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Post by spindrift on Nov 24, 2011 18:23:09 GMT
The history of cinema in Bengal dates back to the 1890s when the first "bioscopes" were shown in the theatres of Kolkata. Within a decade, the first seeds of the film industry were sown by Hiralal Sen, considered a stalwart of Victorian era cinema. Then followed a long gap until Dhirendra Nath Ganguly (known as D G) established the Indo British Film Company in 1918.
But let me fast-forward you to the era of Satyajit Ray ( 1921 - 1992) and Ritwik Ghatak (1925 - 1976) who earned international acclaim and secured their places in outstanding film-making in Bengal.
Recently I made a good friend on Facebook who is, like me, interested in Bengali/Indian cinema. She generously made me the offer to send me a collection of films made by Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. I had already started my own collection of Bengali Cinema greats - and I list them now:
Ritwik Ghatak A River Called Titas (Titas Ekti Nadir Naam) 1973 Ritwik Ghatak The Cloud-Capped Star (Meghe Dhaka Tara) 1960 Ritwik G Subarnarekha (Golden Lining) 1962
Satyajit Ray Mahanagar (The Big City) " Charulata (The Lonely Wife) " Nayak (The Hero) " Two Daughters (Dui Kanya) " Goopy & Bagha (Goopy Gyne Bagha) " Deliverance (Sadgati) " The Home & the World (Ghare-Baire) " An Enemy of the People (Ganashatru) " Goddess (Devi) " The Chess Players " The Apu Trilogy (Panther Panchali) (Aparajito) (The World of Apu)
I think that the best way for me to proceed is to give a brief introduction to each film before I write about it. Some films are set in the years before the British displaced the Indian ruling classes, some are set in the era after this and some are relatively recent. Therefore, you will see, that much therein can be learned about conditions prevailing in Bengal/India through many years, about the way Bengalis lived their lives, both in villages and in country estates, about how they clothed themselves and what they ate, how they acted towards each other, their loyalties or otherwise, their dreams and hopes, their despair and illnesses. Laid bare for us to see and enjoy is the perfection of showing the details of how they lived, furnished their homes and (most of all) the music and poetry they loved.
If you want to know something of the REAL India, then watch these films.
Happy viewing with me.
(as this subject is a rather difficult one, I shall return to it and continue slowly).
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Post by tjoe on Nov 25, 2011 5:45:05 GMT
This is a wonderful thread. Through your posts many will come to know about the films made by these two great film makers and their contribution to not just Bengali cinema but to world cinema.
This gentle man DG was a self made makeup artist who while working as Headmaster of Art college in Hyderabad published an illustrated book on this art. His skill had reached such levels that he was called to teach this art to the officers of Central Criminal Investigation Department both during Brit rule as well as in independent India. In 1924 his film Razia Sultan was released. The film dealt with Razia Sultan the only woman ruler in Islamic India and her affair with an Abyssynian slave which angered the Nizam of Hyderabad so much that DG was ordered to leave Hyderabad with in 24 hours. Will look forward to your posts, thank you.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2011 5:56:07 GMT
I confess enormous ignorance about the Indian film industry, other than that the two main cinema production areas are Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras).
Just taking a quick look, I see that the Bengali cinema industry is split between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka (Dacca). Naturally, I do know about Satyajit Ray, but of course the principal information is that he had no success in his own country, because his movies were not full of the songs and dances that were supposed to make Indians forget about their poverty. He made movies about the poverty itself and that was not very appealing for the masses.
I would assume that "mainstream" Bengali cinema is as full of music and spectacle as the other Indian cinemas, no?
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 25, 2011 5:58:17 GMT
Spindrift, I am very happy and grateful to see that you're willing to give an introductory tour of Indian films. Having no knowledge of this area of cinematic art, but a great deal of curiosity about it, it will be excellent to have some guidance.
Hello, Tjoe and thanks for the comments and the biographical background on DG. Hope to hear from you again.
