. Darker than all the other films of the trilogy, Aparajito stands out because
of its treatment. The story about the growing distance between a mother and a son, the
story that challenges the ‘ideal’ relationship that should exist between a dotting mother
and her child, Aparajito could easily turn pessimistic or even negative. However, the
humanistic philosophy that Ray believed in made him mould the film in such a way that
it seemed more like the story of every young boy’s life. As author Chidanand Dasgupta
writes, “Oedipal tension that all men must, in their growth, overcome. Therefore, Apu’s
release is perhaps more important than the poignancy of his mother’s death.” Ray’s no
frills depiction of Apu’s dilemmas, his worries and the oedipal tension that he must
overcome appeared so real that no one could negate the possibility of the events that took
place in the film.
There is an inherent logic in the build-up of this estrangement that forms the central
theme of Aparajito. Whereas in one scene where Apu’s mother is complaining about her
deteriorating health while Apu ignores her and dozes off, in the very next sequence, Apu
goes to catch the train to the city but eventually does not and goes back home to spend
one more day with his mother. These two scenes, for instance, sort of ‘balance each other
out’. Ray manages to express Apu’s emotions perfectly, as the young-adult who is torn
between his love for his mother and his dedication to his education and ambition.
Again, in the case of Aparajito, here are no clear demarcations between the hero and the
villain, the negative and the positive. Circumstances and situations make the characters of
the film react in a certain way. So, as author Dasgupts writes, Sarbajaya’s sorrow is as
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inevitable as her son’s indifference. She must obey life’s inexorable laws and go, like a
leaf dropping from the tree in autumn. The loss of his parents and the agony of Apu’s
survival in body and in spirit, is all that Aparajito holds, by way of action. Yet the sheer
palpability of Apu’s emotional growth overwhelms us.”
The second part of the film, which focuses particularly, on the growing-distance between
the mother and son, therefore, stands out as the most heart-rending part of the film.
Satyajit Ray also manages to infuse his own brand of humor in the form of characters
such as the school inspector and Apu’s carefree best friend, Pulu.
The journey that Apu takes upon from adolescence to manhood and the dilemmas and
resistance he has to face is what the central theme of Aparajito is.
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AESTHETICS:-
Ray chooses to start the film with the shot of a train on a bridge, establishing the
‘journey’ metaphor of Pather Panchali early on in Aparajito. The shot also establishes the
connect, the link that Aparajito forms between the first and the last parts of the Apu
Trilogy. The visual metaphor of the train that Ray uses as an important aesthetic tool in
the Apu Trilogy continues throughout Aparajito as well. When Sarbajaya sees Apu
lighting up the hukkah of the owner of the house where she works, Ray zoomes on to her
face and we see the juxtaposition of the train shot again symbolizing her decision to
move to the village with her son Apu in order to ensure a better future for him. The to and
fro journey that Apu takes upon through the train in order to shuttle between Calcutta and
the village where his mother lives draws a parallel between the train and the ‘distance’
that Apu travels away from his mother and the warmth of his home. In the scene where
Apu goes to board the train, but later decides to stay back and spend one more day with
his mother yet again establishes a correlation between the train and Apu’s emotional
upheavals.
The pace of the film has a repetitive and rambling charm of its own. In the words of
author Chidanand Dasgupta, “It is the only film in which Ray repeats both elements
within the film itself and elements from the previous film, Pather Panchali. It is the
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repetition which builds the rhythm of life in Benaras and register Harihar’s death as a part
of its flux, like thousands of deaths before it, important to those who lose, but
insignificant in the cosmic cycle. “
The depiction of the holy-city of Benaras is what the film deserves special mention for.
From showcasing the life of the priests at the ghats to the beautiful temples, Ray
fantastically captures the essence and verve of Benaras, by making great use of natural
lights and locations. The ghat scenes, in particular stand out for literally transporting the
viewers to the holy city of Benaras. The architecture of the temples, the rituals, the
locales, the purity of Ganges, the white sarees of the widows symbolizing morbidity and
melancholy, paint a near-perfect picture of life in the holy city.
A fine economy of expression makes an epic out of a two-hour long film. Symbolism,
therefore, plays an important part in this subtle and sensitively told story of ambition,
growing up and estrangement. The non-melodramatic death scenes of the movie,
primarily stand out for the creative use of symbolism.
As Harihar, Apu’s father lies on the death bed, Sarbajaya sends Apu to fetch Ganges
water for him. As Apu helps his father drink the holy water, Harihar breathes his last
breath. The very next shot is that of pigeons flying all across the Benaras skyline, filled
with dark-clouds. The flock of pigeons is also shown at the beginning of the film in order
to establish a link between them and Harihar and his family, who inhabit the holy city. By
using the same visual imagery of pigeons, this time flying away and with harsh music in
the background, Ray forms a link between the birds and human soul. The scene is
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absolutely devoid of melodrama and is one of the most creatively and realistically
handled death-scenes in Indian cinema.
Sarbajaya’s ‘mysterious’ death scene, in essence, is more poetic. She dies at her
doorsteps, waiting for Apu, hallucinating that he has returned to live with his mother,
gazing at fire-flies that fly all over. Karuna Bannerjee, the actress who played Sarbajaya
has emoted beautifully in this sequence. Her eyes, her gaze express the longing, the
lonliness that she has had to go through perfectly. Ray talks about the difficulties he had
to face while shooting this particular scene in "We chose the toughest members of our
crew, had them dressed up in black shirt and trousers and let each of them carry a
flashlight bulb and a length of wire and a battery. The bulbs were held aloft in their right
hands while they illustrated the swirling movements of fireflies in a dance, alternately
connecting and disconnecting the wire to the bulbs"
Similarly, in other scenes and at other points in the film, Ray uses metaphors and
symbols intelligently. The globe that Apu’s teacher gives him before he leaves for
Calcutta is representative of the ‘new world’ that he is going to enter. The way Apu
obsesses over the globe and keeps admiring it all through his train journey symbolizes the
excitement he has for exploring his own little world.
Even through the character of Pulu, Apu’s best-friend in the film, Ray tries to establish a
sort of a mediator between him and the ‘Western world’. Through the scenes where Pulu
plans foreign trips with Apu, to the scene where he offers Apu a cigarette, Pulu’s role as a
‘change agent’ in Apu’s life, as an influencer, who at some level, is responsible for Apu’s
breaking away from his home and his mother, is more than obvious.
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The background music of the film is very apt and completely flows as the events unfold.
Ravi Shankar has used mesmerizing vedic chants as background scores in the first half of
the film set in Benaras. The vibrations produced by the chants further add up to the
realistic appeal of showcasing the holy city. Overall, Ravi Shankar experiments and
mixes in a very traditional Indian score which compliments Ray’s masterpiece.
In terms of performances, Karuna Banerjee shines through yet again in this film in the
role of the self-sacrificing mother, Sarbajaya. The fresh face of Smaran Ghoshal as
adolescent Apu gives Aparajito the real spark. Ghoshal gives a powerful performance and
effortlessly emotes the angst, pain, confusion and love that Aparajito goes through as he
steps on the threshold of adulthood.
