Director: Satyajit Ray; Writer: Satyajit Ray; Cinematographer: Soumendu Roy; Editor: Dulal Dutta; Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Bannerjee, Swatilekha Chatterjee, Gopa Aich, Jennifer Kendall, Manoj Mitra, Indrapramit Roy, Bimal Chatterjee
Duration: 02:18:07; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 35.522; Saturation: 0.254; Lightness: 0.136; Volume: 0.120; Cuts per Minute: 4.750; Words per Minute: 52.194
Summary: Twenty years after Charulata (1964) Ray
returned to Tagore, in colour, adapting a
controversial novel that had increased in
stature over the years. Set during the terrorist
movements following the first communal
partition of Bengal (1905), the book tells a
triple story, interweaving the diaries of the
zamindar Nikhilesh (V. Bannerjee), a critic of
nationalism, with the stories of the man’s wife
Bimala (Sw. Chatterjee) and of their guest, the
fiery activist Sandeep (So. Chatterjee). Sandeep
and Bimala become involved with one another,
which for her leads to a sense of liberation. In
the end Nikhilesh dies, and Bimala is widowed,
punished for her transgression (the novel ends
differently, with Nikhilesh accepting Bimala
back). Ray played down the novel’s political
overtones in favour of a straight love triangle
enacted in a meticulously researched period
setting. The film, which Ray had intended as
his debut work, recalls Charulata in some
ways. Ray’s son, Sandeep, completed the postproduction
after Ray suffered his first heart
attack.
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