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Post by tjoe on Nov 25, 2011 7:17:39 GMT
I confess enormous ignorance about the Indian film industry, other than that the two main cinema production areas are Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai (Madras). Just taking a quick look, I see that the Bengali cinema industry is split between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Dhaka (Dacca). Naturally, I do know about Satyajit Ray, but of course the principal information is that he had no success in his own country, because his movies were not full of the songs and dances that were supposed to make Indians forget about their poverty. He made movies about the poverty itself and that was not very appealing for the masses. I would assume that "mainstream" Bengali cinema is as full of music and spectacle as the other Indian cinemas, no? Satyajit Ray's films are immensely popular in India. His first film Pather Panchali drew some crticism from the mainstream Bollywood personas accusing him of selling Indian poverty. One famous actress of that time even petetioned Indira Gandhi who was then a minister to ban the film but Indira Gandhi rejected it. Many of Ray's films are based on lives of affluent people, rich zamindars etc.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 25, 2011 7:26:06 GMT
I'm sure that he is popular with the elite. I see that his biggest commercial success was Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, a musical fantasy, released in 1969.
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Post by spindrift on Nov 25, 2011 14:08:27 GMT
I shall start my tour of Bengali Cinema by viewing Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players. (1977).
Set in the kingdom of Oudh during the last days of the Moghul Empire (circa 1850s), The Chess Players marked the first time that Satyajit Ray worked outside of his native Bengal.
The story follows two Indian noblemen (Saeed Jaffrey and Sanjeev Kumar) whose obsession with the game of chess renders them oblivious to the treacherous and historic events happening around them. In one of his finest performances, Richard Attenborough stars as General Outram, the British officer who covertly manoeuvres on behalf of the East India Company to seize control of the region and depose its King. One of Ray's most ambitious and expensive productions, The Chess Players is a masterful and visually stunning historical drama.
A brief word about the Moghul Empire which lasted for over three centuries. The last Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah ll, whose rule was restricted to the city of Delhi, was imprisoned and exiled to Burma by the British after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He died in exile and it is thought that he was hastily buried in a grave of quicklime as a means to obliterating his memory.
Oudh (Awadh in Hindi) is a region in the centre of the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The traditional capital of Oudh is Lucknow.
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Post by tijoye on Nov 25, 2011 15:48:45 GMT
Such was the haste that this poet was to be burried to erase an era
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Post by tjoe on Nov 26, 2011 2:29:03 GMT
Dear Poster, I thought you would start your article by discussing Ray's first film Pather Panchali. Chess Players is the only film that Ray made in another language Urdu other than Bengali. Here in this film Ray brings his characteristic eye for ravishing beauty, balanced with his close, sympathetic interest in humanity, particularly when under pressure and experimented with twin approach which turned out so useful and well integrated, and there is even some humorous animation too. As usual Ray's obssesion with details makes this film to treasure, not only for a person of Indian ancestry. I hope in due course of time you will enlighten all readers with your posts on Ray's other films and I will wait for you to write about Ritwik Ghatak, another mad genius much different from Ray. Have a wonderful weekend.
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Post by spindrift on Nov 26, 2011 12:47:25 GMT
@tjoe - yes, you are right. I should start at the beginning. I shall rectify this..
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Post by tjoe on Nov 26, 2011 14:18:17 GMT
@tjoe - yes, you are right. I should start at the beginning. I shall rectify this.. @spindrfit I merely suggested Pather Panchali but I feel you have more to say about Chess Players. Please do continue.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 26, 2011 17:59:33 GMT
What a treat to have two people conversant with these Bengali auteurs. It's as though a whole new world of movie viewing just opened for me.
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Post by tjoe on Nov 27, 2011 2:35:48 GMT
Glad to know that you are enjoying this thread. I hope spindrift continues with her post.
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Post by tjoe on Nov 27, 2011 2:45:39 GMT
The greatest film director that India has produced is Satyajit Ray. His contribution to the world of cinema is invaluable. Born to an illustrious family he was associated with creative work from an early stage. His grandfather Upendrakishore brought fine printing to India & set up a printing & publishing house. He was a regular contributor to the British journal Penrose Annual from 1897 to 1912. Satyajit’s father a double Hons. Holder in Physics & Chemistry was the second Indian to become a member of the Royal Photographic Society in 1922. He had set up the Nonsense Club where members indulged in word plays, puns etc. His book Abol Tabol, literally translated as Nonsense gibberish is an excellent limerick unbeaten even today. He toured Britain along with Tagore.
