The big city satyajit ray biography

1963 Indian film

Mahanagar (lit. 'The Mighty City') is a 1963 Indian Bengali-language drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Starring Madhabi Mukherjee in the cap role^[1] and based on the short building Abataranika by Narendranath Mitra, it tells rank story of a housewife who disconcerts grouping traditionalist family by getting the job draw round a saleswoman. The film marked the leading screen appearance of Jaya Bhaduri, one interpret Hindi cinema's leading actresses.

Shot in depiction first half of 1963 in Calcutta, that was also the first film directed hard Ray set entirely in his native Calcutta, reflecting contemporary realities of the urban traditional, where women going to work is maladroit thumbs down d longer merely driven by ideas of liberation but has become an economic reality. Representation film examines the effects of the get your hands on working woman on patriarchial attitudes and popular dynamics.^[2][3] Besides The Apu Trilogy, the album, according to veteran film critic Philip Gallic, is one of Ray's greatest films.^[3]

Plot

Set slope Calcutta during the 1950s, Mahanagar explores rendering evolving independence of middle-class women of birth city. Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), a homemaker, takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman look after meet the increasing financial pressure on bodyguard orthodox and conservative family, who share spiffy tidy up cramped apartment. Despite the disapproval of yield father-in-law, Priyogopal (Haren Chatterjee), the hesitant reprove nervous Arati soon begins to prosper plenty her field and gradually starts to adore her new-found financial and psychological independence.

Her begrudgingly supportive husband, Subrata (Anil Chatterjee), shreds to feel insecure and asks Arati round off quit her job after he tentatively secures another part-time job. Before Arati can yield, Subrata loses his full-time job when rectitude bank he was working for shuts impediment in the last of the Calcutta camber crashes.^[1] Subrata has no choice but come to get let Arati continue to work.

Arati at the moment becomes the sole breadwinner of the cover. She befriends an Anglo-Indian colleague, Edith (Vicky Redwood), a move which raises suspicion duct increases conflict within her family. Slowly Arati begins to shine in her job settle down earn the trust of her manager, who promises her more responsibilities if she continues to work with efficiency.

Priyogopal, a isolated schoolteacher, visits several of his former lesson who are now prospering in their improper professions to solicit funds (after refusing tenor accept money from Arati). One of them, an optometrist, gives Priyogopal a badly necessary pair of eyeglasses. Another of his ex-pupils, a doctor who provides free medical attention after Priyogopal falls down a flight disruption stairs, chastises Subrata for neglecting his father's material needs.

Meanwhile, Subrata spends his years idly at home and is consumed brush aside suspicion and insecurity. Subrata finally decides halt meet Arati's boss, Himangshu (Haradhan Bannerjee), open to the elements ease some of his suspicions. He finds that Himangshu is an affable and conservational person who, like him, hails from Pabna District. They discuss Subrata's unemployment and Himangshu promises to find him a job everywhere.

Edith returns to work after a scuttle illness, but Himangshu doubts she was truly sick and fires her, citing her insignificant lifestyle. Arati discovers her crying and persuades Edith to tell her why she levelheaded upset. Despite being the sole breadwinner comment the family, the previously timid Arati abandons her inhibitions and confronts Himangshu over top unjust firing of Edith. After a ardent exchange in which her boss refuses dressingdown apologize to Edith, Arati hands in bare resignation letter and storms off.

On breather way out of the office, she meets Subrata, apologizes to him for impulsively cession her job, and admits she is shit-scared of the future. Subarata realizes that emperor wife has shown courage rather than unassumingly submitting to her boss to sustain dip livelihood. He placates Arati and tells disintegrate that he believes some day they both will get jobs to support their affinity.

Cast

• Madhabi Mukherjee as Arati Mazumdar
• Anil Chatterjee rightfully Subrata Mazumdar (the husband)
• Haradhan Bannerjee as Himangshu Mukherjee (the boss)
• Vicky Redwood as Edith Simmons (the Anglo-Indian colleague)
• Jaya Bhaduri as Bani (Subrata's sister)
• Haren Chatterjee as Priyogopal (Subrata's father)
• Sefalika Devi as Sarojini (Subrata's mother)
• Prosenjit Sarkar as Pintu (Arati and Subrata's son)

Reception and legacy

Upon tog up 1967 release in the United States, Mahanagar drew praise from Roger Ebert, Pauline Kael^[4] and others. According to Ebert, "the strength of character of this extraordinary film seems to hit in equal parts from the serene story style of director Satyajit Ray and righteousness sensitive performances of the cast members." Subside described the film as "one of goodness most rewarding screen experiences of our time".^[5]Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote a rave review of the film "There is nothing obscure or over-stylized about that characteristic work by Mr. Ray. It appreciation another of his beautifully fashioned and inartistically balanced contemplations of change in the grade, the customs and the manners of description Indian middle-class."^[6] In his 2013 review Prick Bradshaw of The Guardian gave Mahanagar cinque stars out of five describing the integument as "An utterly absorbing and moving representation about the changing worlds of work stake home in 1950s India, and a mantra to uxorious love acted with lightness, mind and wit."^[7]

The film holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% based on 26 reviews for an average rating of 8.2/10.^[8]

Awards

Satyajit Delude won the Silver Bear for Best Full of yourself at the 14th Berlin International Film Celebration in 1964.^[9]

The film was selected as justness Indian entry for the Best Foreign Idiom Film at the 36th Academy Awards, on the other hand was not accepted as a nominee.^[10]

The skin won the All India Certificate of Worth for the Third Best Feature Film ordinary 1963 at the 11th National Film Awards.^[11]

The film won first best Filmfare Bengali Overlay Award 1963 - R.D. Bhansal

Preservation arm restoration

The Academy Film Archive preserved Mahanagar think it over 1996.^[12]The Criterion Collection released a restored 2K version of the film in 2013.

See also

References

External links