Charulata
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| Charulata | |
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| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Produced by | RDB Productions |
| Written by | Satyajit Ray Rabindranath Tagore (novella) |
| Starring | Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Sailen Mukherjee, Syamal Ghosal |
| Distributed by | Edward Harrison |
| Release date(s) | 1964 |
| Running time | 117 min |
| Language | Bengali |
Charulata (Bengali: চারুলতা), sometimes released in the English-speaking world as The Lonely Wife, is a 1964 film by Bengali director Satyajit Ray, based upon the novella Nastanirh ("The Broken Nest") by Rabindranath Tagore. It features Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee and Sailen Mukherjee.
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[edit] Plot summary
The film tells the story of a lonely housewife, known as Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee), who lives a wealthy, secluded and idle life in 1870's Calcutta. Her husband, Bhupati (Sailen Mukherjee), runs a newspaper, The Sentinel, and spends more time at work than with his wife. However, he notices that Charu is lonely, and asks his cousin, Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), to keep her company. Amal is a writer and is asked to help Charu with her own writing. However, after some time, Charu and Amal's feelings for each other move beyond those of a mentoring relationship.
[edit] Awards
Charulata won Satyajit Ray his second Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1964. He had won the same award in the previous year with Mahanagar. Charulata also won the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film at the National Film Awards in 1965.
[edit] Tribute
The film contains a famous scene in which Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee) sings Rabindranath Tagore's song "Fule Fule Dhole Dhole" on a swing, while looking at Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee). The scene is referenced in the Bollywood film Parineeta during the song sequence, Soona Man Ka Aangan. Indeed, Parineeta 's Lalita (Vidya Balan) is dressed to resemble Nashtanir/Charulata 's Charu. Furthermore, Parineeta is based upon the novel Parineeta by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay who was a noted contemporary of Tagore (and who also wrote novels concerned with social reform) [1], [2].
[edit] Further reading
- Antani, Jay. "Charulata review." Slant Magazine, April 2004.
- Biswas, Moinak. "Writing on the Screen: Satyajit Ray’s Adaptation of Tagore"
- Chaudhuri, Neel. "Charulata: The Intimacies of a Broken Nest"
- Cooper, Darius.The Cinema of Satyajit Ray:Between Tradition and Modernity Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- Nyce, Ben. Satyajit Ray : A Study of His Films. New York: Praeger, 1988
- Seely, Clinton B. "Translating Between Media: Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray"
- Sen, Kaustav "Our Culture, Their Culture:Indian-ness in Satyajit Ray and Rabindranath Tagore explored through their works Charulata and Nashtanir"
[edit] External links
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