Some time during mid 50’s Satyajit was working as a graphic designer for a publishing house & seeing great films at the Calcutta Film Society. It was then that Satyajit could be seen at the coffee house along with friends like Bansi Chandragupta who became his art & set director but later left for Bollywood, Chidananda Dasgupta a great film critic & father of Aparna Sen, Subroto Mitra who became a great camera man. Pather Panchali (Song of the little road) was taking its birth. The story was by a great novelist Bibhutibhusan. Satyajit adopted a style, which is unique; being a great artist he would sketch each scene on paper with all details like furniture, curtains, decorative items etc. Hunt was on to locate an eighty plus lady who would play the role of Indira Thakuran. Rest were all freshers gathered around the cause. In fact they did not act in any other film after Pather Panchali except Karuna Banerjee who played Apu’s mother again in the second film of Apu trilogy Aporajito (Unvanquished). Every body had put in their savings; Satyajit had pawned his wife’s ornaments. Everyday was spent on running from pillar to post for money. Finally West Bengal’s chief minister Dr. Bidhan Roy provided some monetary relief. Days were spent in the location for rains to come at a particular time of the day as described in the original novel. Eighty plus Chuni Bala Devi went daily to the village location & acted in a superb manner. Music was courtesy Pandit Ravi Shanker. Ray composed music himself for all his later films except Jalsaghar. Ustad Bismillha Khan directed the music for Jalsaghar. He also wrote the scripts for all his films.
His first film Pather Panchali won the following awards: President’s Gold & Silver Medals, New Delhi, 1955 Best Human Document, Cannes, 1956 Diploma of Merit, Edinburgh, 1956 Vatican Award, Rome, 1956 Golden Carbao, Manila, 1956 Best Film Direction, San Francisco, 1957 Selznick Golden Laurel, Berlin, 1957 Best Film, Vancouver, 1958 Critic’s Award, Stafford, 1958 Best Foreign Film, Afro Arts Theatre, NY, 1959 Best Non- European Film, Denmark, 1966
Personal awards: Magsaysay Award, Manila, 1967 Star of Yugoslavia, 1971 D.Litt, Delhi University, 1973 D.Litt., Royal College of Arts, London Padmabibhusan, Govt. of India, 1976 D.Litt., Oxford University, 1978 Special Award, Berlin Film festival, 1978 Special Award, Moscow Film Festival, 1979 “Hommaage a Satyajit Ray”, Cannes Film Festival, 1982 Special Golden Lion of St. Mark, Venice Film Festival, 1982 Fellowship of British Film Institute, 1983 D.Litt., Calcutta University, 1985 “Soviet Land” Nehru Award, 1985 Legion d’Honneur, France, 1987. As Satyajit was not well French President flew in to Kolkata to present this award on the grand steps of the Kolkata Museum.
Shortly beforehis death Audrey Hepburn flew in to present Oscar Life time achievement award to Satyajit.
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Post by spindrift on Nov 27, 2011 17:40:02 GMT
It is with regret that I have to inform you that I do not have Ray's first movie, Pather Panchali.
So I might as well continue with The Chess Players.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 27, 2011 19:12:02 GMT
Maybe the movies don't have to be watched in sequence?
If you don't want to wait to find a copy of Pather Panchali, here it is on youtube, although not the best quality reproduction:
Wonderful background information, Tjoe! And how amazing that Ray was also a musical composer.