The philosophical depth and emotional directness of Aparajito is what makes this simple
story of events unfolding in the life of an ambitious and modern young-adult, unique and
awe-inspiring.
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Analysis 3:- Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) Year of Release: 1959
Apur Sansar marks the end of Ray’s Apu Trilogy. While Pather Panchali saw the birth
of the bright, young child Apu in a poor family of rural Bengal and Aparajito saw Apu
move to the city of Kolkata in his quest for knowledge, Apur Sansar sees Apu complete
the cycle of this journey from boyhood to manhood.
Ray took a two-years break after the release of Aparajito to make the concluding part of
the Apu Trilogy, Apur Sansar. The film is complete in itself and will not appear and will
make sense to a viewer even if he/she has not seen the earlier films of the trilogy. It is the
structure of the film that mainly binds the film perfectly and gives it an identity beyond
being the last installment of the Apu trilogy.
As the name suggests, Apur Sansar, is a film that truly revolves around Apu and his
family. Tracing the life of bachelor Apurbo to the time he marries Aparna and starts a
family with her to his renunciation of family-life post Aparna’s death and his eventual
acceptance of his son, Kajol, who he blamed for the death of Aparna, Apur Sansar is
about Apu’s emotional and philosophical growth and the transitions he goes through.
Based firmly on neorealist foundations, Apur Sansar is one of Ray’s most personal and
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emotional works till date. Rooted in the reality of 1930s Calcutta, the film shines because
of the very natural and logical progression and unfolding of events. Ray, through his
mastery over symbolic representation expresses Apu’s disillusionment with urban life
and his proverbial ‘going back to his roots’.
PLOT SUMMARY:
The film opens with a sequence where we see Apu receiving a recommendation letter
from his professor. He is unable to complete his education, which was his primary goal in
the film, Aparajito. The recommendation letter is now Apu’s last resort at getting
employment.
The film, essentially, is divided into three sections. The first section introduces us to the
adult Apu. Apurbo who is on a desperately on the lookout for employment, who partly,
like his father Harihar in the first installment of the trilogy, hopes beyond hope to find
employment and solve all his problems one day capitalizing on his literary talents.
Overdue rent and other expenses force Apu to part with some of his post cherished books
as well. Apu finds himself either under-educated or over-educated for the random jobs
that je applies for. With the scarce opportunities that are available, there is just one
positive thing happening in Apu’s life, which is the auto-biographical novel that he is
passionately writing. One day, Apu’s childhood friend, Pulu, who we have seen in
Aparajito as well, meets Apu and invites him for his cousin Aparna’s marriage. Having
nothing better to do at that point of time, Apu agrees to go for the wedding. He reaches
the village with Pulu. On the day of the wedding, the bride’s family realizes that the
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groom is mentally unsound and therefore, Aparna’s mother calls off the wedding. Due to
the superstitions and stigmas that existed in Indian society at that point of time, the family
considers this event as inauspicious, and force Apu to marry Aparna. Due to Apu’s
closeness with Pulu and in order to save Aparna from the wrath of people, Apu gets
married to her.
The second part of the film focuses on the relationship between Apu and Aparna. Ray
crafts a beautiful tale of love that blossoms between the protagonists after their marriage.
Aparna, who belongs to a rich family of rural Bengal tries to settle down in the big city,
Calcutta, with her unemployed husband, Apu. She does not complain of any discomfort or
problems. Apu contantly feels guilty for marrying Aparna into a life of discomfort. Both
of them, gradually, come closer and he compromises give way to love.
The togetherness however, is not long-lasting and the story soon changes gears to a tragic
tale with Aparna’s death during child-birth. Aparna’s death leaves Apu heart-broken and
completely numb. He cannot bring himself back to reality and gives up everything. He
holds their child, Kajol responsible for Aparna’s death and refuses to assume the
responsibilities of a father. He renounces family life and goes all out to live the life of a
wanderer. Kajol continues to live with his grand=parents. Apu’s only form of contact
with Kajol is in the form of the money-orders that he sends him. Time flies and one day,
Pulu makes Apu come back to reality and makes him realize his duty as a father. Apu
goes back to Aparna’s father and takes Kajol along with him. The last shot of the film
shows Apu, along with Kajol, sitting on top of Apu’s shoulders on the ‘way back home’.
The father and son reunite and venture on a journey that unlike other films, leads to their
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home.
CHARACTERIZATION:
Apu: Apurbo is the central character of the film and the film spans over his growth from
being an unemployed youngster in the chaotic city of Calcutta to being a responsible
father. The most striking thing about Apu in Apur Sansar is the similarity between him
and his father Harihar in Pather Panchali. Apu, like his father Harihar harbours literary
dreams and holds his dream project, which is his semi-autobiographical novel very close
his own little dream world where he sees himself getting his book published one day and
living a respectful life. Literature is his passion. Although, this carefree side to Apu soon
goes through a major transformation as events unfold in the film.
Apu is not able to complete his education and therefore, his only hope is the letter of
recommendation that a professor writes for him. The adjectives used by Apu’s professor
to describe him in the letter, “'sensitive, conscientious and diligent” perfectly define
Apurbo.
Although Apu has not detached himself from the life he led in his village through the
period of transition that he went through in Aparajito, he at some level, continues to
remain in touch with things that enchanted him in his childhood. Apu’s relationship with
nature plays an important role in the trilogy and even in the last installment, this
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relationship is explored. The scene where Apu fills his bucket with rain-water and takes a
bath in the rain or for instance, the scene where Apu is shown to relax under the tree in
the village where everyone else in engaged in the different rituals of Aparna’s marriage,
and the later part of the film where Apu becomes a wanderer and roams around from one
destination to another in search of his soul, in search of his love Aparna, in search of a
peace, all testify the strong bond that Apu continues to share with nature, irrespective of
the chaotic urban life that he leads.
Apu embodies the perfect ‘modern Indian’ in the first part of the film. His interest in
literature, poetry and music, his dreams of making it big one day and his overall
detachment with rural life are representative of this aspect of his personality.
Apu’s character goes through a major change after marriage. The happy-g-lucky Apu, the
dreamer Apu realizes his responsibilities towards Aparna. His marriage with Aparna was
not out of love, but out of sympathy for a girl who would have had to live the life of a
spinster had Apu not accepted the proposal. In the scene where Pulu, accompanied by
other village folks, pursue Apu to marry Aparna, Apu shows his disrespect for their
backwardness and expresses concern for Aparna, symbolic of his liberal, urban self.
Apu’s initial conversations with Aparna are marked by his guilt of not being able to
provide her the life of luxury that she had been living at her parents’ house. Getting
married to a girl like Aparna suddenly jolts him back to reality where he comes to terms
with his unemployment and poverty. The concerns he expresses and the efforts he puts in
to ensure a better future for Aparna shows the growing amount of responsibility on Apu’s
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part. Aparna’s entry in Apu’s life also symbolizes the arrival of romance in his life. Apu,
in his quest for knowledge and while dealing with all the other problems of his life, had
perhaps never even given romantic relationships a thought. His friend Pulu’s amazement
at the mention of a romantic element to Apu’s autobiographical novel brings forth this
fact and so does the scene where Apu quickly draws the curtains of his window when he
notices a girl in his neighbourhood admiring him while he’s playing flute. Aparna
showers her love on Apu and the relationship that started of as a mere compromise grows
into unconditional and eternal love.
