Synopsis
This is Satyajit Ray’s magnificent documentary on T Balaswaraswati (1918-1984), the legendary Bharatanatyam Dancer. Made in 1976, when Bala was 59, the documentary traces the biography of Bala, but above all concentrates on her dance and gives us a truly unforgettable glimpse into the art of one of the greatest geniuses from India.Read More »
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From Oscars’s youtube account:
In 1964, renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray was asked to create a short film for ‘ESSO World Theater’, a cultural showcase presented on television and funded by the American oil company Esso. Asked to write and direct the film in English, Ray opted instead to make a film without words. The result is a poignant fable of friendship and rivalry. As he did for many of his films, Ray composed the music for the film, including the haunting tune played on the flute.Read More »
The most obscure of the films to come out of the Indian New Wave, Pahla Adhyay is Vishnu Mathur’s only film. In the anti-expressionistic style of auteur Mani Kaul, the film is closer to Ozu than Bresson as one witnesses the same spaces being repeated as the alienation of the lead character, a student is played out in the background of the city of Bombay in the early ’80s. The film explicitly challenges Bollywood’s contemporary representations of the city, especially in the way it uses Dinesh Shakul’s minimalistic acting (modelling), emphasizing the actor as a body occupying a space instead of an expressionistic face.Read More »
Synopsis:
A retired lawyer meets a holy man # Birinchi Baba (Charuprakash Ghosh) and his assistant (Robi Ghosh) # on his way back from a pilgrimage # and is totally taken in by his supernatural life. The holy man is on first name terms with Buddha and all the gods of the Hindu pantheon. What the world calls ‘Cruci-fiction’ he calls ‘Cruci-fact’ because he has seen it with his own eyes! He even starts giving orations to an audience of the rich and famous at the lawyer’s residence. The gullible lawyer decides to get his entire family initiated into the guru’s fold # including his unmarried younger daughter (Gitali Roy) who is being courted by a young man (Satindra Bhattacharya). His group of intelligent and rationalist friends (Somen Bose et al) decide to take matters in their own hands # and hatch a plot to expose the smooth-talking charlatan.Read More »
Synopsis
The Inner Eye is the second of Satyajit Ray’s four great documentaries and tells you about the life and art of Binode Behari Mukherjee (1904-1980). Mukherjee was one of the most admired renaissance painters of Bengal. Trained by the great Nandalal Bose during his early years in Santiniketan (Rabindranath Tagore’s university for the liberal arts), Benode Behari painted profusely.Read More »
This is the second film about the detective Feluda (Soumitra Chatterjee) set in the holy city of Benares, where he (along with his cousin, Topshe and friend, Lalmohan Ganguly) goes for a holiday. But the theft of a priceless deity of Lord Ganesh (the Elephant God) from a local household forces him to start investigation. Feluda comes in direct confrontation with Maganlal Meghraj (Utpal Dutt), a ruthless trader. Maganlal makes the mild-mannered Lalmohan a knife-thrower’s target and threatens Felu to stop investigation. But there are several other suspects as an innocent artisan is brutally murdered, a shady ‘holy man’ holds court on the banks of the Ganges and an adventure-loving little boy (and his grand-father), brought up on crime thrillers. The climax is a shoot-out on the Ganges, followed by the unraveling of the mystery.Read More »
Lakha comes from a family of bird catchers, but questions the value of catching birds. He, and the older Bhushan, sell their caged birds to the local dealer. Lakha’s wife, Sari, complains that he is not ambitious enough because he cares more for the birds than for her, and she starts meeting Natobar. Kalicharan, a city dealer, suggests they sell their birds directly to him. So Bhushan and Lakha take their next catch of birds on the train to Calcutta. Kalicharan invites them to a feast for the ceremony of the birds, with disastrous consequences.Read More »
Mausam (Seasons) is a 1975 Indian film directed by Gulzar and loosely based on the novel, The Judas Tree, by A.J. Cronin. Sharmila Tagore for her acting received The Silver Lotus Award at the 23rd National Film Festival and the movie was honoured by presenting an award for 2nd Best Feature Film. The movie bagged two of eight nominations at the 24th Filmfare Awards. The background score for the movie was composed by Salil Chowdhury and the songs were composed by Madan Mohan.Read More »
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In Satyajit Ray’s absorbing contemporary adaptation of a play by Henrik Ibsen, a good-hearted doctor discovers that the serious illness befalling the citizens of his small Bengali town may be due to a contamination of the holy water at the local temple. His findings are met not with public gratitude but with rancor, as well as opposition from local authorities, who are afraid the news will keep visitors away. Stately in style but with a fiery debate at its heart, An Enemy of the People gets at the tension between religion and science in everyday Indian life.Read More »