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Post by spindrift on Nov 27, 2011 22:16:42 GMT
An Evening Standard reviewer says ' Ray succeeds brilliantly in giving history a human face' and I agree 100% with this statement. An important chunk of Indian history has become real for me. A voice-over starts the film whilst bejewelled fingers gently move white and red chess pieces. ' Look at the hands of the mighty generals. We do not know if these hands have ever held real weapons, but this is not a real battle where blood will be shed and the fate of empires is decided. Mr Meer and Mr Mirza are only playing at warfare. Their armies are pieces of ivory, their battlefield is a piece of cloth' THE CHESS PLAYERS (if the King is lost the battle is lost)The year is 1856 and the British East India Company rule much of India directly, or indirectly, though 'treaties of friendship' with the ruling princes and landowners (zamindars). The great Mughal of Delhi has been exiled to Burma by the British and Lucknow has become India's bastion of Muslim culture. Not all of the games had the elegance of pigeon and kite-flying, some of the games were cruel (animal baiting & cock-fighting)...so, looking at the bigger picture, treachery is being planned by the British to bring the last feudal princely states under their control. It is King Wajid Ali Shah who rules over Oudh. He is more interested in being a poet, a dreamer, a composer of music, a choreographer of dancing girls and sitting on his jewelled throne than in ruling his people or preparing for warfare. Apart from his Begum he has 400 concubines and 29 'muta' wives..temporary wives - for 3 days, 3 months or 3 years. He is laden with jewels, wears a crown and sits on his jewelled throne. He has sent his crown to be admired at the Great Exhibition in London. Lord Dalhousie remarks that the crown should have had his head in it so that he could could 'pluck it like a cherry'. Punjab, Burma, Nagpur, Satara and Jhansi have fallen to the British. Now the 'cherry' of Oudh is ripe for plucking; Oudh, whose friendship with Britian goes back 50 years when King Wajid's ancestor signed a treaty with the British pledging 'eternal friendship' and 5 million rupees compensation. Dalhousie leaves it up to his General Outram to effect the annexation of Oudh. Outram views the King as a bad king, irresponsible and effeminate, having no wish to rule. Now we see the two chess players, the friends (and rich landowners) Meer and Mirza. Day after day they play chess together in each other's homes. As we focus on them we hear that this is their fourth game of the day, and it is still early morning. Their hookahs are within reach. There are delicacies to eat. They want for nothing else. Their wives are neglected by them. Playing chess is their sole interest. We learn that chess originated in India in ancient times was transported to Britain where it become popular and, in time, was taken up in India again. But the British played it in a slightly different way, the chess piece called 'Minister' in england is called 'the Queen'. In England a pawn, for its first move, can move twice. It is a faster game. Ray was attracted to the story by the parallel that could be drawn by the chess games of Meer and Mizra and the crafty moves by the British to capture the King. While the two friends play bloodlessly, another game is being played elsewhere. In Calcutta, Lord Dalhousie is preparing an important despatch. He sends it by special courier on horseback. It takes 7 days to ride from Calcutta to Oudh. It is 31st January 1856. General Outram receives the despatch with his orders in it. Outram calls the Prime Minister of Oudh, hands him the new treaty drawn up by Dalhousie and makes it clear that the King must sign this treaty and abide by its new rules - to abdicate from his throne and go into exile. The British have reneged on their original treaty of ten years before. King Wajid knows that he has no alternative but to go; the British army will march into Oudh in 3 days' time; the takeover is a 'fait accompli'. In the meantime the friends Meer and Mizra continue to play their games of chess even as the British march into Lucknow. Dalhousie gets his way, Queen Victoria is now Empress of India, the cherry is there to be plucked. The film ends... I am hoping that our 'guest' writer will add his comments to my short review...Tomorrow I will say something about the sheer beauty of the scenes, the extravagance of the palace interiors, the costumes and the jewels. The great Satyajit Ray took immense trouble over every single detail of each scene, he made drawings and searched and found every item on show.
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Post by spindrift on Nov 27, 2011 22:38:45 GMT
Thanks Bixa. I'll have a look at that link tomorrow...
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Post by tjoe on Nov 28, 2011 5:06:45 GMT
Dear OP, you have summed up the political situation so completely that I have nothing more to add. After the fall of Delhi as you said the Brits reached for the pie that is Awadh and owned it without any bloodshed. But the next two seats of power Bengal and Karnataka were won at a great cost.
About this film what is very interesting is that it has no heroes or villains. It is also to be noted that the film was made during the darkest period of modern Indian democracy when the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi declared "Emergency" from 1975 to 1977, and suppressed the fundamental rights for her political survival. This was made possible by her crafty moves and initial noninvolvement by people; like Mir and Mirza in the film.