The character of Apu goes through the most difficult crisis in coping up with the death of
Aparna. Aparna’s death totally shatters Apu and he renounces family and life altogether.
As author Suranjan Ganguly points out, “Apu thus invokes the Western stereotypes of the
wanderer as well as its Indian counterpart, the God-seeking holy man who renounces
society out of world-weariness and spiritual longing.”
While he lives his life as a wanderer, at a subconscious level, he is somewhere attached to
his son, Kajol as he keeps taking up random jobs wherever he goes to ensure a steady
flow of income. He sends money to Kajol through money-orders, which, somehow,
testifies that he did care for him all through. The main thing that separates Apu from his
son is his love for Aparna. The sudden news of Aparna’s death post childbirth makes him
blame Kajol for the unfortunate event. It is this reason which gives rise to the dilemmas
that Apu, as a father, goes through. He cannot bring himself to assume his paternal
responsibilities because of the pain and the sense of void that Aparna’s death has caused.
Apu even tears up the pages of his most cherished manuscript as nothing seems to matter
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to him more than Aparna. The period of renunciation shows up an entirely different side
to Apu.
The last phase of the movie Apur Sansar, which sees Apu reuniting with his son,
introduces the viewers to a new Apu altogether. Apurbo- the father, the man who does
not want to be an escapist anymore. It also shows us a very protective side of Apu. The
character truly comes a full circle in the final installment of the Apu Trilogy and has been
essayed very sensitively and beautifully by debutant actor, Shoumitra Chatterjee, who
went on to be one of Ray’s favourite actors to work with.
Aparna:
As the girl who comes to know that her groom is mentally unsound on the day of her
marriage and is forced to marry a “substitute suitor”, Aparna’s character is perhaps the
perfect representative of the gender politics and social realities of the era gone by. As the
coy bride who has to suddenly accept an almost stranger as her husband, Aparna
embodies the ‘perfect wife’.
She belongs to a rich family in rural Bengal, who gets married to Apu who is
unemployed and can hardly provide her with the comforts she had been used to in her
father’s house. In spite of all this, Aparna does not show a hint of disrespect or contempt
for her husband. She accepts him as he is and his ‘sansar’ (family and world) as it is.
Aparna’s character, particularly, in today’s times might seem a little difficult to
understand, but as author Chidanand Dasgupts rightly says, “As far as Aparna was
concerned, Hindu girls worshipped Lord Shiva from their childhood and prayed for a
husband like him, monogamous, handsome, noble and strong, even though he was a bit of
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a vagabond bohemian, rode a bull and kept the company of ghosts. Whomsoever she
married, in an event brought about more by fate than free will, would become her Lord
Shiva. The correct behaviour was to follow him to the ends of the earth, no matter what
his circumstances. Aparna’s behaviour in leaving her affluence to go and live with Apu in
his attic was thus, far from unnatural.”
Aparna is Apu’s strength. She fills Apu’s love with her radiance, warmth and affection.
In more ways than one, after his marriage to Aparna, ‘Apur sansar’ (Apu’s world),
revolves around Aparna and after her death shatters completely.
Aparna loves Apu a lot and does not want him to think that she is unhappy or
uncomfortable in his world. She is shown to break-down in one scene while Apu is away
giving us a glimpse of the sadness and pain she hides inside. The same scene also draws
parallels between Aparna and motherhood when she looks at a young child and her
mother through the window. This scene, particularly establishes a connect between
Aparna’s smile and her sadness, her maternal feelings and mortality. All through the span
of Aparna’s role, there is a certain ‘morbid’ element about her beauty, a certain latent
pain beneath her radiant and gorgeous eyes.
Pulu: Like in Aparajito, we saw Pulu play the role of a mediator between Apu and urban
life. Similarly, Pulu in Apur Sansar acts like a catalyst. He is Apu’s best-friend, his
confidante’. He is also Aparna’s cousin. Pulu introduces Apu and Aparna in the film.
Aparna enters Apu’s life through Pulu.
Pulu, like Apu, is a modern, liberal young man, but more successful than him. However,
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Pulu’s success never causes a rift between him and Apu. Ray’s strong belief in humanity
and human-dignity makes Pulu and Apu’s friendship very pure, away from petty fights
and misunderstandings. Pulu wants to help Apu, both personally and professionally and is
always beside him in times of need.
Towards the end of the film, it is Pulu again, who makes the father-son reunion possible.
His role, therefore, is that of a catalyst and a mediator in Apu’s life and his world.
Kajol: Kajol is the name of the character who plays Apu’s son in the film, Apur Sansar.
Naughty, effervescent, full of life are a few words that best describe Kajol. He lives with
his grandfather, who is often irritated by Kajol’s childish pranks and his naughtiness.
Being away from his father has created a lot of confusion in Kajol’s heart about his
father’s identity and whereabouts. This has, at some levels, made him a bit of a rebel,
who necessarily does and says things that he has been asked not to.
Ray also draws comparisons between Kajol and young Apu, especially in Kajol’s
introductory scene, where he is shown running in the forest. Kajol’s relationship with the
nature is highlighted in that particular scene just like Apu’s in Pather Panchali. The
scene where Kajol wears a mask and finally shows his face to the audiences is also
reminiscent of Apu’s ‘eye-opening’ scene. The emphasis on taking shots where Kajol
looks directly into the camera like young Apu in Pather Panchali tells us about the
director’s intent of showing things from Kajol’s perspective and establishing the fact that
Apu’s world now revolves around Kajol.
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Kajol, like his mother Aparna, bottles up his emotion, but burst out in the scene where he
pelts stone at his father and refuses to go anywhere with him. He cannot bring himself to
reality and accept a complete stranger as his father. Eventually, in the last scene of the
film, when Kajol finally agrees to go with Apu it is because Apu says that he is Kajol’s
friend and not father. Ray therefore, sensitively brings out the companionship, the
friendship of the father-son duo in the beautifully crafted last scene of the film.
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THEMES AND AESTHETICS:
The credits roll of Apur Sansar starts is accompanied by fluctuating background music.
Through this device, Ray makes it clear early on in the film that Apur Sansar is about
Apu’s journey, the ups and downs that he has to go through. A simple and clever attempt
by the director, which sets the tone of the film.
A scene precedes the credit roll of the film. The scene where Apu goes to collect his
recommendation letter from his professor. The professor tells him about the importance
of education and as he is about to leave, we get to hear voices shouting slogans as the
background music. Ray, who did not like to make his political stance clear in his films,
avoided showing anything else further. However, the audio track takes us back to those
times in Calcutta where students protests and dharnas were a common affair.
