Honesty is the best policy, or so they say... (Shakha Proshakha)

Malhar is sleeping right now. So, I've tiptoed out of the room to write a post, while his grandparents stare lovingly at him. I might add that in his sleep, Malhar smiles and makes various expressions! Of them, his gummy grin and his pouts are the cutest. He also stretches a lot and wakes up accidentally because of that. And then he yells so that I run and lull him back to sleep. Who will make him understand that if he stretches so much, he is bound to wake up...  And I think he snores, and even sometimes neighs like a horse!!
Okay, before all that stretching and pouting and stretching pull me back, here's a bit on one of Satyajit Ray's brilliant works on the juxtaposition between honesty and corruption...

Shakha Proshakha, made in 1990, is bang on target right from the very beginning. Ananda Majumdar (Ajit Banerjee) is a retired industrialist and a venerated man in society. On his 70th birthday he is shown to have a long conversation with his second son, Proshanto (Soumitra Chatterjee), who used to be a brilliant student with a bright future, before a cruel accident snatched away all his prospects.

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Lacking the courage (Kaapurush from Kaapurush O Mahapurush)

I've been absent from the blogging world for quite some time now. I've had my reasons...
On the 7th of this month, my husband and I got blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Yes! I'm a proud mother now, to my doll-faced bundle of joy. And yes, he's kept me on my toes ever since his arrival. Though all he does is eat, sleep, pee and poop, yet somehow not a moment passes everyday when I'm not staring at his face. Yes, he's occupying my entire life now!!
I've named him Dingding. And occasionally I call him things such as White Kitten, Chini and Shona. We are yet to christen him. I'm still searching for a unique name that starts with S. Yes, I want my son to have the same initials as his mother :)
Suggestions are welcome...

Since Dingding has kept me busy, I haven't had much time to catch up on golden oldies. So, I'll write about a film that I saw a few months back. It's a good one directed by Satyajit Ray, and which is a complete contrast to another film that is celebrated for as much its humour as for its sarcasm, multiple layers and its characterisation.

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Adventure on the holy banks (Jai Baba Felunath)

Satyajit Ray did with his films what many filmmakers of his generation didn't. He infused in his scripts the sights, sounds and smells of the places where his story is set. So, along with the characters of the film and their varied idiosyncrasies, the place attains a personality. Like how Rajasthan does in Sonar Kella, how Shundi does in Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen and Varanasi in 1979's Jai Baba Felunath.While you follow Prodosh Mitra and his party as he unravels the mystery behind the stolen Ganesha statuette, you start noticing how Ray brings Varanasi and the holy banks alive. The place adds to the fun and adventure of the sleuth's exploits. While the days are used to discover the frantic activities in the vibrant surroundings, the dark nights heighten the eerie nature of the serpentine lanes. That is the fun in Ray's Feluda films. They are detective stories as well as entertaining travelogues, something that Sandip Ray's film miss...

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Impeccable imposter (Mahapurush from Kapurush O Mahapurush)

This is a story where the imposter turns out to be the true survivor. As admitted by one of the most clever men in the film, this imposter is learned, has vast knowledge, is steeped in history of several lands, has a fantastic memory, is a thorough glibtalker, understands mass psychology, can convince people about almost everything, is a terrific actor and hence the perfect Mahapurush!

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Introducing Feluda (Sonar Kella)

Last year my husband gave me a lovely surprise on my birthday. There is a place in Rajasthan that we both really wanted to visit. But somehow, something or the other kept cropping up and despite making prior plans, we had to postpone our tour everytime. Such was my desperation that I had started calling it the 'Jinxed Land'. Then one day it just happened. He came home. He kept his bag and other papers and went to freshen up. I picked up the lot and while taking it to our room, saw a printout of a train ticket. I couldn't believe my eyes. They were tickets to JAISALMER, the golden land we both so wanted to go to. I screamed, shrieked and jumped in glee while he just kept staring at me with the most beautiful smile ever...

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Agent of change (Mahanagar)

You can simply witness 1963's Calcutta from the Mazumdars' perspective or you can regale in the transformation of Arati from the shy housewife to the confident breadwinner who shall not brook injustice. Both ways, the profit is yours. Calcutta is photographed splendidly in Mahanagar. The sights, sounds and scenes shown  in this Satyajit Ray classic will remind you of the city where every people face the daily grind with small dreams and aspirations in their hearts.

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