I beg to differ with you spindrift when you say that the wives of the chess players ignored them. Mirza's wife Khurshid engages in a variety of tactical maneuvers to recapture her husband's attention; she feigns illness, attempts seduction, and even hides his chess pieces. Ray made a bold move to show Khurshid almost forcing herself on her husband Mirza and Mirza trying to get it over quickly to resume his game of chess. Mir's wife Nafisa (Farida Jalal), meanwhile, plans a more proactive attack: she takes a lover. Such clouded is his mind that Mir chooses to believe the explanation given by the young man whom he found to be in bed with his wife and Mir makes the strategic blunder of misinterpreting her enthusiasm for his long nights out playing chess, mistaking it for wifely support of his intellectual pursuits.
Before leaving Lucknow Wajid Ali Shah wrote a couplet “Jab chhod chale Lucknow nagri,kahen haal ke hum par kya Guzari.” As we leave our beloved city of Lucknow, see what we have to go through..
Exiled Nawab Wajid Ali spent his remaining days in Metiaburuz area of Calcutta.
As a fan of Ray said “Ray's movies are frequently something of an acquired taste, but it's a habit worth acquiring”
For further academic info one can contact: Ray Film and Study Center University of California - Santa Cruz Humanities Faculty Services, Humanities 1 University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Now I wait for spindrift to write further details about this film.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 28, 2011 7:53:54 GMT
Wonderful review, Spindrift, with enough revealed to whet the appetite for seeing the movie. Tjoe's comments deepen the understanding of why Ray's work is considered so good and so important. Two things, though --
1. Spindrift actually said "Their wives are neglected by them." not that the wives ignored the men.
From what both of you have written, it would seem that the neglect of their wives is part of the overall symbolism of the movie.
2. Why do you say there are no villains, Tjoe? Even without having seen the movie, I can accept your point of view that there were no heroes, but wouldn't Dalhousie at least qualify as a villain?
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Post by spindrift on Nov 28, 2011 10:16:07 GMT
Bixa, yes, the wives were ignored by their husbands. One has to feel great pity for these muslim women who lived in purdah (behind the curtain). Even the Begum in her palatial surroundings could not come face to face with her husband's male friend. She had to send her servant to call to her husband to interrupt his game of chess to ask him to come to her. I was astonished that the second Begum, having been caught with her husband's nephew hiding under her bed, was permitted to meet this male relative face to face. I thought that muslim women only saw the male members of their immediate family (sons and husband) and no other male. Perhaps our guest could elaborate on this.
Bixa, from my own observations, both present day and harking back to the past, I do believe that neglect of wives is endemic in this society. In The Chess Players it was a fact that powerful men such as the zamindars had open access to whores. Indeed the Begum remarks that when her husband spends nights with the whores she does not worry about him; only when he is at home (playing chess) does she deeply resent his absence in her bedchamber.
I found it deeply shocking that Britain treacherously manouvred her way into the take-over of India and her assets and exploited her people over many years, leaving after a misjudged and mishandled Partition whose scars remain until this very day and into the future.
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Post by tjoe on Nov 28, 2011 10:33:35 GMT
1. First of all my sincere apologies to poster spindrift for not reading her post carefully enough to make this wrong assumption and my sincere thanks to bixaorellana for pointing out this to me so that I could acknowledge my mistake.
2. Did Dalhousie not do what was expected of him? An employee of a colonizing enterprise did what the enterprise desired. So the real villainy lies elsewhere. There is a saying in Sanskrit “Veer bhoggya vasundhara” meaning- the world is enjoyed by the hero, the conquerer, the powerful. Is this not true even today?
3. Was the young man found under the bed related to her husband? I think this young fellow explained his presence in the begum's room saying that he had taken refuse there as the Sepoys were forcibly inducting young men like him and he somehow managed to run away and save himself by hiding there. As I said, her husband chose to believe him and even told his wife to give the young man a glass of warm milk to drink!
4. Partition is another story and I hope spindrift will come to that later on.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 30, 2011 7:33:04 GMT
Well, yes -- Dalhousie did what was expected of him by his employers, but wasn't that a version of "I was only following orders"?