Apur Sansar is not only the most personal film of the trilogy, but its also the most story
oriented film. Starting from a point where the viewers get to see Apu as a young,
unemployed man in Calcutta, moving on to his marriage and finally his journey towards
fatherhood, the film takes a full circle within itself and with respect to the previous films
of the Apu Trilogy. The movie, however, does not drag at any point in time. Because of
the logical flow of events and Ray’s engaging narrative style, Apur Sansar truly comes to
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life. Ray also infuses his trade-mark humour in this story about love and family. Through
characters such as Apu’s colleague who gives him tips on an exciting married life to the
bunch of ignorant, boisterous men who Apu meets for an interview, Ray manages to fit in
a dash of humour in this tale.
A strong sense of humanism, which is a characteristic of Ray and most of the neorealist
film-makers is evident in Apur Sansar as well. The friendship between Apu and Pulu and
especially, the characterization of the mentally unsound groom show this aspect of Ray’s
cinematic style. The groom who is a lunatic is not treated with contempt or as a laughing
stock. Rather, his portrayal is sensitive and in fact, at some point in the film, the viewer
even feels pity for him.
Ray’s understanding of each and every character in the film and the way he builds up
relationships is what Apur Sansar truly stands out for. Apu and Aparna’s love story,
which forms the central theme of the film, has been appreciated by many a critics as one
of Indian cinema’s most ethereal and eternal depiction of love. Ray, existing within the
realm of censorship that existed at that point of time, innovatively shows the journey that
the couple transverse from a phase of compromise to marital bliss. Monish K. Das, an
alumnus of FTII, Pune, who is also a documentary filmmaker perfectly expounds on
exactly how Ray managed to do this in his review of the film. In the words of Das,
“Ray’s depiction of the charms of intimacy in Apur Sansar stands among the one of the
restrained yet cinematically imaginative explorations of the subject. Like all masters Ray
is able to overcome the limits of cultural censorship into a celebration of artistic allusion.
The changes of a curtain on a window in Apu’s room become the signifier of the growth
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of the Apu-Aparna conjugal life. In the beginning of the film, rain pouring from the torn
curtain had disturbed Apu’s sleep. In the scene of Aparna’s arrival in the room, Ray in
one memorable close-up of her eyes framed through the same hole observing a poor
mother playing with her infant, wonderfully captures her anxiety and sadness of leaving a
life of luxury and starting a new life with a stranger. But now the camera pulls back from
a new curtain to reveal the couple lying chastely on the bed. Aparna wakes up and as she
moves away she discovers that her aanchal is tied to Apu’s dhoti. She unties the knot,
gives Apu a playful smack and sets about her daily chores. Apu wakes up, slowly turns
and gazes at her dreamily and contently as she sets about lighting the chullah. There is a
silent exchange between them as Apu picks out his pack of cigarettes for his habitual
morning smoke only to find she has inserted a note to remind him of his promise to
restrict himself to a cigarette after his meal. Next, he picks up a hairclip that had slipped
out of Aparna's hair during the night and wistfully turns it around between his fingers.
The cigarette would later feature as an index of intimacy – Aparna would indulgently
light up Apu’s cigarette in a hackney-carriage which Apu, in a flash of extravagance, had
hired to steal a moment of intimacy before she would leave to give birth to their child in
her parents’ house. The ethereal glow of the matchstick that lights up Aparna’s face for a
fleeting moment becomes the metaphor of the transient nature of their happiness – the
slow fade out of the glow is a subtle omen of the tragic future.”
In terms of casting, Ray introduced Shoumitro Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore, through
Apur Sansar, who went on to become two of India’s most talented actors. Casting fresh
faces in the film, gave this film a certain raw appeal and both the lead actors went on to
work with Ray in many of his later films. The range of emotions that Shoumitro pulled
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off with ease in this film, especially, shows the range of the great actor.
The use of the main visual metaphor that binds the trilogy films together, that is ‘the train
shots’, is more important and disturbing in this film. The train goes on from being used as
a poetic and lyrical to a disturbing metaphor. As Apu’s house is near the railway tracks,
we often see him wake up to the sound of train-hooting. In yet another scene, Ray shows
a shocked and irritated Aparna who covers her ears in order to shut off the irritating train
hoot. The train, later on in the film, metaphorically, also takes Aparna ‘away’ from Apu.
As she goes to stay at her father’s house for her delivery, she boards the train and Apu
sees her off. It is the last time that Apu and Aparna have a face-to-face interaction in the
film.
Talking of which brings us to Ray’s depiction of death in Apur Sansar. As with the rest of
the trilogy films, Ray does not go the ‘melodrama way’ in showing Aparna’s death and
the ensuing set of events. Rather, Ray slowly builds it up and brings us to a point where
we believe that Aparna’s death was actually inevitable. From the mysterious morbid
quality about Aparna’s beauty to her last interaction with Apu where she told him that if
he doesn’t write letters regularly to her then “aadi-aadi-aadi” (a Bengali expression of
breaking bongs). Ray uses the visual track of this dialogue repetitively while leading us
to Aparna’s unfortunate death. The use of post-synchronized sounds all through this film,
in fact, is very clever and creative. Apu comes to know of Aparna’s death all of a sudden
when his brother in law lands up at his doorstep to break the news that Aparna lost her
life during while delivering their child. Apu’s pent up emotions, his angst, his pain, his
disbelief culminates into a slap. Apu’s strong reaction in this scene where he slaps his
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brother in law, sets the tone for the metamorphosis that Apu’s character will go through
in the rest of the film.
Post Aparna’s death, Ray brings to us an entirely unknown aspect of Apu’s personality.
We see him as a wanderer. We see a complete renunciation for urban life an familial ties.
The focus on urban periphery, which is also an important characteristic of Italian
neorealist films, can easily noticed in Apur Sansar. His growing disillusionment with the
city life and urban spaces and his attempts to get away have been explained by author
Suranjan Ganguly in the following words: “We see Apu standing beside the railway
tracks, waiting to throw himself under the wheels of the approaching train. Ray opens
with an extreme long shot of the tracks, with the train appearing in the distance. He then
cuts to the medium close up of Apu’s gaunt face at eye level. The camera next tracks
away from him into empty space and stays there while we hear the shrill whistle of the
train as it nears. The shot offers a simple yet powerful visual-equivalent of Apu’s inner
void and his desire for oblivion. It is not only ironic that Apu should decide to extinguish
his consciousness- once the source of joy and wonder in his life- but that he should
choose the train to do the job for him. But the attempts fail when the train runs over a pig
that has strayed onto the tracks. Distracted by its shriek, he loses his chance and the train
rolls past him. The sequence ends with a shot of an industrial chimney sprouting smoke.
We realize that alone in the city Apu is more prone to suicide than if he had lived within
his community, with its sense of traditional values. Urban solitude only exacerbates his
pain and lures him towards a death under the wheels of technology. Apu’s next move,
then, is to sever all ties with the city.” Like this, we see Apu’s disenchantment with
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everything that once appealed to him about city life.
