1965, Bengali, YouTube, IMDB 7.4/10, Directed by Ritwik Ghatak
Article Authored by POOJA MITTRA
The movie is part of the trilogy, the last in line by director Ritwick Ghatak concerning the partition woes, the natural calamities and the onset of the refugees in Bengal from the time period between 1938 and 1948 precisely. Bengal was torn and devastated from political, social and economic patterns but as time sets in all things worse shape into new beginnings and changed thoughts which lay the roots of the dynamic society.
The war between Burma and Japan set a toil on Bengal’s land thus forcing the advent of many unaccounted, disoriented, and lifeless refugees whose main aim was survival. Out of which many Indian nationality dwellers who either lived in Burma or near the border ran for their lives to the big city of Calcutta.
Iswar, one such survivor left with his young baby sister Sita, a man of high ideologies and values was juggling between maintaining a life and compromising on his values with his comrade Haraprasad both of them who decide to help settle down the refugees in the city. Thinking high on social commitment and responsibility he adopts a young boy who is left on the streets after he has been separated with his mother. Iswar finally fades away his juggling and the survival of his and the children’s lives overtake his compassionate values when he decides to move to a small village to work at a foundry.
OBSERVATIONS: One thing which I admire of intelligent storytellers is that the content is crisp and runs along the original storyline with no unnecessary deviations. In this first half young Sita is shown enquiring constantly about her new home, the importance of home for a child is so important which is very plainly put forth. The eye of the lustful Sadhu whom Ishwar meets at his rich friend’s house shows how the fake realms of religion had grounded so strongly in the minds of the educated.
Trivia: The music of the film has been composed by Ustad Bahadur Khan who was a disciple of the music maestro Alladuddin Khan Saheb. Also shown is a piece of Sarod recital by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. The use of Hindustani classical music and Rabindra Sangeet has been selectively and aptly used in the movie.
Thus a new freshness to life is added, their home near the Subarnarekha river sets flowing stronger relationship between Sita and the boy. Iswar sends the boy (Abhiram) to a boarding school so that a proper education can create a secured future for him and trains Sita in Rabindra Sangeet. Abhiram returns to the village as a promising graduate and a writer. Iswar plans to send him to Germany for engineering much against Abhiram’s wishes who wants to become a reality writer and marry Sita. During this time an old dying lady is seen at the village station who happens to be Abhiram’s lost mother who confides to his son his true caste identity, a Bandhi (low caste). Much against the unification of his sister with Abhiram, Iswar asks Abhiram to leave for Calcutta and fixes Sita’s marriage. Sita boldly warns her brother about his decision but Iswar bad mouths her by asking her to die which hits Sita dearly as she had never seen her doting brother confer anything other than love and care.
OBSERVATIONS: The location layout of the village settlement with the thrust on the wide flowing river movie had been diligently chosen. The river depicts the wideness of the heart, the flow is a metaphor for hope and continuity which is very visible in the last scene, the uneven terrain of the bank represents the small and big hurdles of life which everyone has to go through willingly or unwillingly. Hope is also graced by a particular Rabindra Sangeet which young Sita and later her son is shown singing explaining that the aspiration of living a beautiful life passes through ages and especially vigilant with children to whom war, partition and loss change into love and peace as soon as they a single ray of hope.
In this half of the movie we see the transition of the patriotic and idealist Iswar into a classist where all his love and admiration for Abhiram turns into venom at the realization of the latter’s caste. This transition in Iswars character had been set forth smoothly by his dialogues which proved a change in his thought process.
Sita from this part of the movie becomes the protagonist with a mind of her own.
Sita and Abhiram start a new life in shackles of poverty in Calcutta and after years of toiling Abhiram is not able to reap a life for Sita and their son. Abhiram is burnt by a mad crowd at first day of his work as a driver of a corporation bus. Iswar on the other hand in all these years turns mentally upset and sets to hand himself when his old acquaintance Haraprasad arrives and stops him from being a coward and face life in the new world of the city where values of respect, love, brotherhood has been intoxicated with greed of money and power. Both of them set out to experience such an intoxicated time which stood wide apart from their ideologies by which they had lived their entire lives.
Iswar deep in alcohol and blurred in his movements and thoughts is taken to the house of a singer in the dingy lane of the city. As he stands at the door obscured, a shocked and self-respect Sita surprised with ashamed eyes in the moment of heat ends her life. Perplexed Iswar draws near to see the face of the deceased and burns with grief when he sees the truth. A two-year imprisonment is levied on him because he admits to the crime and says I am Guilty. After his release he unites with his nephew and both return to the village where the river Subararekha is still flowing with life and hope.
OBSERVATIONS: The death scene has been picturized so intelligently with the sound of the vessels dropping and banging blended with the sound of the fall and shivering of the body on the ground, the entire clipping is just sounds in dark. No dead body is shown. The method acting of Iswar is the best of the few where his facial, body and voice movements have been modulated from the confused state of his till the guilt bearing part.
The crux of the movie lay in the taxi scene where Haraprasad explains Iswar the philosophy and irony of human life through the blurred and fast moving lights of the city. The use and extent of light creating shadows adds to the explanation.
The last scene when Iswar’s nephew shows and directs the old and despaired Iswar towards a new hope makes you believe there is life no matter what. The few seconds look and smile exchanged between the nephew and Iswar praises the director’s cut.