Sonar Kella (1974)

Summer holidays would usually be bifurcated into when my father would pore over ICSE

Examination answer scripts and later when we would pack our bags for a vacation after he had submitted the mark sheets. Baba was the senior Mathematics teacher in Don Bosco School in Calcutta as well as the co-chief examiner of the ICSE Boards. So, during the first half of the holidays the whole house would be stuffed with cardboard boxes of scripts that would eventually decide the fate of youngsters who scribbled their knowledge of numbers on them. Or so, as we were made to believe in those gullible years by every teacher in that non-digitised world of ours!
Satyajit Ray's Feluda flick, Sonar Kella takes me back to one humid morning during summer recess when my father announced, "Let's just quickly finish today's quota and in the afternoon we will watch Sonar Kella!" My eyes lit up. I quickly made him a cup of tea (I was 15 then) and got him his specs. He sat down, brandished his red pen over the scripts, and started deciding the 'fates' of the helpless children. Intermittently, he asked me to cross check the calculations so that there were no errors later in the tally sheet. Sharp at 12 noon, he wrapped up, we both finished our ablutions, gobbled our lunch and sat down to watch the film. For the 16th time. Ignoring my mother's high-pitched, "God! How many times more..."

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Chaar (2014)

I stumbled upon Sandip Ray's Chaar yesterday night while rummaging through Amazon Prime Movies and it didn't disappoint at all. Rather it uplifted my stressed nerves to a happy state and I went to sleep satiated. You see... I am having a rough time at work not because of the work load. The

volume I can manage. But when the powers-to-be are adamant about being irrational and difficult it's then that the going gets tough. Hence my seeking solace in cinema. After Malhar...

Chaar is a Bengali anthology film that brings together four crisp stories by three brilliant writers in the history of Bengali literature. When Sandip Ray started his cinematic journey, all eyes were trained on him to check whether he would be an able successor to his father, Satyajit Ray, the name that is synonymous with brilliance, elegance, technical prowess and magic in the film world. I don't want to delve too much into the maestro's craft here because this time the spotlight is taken by the son and with a brandish. With every film Sandip is getting there; he is subtle, sure and deft with his direction. His marvellous genes are showing their true colours. He is taking these little stories and making some gems out of them. I wonder how the film did when it released but last night it made me a happy person. Four short stories, presented in a no-nonsense format, supported by a wholesome cast, Chaar was quite a pleasant surprise that I unraveled by sheer chance...

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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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A girl to woman transition (Samapti)

There's something about Satyajit Ray's Samapti that is bound to touch the chords of a woman's heart. The last movie in the Teen Konya series (Postmaster, the first, is a superlative endeavour to project a young girl's isolation; Monihara however, is the weak link) is a brilliant romance carrying with it the whiff of rural Bengal. But even amidst all the intricacies of the human relationships heavy on the love quotient, there lies a subtle take on how a young tomboy grows and matures into a complete woman who recognises the significance of love in her life. Call it a story of evolution of Minu's personal character or how the young couple dismiss their ego and initial misunderstandings to unite, Ray's 1961 film, based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore, is a masterpiece that will draw all and sundry. If you haven't watched it yet, you really cannot fathom what you are missing...

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Diary of an actor (Nayak)

In a tantalising move, Satyajit Ray keeps the visage of his protagonist undisclosed till the time his friend questions whether a successful actor is enough to pull off a bad film. The moment Jyoti remarks, "What else does the film have except you?", the camera quickly focuses on Arindam Mukherji's face and with a confident expression, he says, "What else does it need?"

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Back to nature (Aranyer Din Ratri)

Can city souls really be at peace in the vicinity of raw nature? I suppose, even though we are tired of the hum drum of chaotic city life, we somehow have grown so accustomed to the din that too many hours spent in the quietude could tire us out totally. A few weeks back, when my husband and I were spending time in the backwaters of Kumarakom, accompanied only by the lush surroundings and the buzz of insects, there slowly came a moment when both of us wanted to get back to civilisation. The restlessness ultimately forced us to truncate our backwater leisure and rush to the posh surroundings of Taj Kovalam where luxuries abound and most importantly, I got to watch television!!
Yes, we city-breds can be strange. Full of paradoxes and such great subjects of study in behavioural complexities. So tired of the city, yet so very fond of it altogether.

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The magic stone (Parash Pathar)

A director who could tap the full potential of Tulsi Chakraborty must have considered himself to be extremely priviledged. For, here was an actor who betrayed the most difficult of expressions with utmost ease. Almost as if he was swatting a fly with a flicker of his palm. He was not good-looking. No, he was anything but attractive or handsome. He was already middle-aged by the time top Bengali directors had started toying with his expertise, he had a huge paunch, he was balding and his face was perfectly clownish. But it was his eyes, his voice and his expressions that conjured up an aura filled with chuckles, amazement and full-throated laughter. Even when the director was making a tongue-in-cheek comment on some insufferable plagues of society, Tulsi Chakraborty drove home the point in such a hilarious manner that you would guffaw and ponder, both at the same time. I often marvel at this man, how effortless he portrayed those special roles. Or was it the other way round? Special roles were created by the film writers because he could essay them with ease. Well, we'd never get to solve the mystery...

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Wish I had a 'Personal Assistant' like him

There used to be a time in the Bengali movie industry when films didn't much require stars. If the big actors took part, well and good. If not, the directors made up with a fantastic story and a tight cast of able character actors. If you rummage through many old Bengali vintage classic, you will come across a bevy of such masterpieces. Replete with a fabulous storyline, taut editing, lovely music and supported by a planet of super character actors, these films are just as entertaining as maybe a Uttam-Suchitra classic or a Satyajit Ray gem. And the best part is that these films are mostly comedies, balanced by a sweet romantic angle and laudable melody.

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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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A Freudian romance (Baksha Badal)

Trust the genius of Satyajit Ray to turn a tiny short story by Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay into a two-hour rollicking romance without stretching it to monotony. The writer in him adds certain joyful elements and a unique twist of psychology to make the romance so delectable. The characters are fun, the events absolutely credible, the music just takes the plot forward and the climax of Baksha Badal  is as full of suspense as in a Hitchcock mystery. Yes, trust Satyajit Ray...

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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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The hills are alive (Kanchanjangha)

What a brilliantly multi-layered film Kanchanjangha is. Every frame is steeped in imagery, every dialogue resonating with the inner doubts clouding the characters' minds. Just like the mist that is blocking out the sparkling view of the majestic Himalayan range. But, by the time the movie ends, every doubt is put to rest, every question answered, every nagging dillemma is solved. And with that the mist clears out of Darjeeling to gift us with the breathtaking view of the Kanchanjangha. Albeit through Satyajit Ray's eyes.

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Check mate (Shatranj ke Khilari)

Satyajit Ray's films are like onions. With every viewing, they spring new layers. Every film of his guarantee a new thought, a new feeling, a new imagery, a new parallel, a new subtext, a new meaning, with every watch. Unraveling Ray, hence, becomes such a splendid experience.
In his first Hindi film, Ray toys with a story by Munshi Premchand. Shatranj ke Khilari narrates the tale (Amitabh Bachchan is the narrator) of Awadh's last emperor Wajid Ali Shah at the fag-end of his rule. It depicts how the East India Company confiscates his empire by pulling the strings cunningly. But the 1977 film is not merely a historical chronicle.

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