In the last part of the film, where Apu comes back to his son, Ray has very effectively
and accurately captured the entire gamut of emotions that Apu and his son, Kajol go
through. From Kajol’s firm belief that one day his father will be back to his expressing
hurt, anger and disbelief when Apu does go back and tells him that he is Kajol’s father,
Satyajit Ray, has filmed these scenes with such detail and such sensitivity that one can
actually feel like a part of Apu’s efforts to reconcile his problems with his son’s and the
process of regeneration of his world.
Background music by Ravi Shankar, yet again complements the third installment of the
trilogy completely. As discussed before, the fluctuating music piece in the beginning sets
the tone of the films. Indian folk and classical tunes have primarily been used in Apur
Sansar. The ‘Pather Panchali’ theme has been effectively used in Apur Sansar as well,
especially in the last scene of the film where it substantiates the visual imagery of a
quaint, little village road reminiscent of the Pather Panchali road. The music of Apur
Sansar, apart from complimenting the film is also used as a symbolic tool by Ray.
Manish K. Das explains this with a few examples, such as: “When Apu first sees Kajol
lying on the same bed where he and Aparna had spend the first night of their wedded life,
the soundtrack brings back the same bhatiali folk-song that had drifted in on that
memorable night, as the index of Apu’s a change of heart and his realization that a part of
Aparna lives within little Kajol. The closing shot of Apur Sansar where Kajol accepts
Apu as a friend who carries him on his shoulders and walks towards the camera, is a
celebration of life. Ray freezes the shot to indicate there are journeys still to be made –
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major scars yet to be healed - but there is hope. The final freeze frame with its joyous
music on the background – a variation of the Apu-Aparna theme that was used in the
hackney carriage sequence – thus becomes an ending that points to the beginning of a
new journey.”
Ray has extracted great work from most members of his film. The camerawork of Apur
Sansar particularly stands out in scenes, such as Apu-Aparna’s romantic scene while
returning from the cinema hall where the camera tremendously captures the beauty of
Aparna’s face lit by a match-stick, the scene where Apu tears off pages of his manuscript
and throws them in water and the scene where Pulu, accompanied by other village
people, tries to persuade Apu to marry Aparna. Ray’s cameraman in the marriage
proposal scene manages to create a sense of claustrophobia, a sense of a shrinking frame,
symbolicof the narrow-mindedness of the superstitious village people at one level, and
the process of Apu’s ‘getting caught’ in their words and finally being forced to say, at
another level.
The climax of Apur Sansar is the peak point of the film. It provides a perfect ending to
the tale spanning three films. As Apu tries to take Kajol along with him, he strikes up a
spontaneous friendship with him, instead of reasoning it out and forcing him to believe
that he is Kajol’s father. As Kajol runs towards Apu, we see a deep-focus shot of Apu,
Kajol and Aparna’s father. Kajol runs towards Apu while Aparna’s father looks on,
happy and relieved that now his grandson is united with his father. The presence of the
three generations, at a level, gives the scene a kind of completeness, a sense of
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community, of ‘sansar’. While the father-son due walk away and across the familiar
village road, they take on a journey, that this time, will take them ‘home’.
Like this, Apu’s journey reaches a destination or rather his world gets a new meaning in
the form of his son Kajol and as Apu learns the art of achieving salvation through pain.
Apur Sansar, therefore, concludes the journey that the young child Apu initiated in
Pather Panchali; the journey from childhood to fatherhood.
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Italian Neorealism post Ray
Italian Neorealism and Ray’s contemporaries:
After Ray brought in a ‘ray of realism’ in Indian cinema, several directors, who were his
contemporaries carried the mantle of Indian neorealism forward. Ritwik Ghatak, was one
such contemporary, who was very close to Ray. Ritwik Ghatak made his debut film,
Nagarik, in 1952, three years prior to Ray’s neorealist master-piece, Pather Panchali.
The film tells the story of Ramu, the protagonist and his family grappling with poverty
and post-Partition pain.
Overall, “the film had occasional sparks of talent but generally followed the conventions
of traditional Bengali films, without being able to forge the new cinematic language
which sparkled in Ajantrik, made three years after Pather Panchali and obviously
activated by it, even though it bore no resemblance to the style of Ray’s first film. (It took
over some of the material innovations of Ray such as extensive outdoor shooting, realistic
mise-en-scene, the elimination of excessive use of filters and similar features.)”
according to writer Chidanand Dasgupta.
Talking about Ritwik Ghatak, mention must be made of the film he is best remembered
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for. The film is Meghe Dhaka Tara. Set in refugee camps based in suburban Calcutta, the
film takes a close look at the life of Neeta (played by Supriya Choudhury). The self-
sacrificing Neeta is the primary bread-earner of her poverty-marred family. On one hand,
where this fact is an advantage for her as she is able to support her family and take of
them, on the other hand, Ghatak shows how this turns out to be her greatest disadvantage
as her family constantly exploits her. The film tells a heart-wrenching tale of how
relationships can change vis-à-vis monetary and material needs. Neeta, loses her love to
her own sister, then loses her job and ultimately loses her health when she contracts TB.
She has no one to share her problems with, apart from her elder-brother. The
characterization of the elder-brother has been etched beautifully by Ghatak. As the guy
who is always considered “useless” and never respected by his younger siblings (except
for Neeta) and his parents, the character breaks the stereotype of the conventional ‘elder-
brother’ of traditional Bengali films and also shows the interrelationship of money and
respect.
The film scores primarily on its aesthetics and the performances by its “non-glitzy” star-
cast. The use of sound, particularly, in the scenes where Neeta’s mother notices Neeta
talking to her lover. The use of the sound of rice boiling in a pot symbolizes the
conflict that goes on in the mind of Neeta’s mother over her marriage and the resulting
lack of food, income and livelihood that the family would have to face. Similarly, the
shot where Neeta climbs down staircases after seeing her sister at her lover’s house, uses
non-diegetic sounds of lashes and whips to echo the kind of hurt and pain that she is
going through.
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Like most of Ghatak’s films, Meghe Dhaka Tara highlights the woes and pains that most
Bengali families faced post the Partition. Ghatak has, in all, made eight full-length films
in his career, each representing a social reality. Ray spoke positively of Ghatak’s work
and did all he could to promote his colleague, Ritwik Ghatak never really saw the kind of
popularity that Ray did, especially overseas. All said and done, Ghatak was one of the
earliest masters who, along with Ray brought in a neorealist paradigm shift in Indian
films.
With the coming in of 1960s, younger directors like Mrinal Sen entered the circuit of
neorealist filmmaking. Mrinal Sen made films that dealt with explicitly political subjects
and added a new dimensions to ‘realistic films’. In contrast to Ray, Mrinal Sen, like
Ghatak, was more interested in “exposing the dark underside. of India’s lower middle-
class and unemployed” through his films. Sen is particularly known for his highly
political trilogy made at the heights of Maoist inspired Naxalite movement, popularly
called the Calcutta trilogy, Interiew (1971), Calcutta 71 (1972) and Padatik (1973).