I assume the whole story of the man under the bed, the explanation & acceptance of it, etc. is also symbolic of the attitudes that led to India becoming part of the British empire, along with references to the country's situation at the time the film was made, as explained by Tjoe.
Incidentally, the man-under-bed story has elements of Chaucerian bawdiness, don't you all think?
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Post by spindrift on Nov 30, 2011 20:51:43 GMT
The man under the bed was, in fact, the husband's nephew. When the husband walked into his wife's bedroom and caught his nephew redhanded, it was the nephew who quick-wittedly said he was hiding from those who wanted to recruit soldiers. The husband believed him. However in the last scenes of the movie the husband was told by his chess partner that he had heard gossip(from his own wife) to the effect that his friend was now a cuckold, whereupon the other drew a gun and shot at his friend, narrowly missing him. But even this debacle did not stop the friends from their chessplaying.
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Bixa, are you saying that Indians generally were apathetic concerning the machinations of the British in their country? Maybe they were. It seems to me that they were. Satyajit Ray has used the theme of the chessplaying obsession to demonstrate how the rich landowning classes were content to carry on with their privileged existance to the detriment of their country. Perhaps this class of person thought nothing would change for them. What a mistake they made. Their country would be pillaged for the following ninety years...
I would like our guest Tjoe to comment on my statement for I do not know whether my opinion is right or wrong...
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 1, 2011 2:33:35 GMT
Well, I really phrased that too broadly. My assumption is that the whole hiding man/acceptance of false story section of the plot was of a piece with Ray's pillorying of segments of society who should have been more aware and responsible. I did not mean Indians in general.
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Post by tjoe on Dec 1, 2011 7:27:01 GMT
spindrift, you are quite right. If you look at our history you will see that we had been subjected to invasions and subjugations for ages. The very first attack on India was in Sindh in the year 715 A.D by Arabs led by Mohammad Bin Qasim. The next invasion was by Turk Sabuktagin in 986 AD. Then Mahmud of Ghazni invaded India seventeen times between 1001 -1027 AD. Finally Mohammad Ghori attacked the Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan in 1192 AD and after defeating him began to rule India. Mughal dynasty started with Babur ascending the throne of Agra in 1526 A.D. After 1858, India became officially a British colony as British crown took control of India from East India Company.
So, you see how indifferent we had become to change of rulers? All throughout the common mass were left to fend for themselves and lived a life of abject poverty. Whereas the landed and rich gentry were amassing wealth by their proximity to the ruling class. Most of them were useless fellows as shown by Ray in this film. They cared two hoots for what was happeing. Even at point blank range one of the chess players missed the other. After the shoot out the players sat down to yet another game of chess. In this shot Ray finally exposed the shallowness of their characters and how useless they were outside the chess board.
I hope spindrift will continue with her post.
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Post by spindrift on Dec 5, 2011 19:21:10 GMT
Last night I watched a film by Satyajit Ray called "Two Daughters". This is known by its Bengali name as "Dui Kanya". Ray made this film in 1961. It was filmed entirely in villages in the Tide Country of Bengal. It has been described as 'an exquisite film embracing the timeless flow of life in India.'
Here is a clip from the first vignette 'The Postmaster'(for this film is in two parts).
The story is simple. A young man from Kolkata is sent into a remote area to work as a postmaster. There he inherits, as his housekeeper, an orphaned girl of 10 or 12 years of age. She has known scant kindness in her life and because our hero, Nandalal (Anil Chatterjee) shows consideration towards her she fixes her devotion on him. He is entirely unaware of this. However he is bored living in a backwater and to amuse himself he teaches her to read and write. A tender bond develops between them. However he is soon struck down with malaria and the girl Ratan (Chandana Banerjee) nurses him back to health. But Nandalal has had enough of deprivation and asks his employers for a transfer. This is refused and so he feels he has no choice but to resign and leave. He does not realize how attached Ratan has become to him.