Interview, the first films of the trilogy is a simple story about an incident that takes place
in an unemployed youth’s life. After several attempts to get a job, the protagonist finally
manages to get an interview call through his uncle, who reminds him to wear a suit to the
interview. Inspite of a cleaner’s strike, he somehow manages to get a suit. However,
because of getting trapped in a street demolition, he loses the suit and inadvertently loses
the job as well Sen, through the metaphor of the suit and the job interview, at large,
shows show India was still affected by certain colonial biases and stereotypes that existed
at that point of time in independent India, which according him were detrimental to
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India’s success.
Calcutta 71 is a film about different stories set against the backdrop of poverty and
exploitation. A passive man, who witnesses the agonies of different characters is the
common link between the story. The film traces his and other characters’ journey from
being passive spectators to protestors. Sen has made an attempt at unveiling the true
cause of poverty- which, according to him, is exploitation and people’s overall attitude
of indifference.
Padatik: the final installment of the Calcutta trilogy is a film about a man’s courage to
question the leadership of a movement he believes in and remains loyal to. As Udayan
Gupta writes in Jump Cut journal, “Padatik created quite a stir in political circles.
The right wing groups felt that undue importance and recognition was being
given to an “anti-social” extremist group. Those on the left tried to ignore the film
or criticize it as indicative of right reaction and revisionism. All said and done, the
film stands out as an important effort at making film a forum for discussion and
documentation.”
Through his Calcutta Trilogy and other films, Mrinal Sen, in essence, tried to
move a step further, from depicting problems such as poverty, oppression and
exploitation in a romanticized manner. His films were brutally honest and gritty.
The use of ‘metaphors’ is again an important facet of Sen’s brand of realism.
A revolutionary movement that Indian cinema witnessed was the age of ‘middle cinema’.
The government funded body, FFC, Film Finance Corporation, after being disillusioned
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by backing the same, cliché’ Bollywood mainstream financial films, decided to support
films with ‘different’ plots and ‘off-beat’ scripts. Many filmmakers, such as Mrinal Sen,
Mani Kaul and Govind Nihlani are important proponents of the ‘middle cinema’ in India.
One of the most revered and respected directors belonging to this era happens to be
Shyam Benegal.
Middle cinema, in essence, is also that line area which falls somewhere between the art-
house films. Shyam Benegal’s works are representative of this genre of filmmaking. With
Shyam Benegal’s films, neorealism in India, in a way, dared to venture out of the strict
art-house label, yet not fully entering the territory of ‘mainstream films’.
Benegal made his debut with the much acclaimed, Ankur, a film that explored the
subjects of economic and sexual exploitation, with his home-state Andhra Pradesh as the
backdrop. He is credited with introducing one of Indian cinema’s most talented and
respected actresses of all times, Shabana Azmi. Ankur also marks the beginning of
Benegal’s trilogy on rural oppression, which he carried further with his films, Nishant
and Manthan.
Manthan, a movement, more than a film was Benegal’s joint venture with Verghese
Kurien, the Father of White Revolution in India, who co-wrote this film. Set in a small
village in Kheda district, the film traces the journey of a handful of villagers who lead the
entire village to the path of rural empowerment, through the means of the village’s
fledgling dairy industry. The film is unique in itself as it is the only film to date, where a
collection of over 1 lakh farmers contributed Rs. 2 and became the ‘Producers’ of this
films. This established a special bond that the farmers shared with this film.
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Following this trilogy, Benegal made a couple of more films, such as Bhoomika, Junoon
and Mandi, each telling a gripping tale of the social realities that existed at that time in
history.
The 90s saw Benegal work on his second trilogy. A trilogy on Muslim women in the
Indian society. While the first part of the trilogy Mammo, talked about the story of an old
woman who’s life had been virtually uprooted by India-Pakistan Partition trying to get
back to her roots, while fighting against all sorts of administrative odds. The second
installment, Sardari Begum is about the death and the ensuing events that follow the
death of a courtesan, known as ‘Sardari Begum’ in the community. Politics, religion,
gender are all important ingredients that help Benegal paint a complex portrait of the
patriarchal Indian society. The trilogy ends with Zubeida, the story of an ill-fated actress
and her ‘rebellious streak’. From fighting against her filmmaker father to be an actress to
fighting with her husband (who is already married and continues his relationship with his
first wife) to get a greater share of his love, the film takes a close look at the role of a
woman, who wishes to live life on her own terms vis-à-vis a patriarchal society. The way
the society brands Zubeida as an evil woman, responsible for seducing the king and
ultimately driving him to his death and the society’s constant reference to her being a part
of the film-industry, in a negative light, make the film a true-to-life account of a woman
in a male-dominated Indian society.
Post his second trilogy he made films that enjoyed more critical than popular acclaim,
important amongst which as Suraj Ka Saatwa Ghoda, Samar and Hari Bhari.
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His realistic films and attempts to keep evolving at every stage in life has seen him make
his latest film, Welcome to Sajjanpur. The film set in a fictitious village called Sajjanpur,
where a majority of the village population is illiterate and their dependence on the “letter-
boy” of the village, played by Shreyash Talpade. The film is special as it represents rural
India to the core, which is quite rare in mainstream Bollywood films. An
interesting and gripping and the brilliant performances by the “non-starry” ensemble and
main caste is what makes the film par excellence. The film is loaded with messages and
touches upon a large number of problems that are prevalent in rural India. From
superstition to widow-remarriage, from illiteracy to corruption, Shyam Benegal crafts a
brilliant tale, one that is humorous in part, but documents the social reality of the
neglected and forgotten rural India with perfection.
Shyam benegal, therefore has been a great pillar to the Indian Neorealism movement in
Bollywood. His films, which have in most cases, managed to successfully garner
popularity as well as critical acclaim, have definitely inspired a generation of new
directors who have kept the flag of neorealism in India flying high.
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Neorealism in the ‘new-age’ Bollywood:
Mainstream Bollywood Hindi films in India have undergone a sea-change in the last few
years, particularly the last decade. The industry, once known to produce the ‘formulaic,
masala films’ that capitalized on star-power, glamorous sets and costumes is now full of
directors who have literally brought a breath of fresh-air with them. A major role here has
been played by the over-all ‘democratization’ of filmmaking in the country. The
availability of equipment, research and reference materials and institutions such as the
FTII, SRFTI, amongst others have made sure that people with talent and passion for films
do not feel threatened only because of the lack of a “filmy-background”
Neorealism has entered mainstream filmmaking and how! Contemporary Bollywood
films are experimenting with narrative devices, characterizations and choosing themes
that are not divorced from reality. The entire conception of “escapist cinema” seems to be
fading away as the audience is preferring to and responding better to films that might not
necessarily have a great star-cast, but those that have a ‘believable and identifiable’
storyline.
Mani Ratnam is one such director, whose work, from the early 1990s has aided this
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change. Two of Mani Ratnam’s films, Roja and Bombay (originally made in Tamil) dealt
with the critical and sensitive issue of terrorism and was hugely appreciated for the ‘real’
portrayal of issues. Roja, was the story of a young and innocent girl from a South Indian
family played by newcomer Madhu, who gets married and leaves her village to lead a
city life. Her husband, Rishi, essayed by Arvind Swamy, is sent off to Kashmir by the
government on a classified mission, where he gets kidnapped. Roja’s life is shattered
when her husband is kidnapped by a terrorist outfit who demand the release of one of
their accomplice and an independent Kashmir. Terrorism, statehood and innocent people
trapped in circumstances are some of the issues highlighted in the film. The ‘rawness’ of
Madu’s acting and her portrayal as the de-glam girl next-door is what gave this movie its
USP. Over-powering human emotions and human courage were always at the forefront in
Roja.
Bombay, a film starring Manisha Koirala and Arvind Swamy, was another Mani Ratnam
film that beautifully brought forward the relationship of a Hindu boy and a Muslim girl,
with the backdrop of two events that had completely shaken the city of Bombay at that
point of time, the Babri-Masjid demolition and the resulting Hindu-Muslim riots. The
film was originally made in Tamil and later dubbed in Hindi. It garnered great critical and
popular acclaim. The film made clever use of metaphorism, particularly, in one of its
song sequence, “Tu Hi Re”, where Manisha runs forward to embrace Arvind, leaving
behind her ‘burkha’, drawing parallels between love and religion. The film has also used
nature, particularly, the element water, through seas, rainfall and rivers to depict strong
human emotions.
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Mani Ratnam’s first Hindi film was Dil Se, released in 1998. The story about the
relationship of a journalist played by Shahrukh Khan, and a suicide bomber played by
Manisha Koirala, although was not a great Box-Office success, but managed to impact
and influence critics and cinephiles world wide. Ratnam launched Preity Zinta in the
industry, by casting her as the second lead of the film. The film was inspired by the
disturbing event that rocked the nation in early 90s, which is the assassination of Prime
Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.
Amongst Mani Ratnam’s latest films are Yuva and Guru, two films which are distinct in
their outlooks. While Yuva is a multiple-narrative film, about youth, politics and power.
Guru is a film about the world of business and the nexus between business and
journalism on one hand and progress and ethics on the other. Although Mani Ratnam had
worked with popular actors in some of his films, the emphasis has always been on the
characters they are essaying and he has ensured that the actor’s persona never overpowers
the film. He takes great care about the look of his characters for this reason and because
of which he made Abhishke Bacchhan put on kilos to ‘look his part’ in Guru.
Anurag Kashyap, defines new-age Bollywood in more ways than one. Not only are his
films unconventional and show an overall disregard for formulaic filmmaking, but the
way he approaches his films is what makes him the fore-runner of neorealism in
contemporary Bollywood.
Kashyap’s fight to make his voice heard started with his debut film, Paanch. The film
about a rock-band, Parasite, where each member wants to make it big in his/her life and
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chooses to take a short-cut or make a compromise, was complete in 2000 but has not seen
the day of its release till today. The film got into troubles because of ‘glorifying sex,
drugs and crime’. An allegation that Kashyap has been trying to negate for a while. The
film is a look at contemporary India, particularly, young-India and most of its characters
are ‘grey’. Anurag Kashyap, as an auteur has always been against stereotypical white and
black characters and ‘grey shades’ has been his territory, which he finds more in tune
with contemporary social realities.
Kashyap’s first film which saw a formal release was Black Friday, The film about the
1993 Bombay Blasts and the real events that lead to the blasts also ran into a lot of
controversy before its release. The film was not released in Indian theatres for two years
and even days before its release, a petition seeking a stay was filed by the people named
in the film, the alleged perpetrators of the crime. Since the verdict was still pending for
the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, they argued that the film would bias public opinion
against them and affect the courts decision. The court ultimately upheld the argument and
the film was released.
Audiences world-wide applauded the film for its gritty and fearless take on the terrifying
event. The film elevated Kashyap’s status manifold and established him as a director with
promise.
Anurag Kashyap’s latest cinematic outing, Dev D, is an exceptional example of
Kashyap’s brand of neorealism. Devdas is the story of self-destructive love, where the
protagonist finds refuge in alcohol after his ladylove is married off to someone else.
Issues like caste and economic differences were at the core of the novel originally written
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in Bengali by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The novel is amongst India’s most popular
novels ever and has seen countless literary and cinematic adaptations. Anurag Kashyap,
through his film, Dev D, explores modern day relationships while referring to the broader
framework of Devdas.
Kashyap’s film rebels against the classical tragic love-story of Devdas and weaves a tale
about the modern age ‘Dev D’. Right from the characterization of the central characters,
to the bringing in of sub-plots that are representative of current social events, such as the
MMS scandal, the BMW case, the film definitely is coming of age! Most of the actors in
the film are amateurs and new-comers, which gives it a certain raw appeal and makes it
more believable than other adaptations of the epic love-story. The huge success of this
film and the critical acclaim that it received further strengthens the belief that Indian
neorealism has now entered mainstream Bollywood and that there had indeed been a
paradigm shift.
Talking about yet another film of Anurag Kashyap, Gulaal, his latest offering, which will
release on the 13th of March, is a hard-hitting story about a student trapped in political
maneuvers and the ugly side of ragging in engineering colleges. The films is patly based
on a real life event of sex ragging that shook the nation a few years back.
Kashyap, through his movies has brought in a unique ‘edgy side’ to neorealism in India.
Be it his portrayal of the dingy, shady bylanes of Paharganj in Dev D or his powerful
representation of the verve of student politics, he has managed to create an all new genre
within neorealism, one that is an amalgamation of desi-kitsch and contemporary
sensibilities.
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Another new director who, although is just two films old, has carved a niche for himself
in the Indian neorealism movement. Dibakar Bannerjee’s first film was the much
appreciated Khosla Ka Ghosla. The film based on a middle-class family’s dream to own a
house takes a humorous yet moving look at the land-sharks involved in the process of
property-dealing and illegal encroachments, which are pertinent issues, particularly, in
Delhi, where the film is based. The film, which was devoid of any big star, glossy
promotions, hi-tech visuals managed to strike a great connect with the audience primarily
because of the fact that it did not underestimate the audience’s intelligence level and its
‘slice-of-life’ appeal. The also brought forward the issue of generation gap through
familial discord over the younger son’s ambitions of shifting abroad and the patriarch’s
insistence of staying in their home-country. The ensemble cast of the film comprised a lot
of ‘Mandi House’ struggling actors who played themselves, which further added to the
film’s appeal.
Characterization and creating an emotional connect inspite of avoiding the melodrama
mode is Banerjee’s forte. He reaffirmed this point through his next film, Oye Lucky,
Lucky Oye! Starring Abhay Deol, (who has come to be known as contemporary realistic
Bollywood cinema’s one of the most preferred actors), Oye Lucky traces the journey of
Lucky Singh, the Indian Robin-Hood, with a twist. Lucky hobnobs with the rich, the
famous and steal. Inspired by the true story of Lucky Singh, a their from Delhi, who
hobnobed with the rich and elite and then robbed them blind, the film is a parable of an
India in flux on the cusp of it's economic revolution when traditional values battled with
nouveau riche desires. The satire takes a dig at various social factors, right from the
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police to the media to the elites and non-elites. As a reviewer writes about the film on
Upperstall.com, “Dibakar Banerjee has set an unlikely story in a decidedly realistic
setting and straightaway – as the film begins wave after wave of real locations, spot-on
casting, perfect lingo and everyday instances transport you to Delhi fifteen years ago, and
Delhi of the present.”