In the final scenes, most poignantly portrayed, we see Ratan on a path carrying a heavy bucket of well water, bowed down with misery at the departure of her only friend and Nandalal, quite unaware, coming towards her with rupees in his hand to give her a 'tip'. The profound emotions this final scene evokes that it pierces one's heart. Nandalal continues on his way. So ends the first part of the film.
part two coming up
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Post by tjoe on Dec 6, 2011 5:53:19 GMT
I am happy that you finally got the chance watch this brilliant film. This was originally released as "Teen Kannya" meaning Three Daughters. But I find that it was renamed "Dui Kannya" i.e Two Daughters for its international release. I don't know why Monihara (The Lost Jewels) was excluded. I will come to this later. Here are some comments on Post Master & Two Daughters: "The Postmaster - a story of betrayal - is a pure and simple small masterpiece; the second, "The Conclusion," has some memorable scenes, beauty, and wit but also has some defects of rhythm, so it is merely wonderful..." - Pauline Kael "If I were forced to pick only one work by Ray to show to someone unfamiliar with him, it would have to be Three Daughters" - Andrew Robinson (Ray's Biographer) Monihara's story begins near an abandoned mansion, the village schoolteacher (Gobinda Chakravarti) after having a smoke of weed reads a story that he has written to a hooded man. It seems that the house was once inhabited by a man Phanibhusan (Kali Banerjee) and his wife Manimalika (Kanika Majumdar). The wife is obsessed with jewels and ornaments. The husband keeps buying jewels for her in hope of gaining her love. She has a phobia that one day he may ask the jewels back. The husband faces some financial problem. To confirm her fear, she offers to sell her jewels. But when he shows some interest in the idea she retreats in panic. When the husband is away to raise money, she calls her cousin to escort her to her parents' house. The cousin, though, has other plans for the jewels. We see the wife for the last time as they leave the house with all the jewels. The husband makes a lucrative deal and return home with a grand necklace for his wife. He is puzzled at the missing wife and the jewels. Will the necklace entice her ghost to come back for it? After listening to the tale, the hooded man says that he has enjoyed the story but it has many errors. He reveals that he is the husband in the story and disappears.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 8, 2011 16:06:08 GMT
So frustrating -- I wrote an answer to this last night, but it's when proboards was down & my answer went with it. Anyway ........ Spindrift, you have such a talent for succinctly summing up the plot of a movie, yet still presenting it as compelling viewing. And the dialogue you and Tjoe have fashioned really deepens our perception of each film and (so far) Ray. The prospect of more in depth analysis of these movies and the directors is exciting. Interesting that the film Pauline Kael reviewed was Three Daughters. Do you suppose the film was briefly released in its original form to an international audience, or that she, as a true movie aficionado, made a point of seeing the original? Guess I should wait for Tjoe's promised comments on The Lost Jewels.
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Post by tjoe on Dec 9, 2011 5:52:30 GMT
Yes I agree. OP has so beautifully summarised the stories. I hope she will continue to post about other films that she has watched. The Lost Jwels(Monihara) and the other two, Post Master & Conclusion(Samapti) are based on short stories written by another genius Rabindranath Tagore. It is indeed a delight to catch a glimpse of Tagore through Ray's eyes in this film. And also, we realize that we can compare Ray only with Ray and nothing short of the miraculous will do. In Manihara we listen to the hypnotic tale of the jewel obsessed woman as she gradually descends into near psychosis. We begin to ponder: Can jewelry make up for love and childlessness? Can it fill the loneliness and barrenness of a woman who is in the process of falling apart? In this film Ray also points to the congenital human craving for the yellow metal and whatever security it represents. Here this lust is personified in a young, beautiful and half crazed woman. Kanika Majumdar in the female lead with her wild vengeful eyes gives a powerful portrayal. While watching this film we once again find that when Ray sets his lens to transcreate a short story of Tagore it is no surprise if the result is extraordinary and bewitching. What is surprising is to find either of them indulging in the Hitchcock genre for the first time. After release of this film in the US the SF gate concluded an article by "..each exemplifies, in its modest way, the quiet wisdom and the subtle craftsmanship of his films." Ray’s Teen kanya won the following awards: President's Silver Medal, New Delhi, 1961 (for Samapti) Golden Boomerang, Melbourne, 1962 (for the Two Daughters) Selznik Golden Laurel Award, Berlin, 1963 Spindrift, I searched all my stash of DVD's, VCD's and even VHS tapes but couldn't find a subtitled version of Manihara.
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