Dibakar Banerjee has added his special touch of dark humour to realism. Although both
his films, Khosla Ka Ghosla and Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye might have been projected as
comedies, at the same time, they were rooted in the social realities of contemporary urban
Indian society. Dibakar’s understanding of middle-class sensibilities has people drawing
parallels between his works and the works of one of India’s most loved directors
Hrishikesh Mukherjee. However, the comedic elements in Dibakar’s films do not
dominate his cinematic style. It is the undercurrent of thoughts, social messages that sum
up his style of filmmaking.
Several other directors and artistes have helped in carrying forward this movement of
Indian Neorealism, consciously or subconsciously. Sudhir Mishra’s Hazaaron
Khwahishein Aisi, set in the backdrop of the Indian Emergency, Nishikant Kamath’s
Mumbai Meri Jaan, which documents brilliantly the aftermath of an incident of terror and
how brutally it can affect the lives of people in a city, amongst others. Aamir and A
Wednesday are two films that bring forth different aspects of terrorism; while Aamir is a
film that questions the stereotypes associated with the ‘identity’ of a terrorist, A
Wednesday explores the fear, the agonies of a common-man living under constant threat
of terrorist activities and his decision to take control of situations around him. If not all,
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most of these films, have been received well by the critics as well as the audiences and
this definitely points towards a positive change that has come about in the neorealism CONCLUSION
Satyajit Ray has written in his book, ‘Our films, Their films’, about the influence Italian
Neorealism had on his cinema. He has particularly credited director, Vittorio De Sica’s
film, Bicycle Thieves for motivating him to make his debut film, Pather Panchali.
Amongst the things Ray found most inspiring about Italian Neorealism, he mentions
working with new and non-professional actors, making a film with modest resources,
shooting on locations and in natural lighting conditions and the respect for reality, social
observation, social concern, capturing the “truth” of a situation.
The Apu Trilogy incorporates most of these elements. Considered to be one of Ray’s
most appreciated works, the trilogy stands out for its free-flowing form, spontaneity and
the inherent emphasis on humanism and the individual.
Author Chidanand Dasgupta beautifully expounds on this when he says, “The
cantankerous neighbour in Pather Panchali, the lustful man who eyes the widowed
Sarbajaya in Aparajito, the landlord desperately trying to get his monthly rent from Apu
in Apur Sansar, are all as much a part of a pattern of the inevitability in the cycle of life
as the monkeys tolling the bells of the temple in Benaras in Aparajito. In a deeply Indian
sense of the world, the filmmaker is a “humanist” who believes in certain undying
“eternal” traits of human nature everywhere and in every age.”
This philosophy of humanism which is a defining characteristic of Italian Neorealist
films, has guided the cinematic style of Ray as well, primarily reflected through his Apu
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Trilogy. Sarbajaya’s selfishness and her animosity towards Indir Thakrun in Pather
Panchali, for instance, is in the view of manifestation of a mother’s concern for the well-
being of her children and her household and not her self-interests.
Ray worked on making Bandhopadhyay’s stories more believable and true to life, by
removing the “Shonar Bangla” sheen. The trilogy told a tale that was grimmer, more
contemporary, more real and at the same time retaining the purity of the vision of the
original books.
Made on a budget of just about Rs.2,00,000 which was a low amount even in that day
and age, Pather Panchali, Ray’s first film was indeed revolutionary. It was shot mostly on
actual locations, only the night scenes were shot in the studio, and that too by duplicating
the location setting in exact photographic detail. With non-professional actors, Indian
music as the background (which was not considered suitable in those days due to the lack
of ‘body), minimal make-up, no dance, no song-sequence and no romance, the film was,
“uncompromisingly realistic (condemned as “documentary”)”, in the words of Chidanand
Dasgupta. The other two films of the trilogy followed the same aesthetic and thematic
principles and thereby, mark the genesis of neorealistic aesthetics in Indian cinema.
The neorealist impression on Ray’s cinema did not however, end with the Apu Trilogy.
A paradigm shift came about in his work in the 1970s, particularly with the Calcutta
Trilogy, through which he begins to explore the beliefs of a generation very different
from his own and shifts his focus to the changing political scene in Calcutta. Author
Suranjan Ganguly in an interview focuses attention on this point by talking about Ray’s
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film, Pratidwandi, “Pratidwandi, set in the city, like so many Italian neorealist films, has
nothing remotely in common with neorealist aesthetics. What it shares is a
concern for the underdog--in this case an unemployed man. However, the
emphasis is not merely on social observation. The psychology or inner life
of the protagonist is of profound importance.”
He further adds that neorealist elements are there for us to see in Ray’s later works as
well, however, aesthetically, they don’t stand out as much as they did in the Apu Trilogy.
Italian Neorealist films, in essence are not overtly political, which is also true for Ray’s
cinema. Critics have often found a clear political slant missing in his films. Author
Suranjan Ganguly, when asked to talk about Ray’s political stand and his belief in the
Nehruvian ‘modern India’, says, “As I've written in my book, Ray belongs to the post-
Independence generation of artists who were initially enamoured by the Nehruvian vision
of a progressive, secular India--in short, the India of an emancipating modernity. Ray
never subscribed to any particular political ideology. His films show an enlightened
liberal's view of India and Indian history. This is part of the Nehruvian legacy. If one
must talk about a "political stance" in his early work, it must be with regard to his
humanism and his concern for the political in the larger sense of the term, i.e., in terms of
human experience. This is always present in his work--even in the most cynical of
his films. The later films--especially those made in the 70s--are often seen as more
"political" because Ray focuses on problems within post-Independence society such as
corruption, unemployment, the crisis in values. Even here, there is no attempt at defining
a specific ideological position, although one could argue his sympathies are more Left-
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leaning in nature.”
All these parameters and observations of Ray’s cinematic style, therefore, make him the
pioneer of the ‘Indian Neorealist Movement’, so to say. The movement, which was
further followed up by his contemporaries and gave Indian cinema a much needed break
from the stereotypical and melodramatic overtones.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:-
1. The Cinema of Satyajit Ray: Chidanand Dasgupta
2. Satyajit Ray: In Search of the Modern; Suranjan Ganguly
3. Our films, Their films: Satyajit Ray
4. Cinema Studies: Susan Hayward
Internet:-
www.satyajitray.org
ejumpcut.org
www.greatbong.net
www.filmreference.com
http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au
www.upperstall.com
www.wikipedia.com
Documentary:-
Link:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQAQSX2aDAI&playnext_from=PL&feature=PlayList&p=29E94BE2D2636AD2&playnext=1&index=20
Title:- Satyajit Ray on Cinema
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