Jalsaghar
| Jalsaghar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Screenplay by | Satyajit Ray |
| Produced by | Satyajit Ray Productions |
| Starring | Chhabi Biswas Padma Devi Pinaki Sen Gupta Gangapada Bose Tulsi Lahari Kali Sarkar Ustad Waheed Khan Roshan Kumari Begum Akhtar |
| Cinematography | Subrata Mitra |
| Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
| Music by | Vilayat Khan |
| Distributed by | Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (In US) |
Release date | 1958 |
Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country |  India |
| Language | Bengali |
Jalsaghar[1][2] (Bengali: জলসাঘর, English: The Music Room) is the fourth feature film directed by Satyajit Ray. The shooting was done at Nimtita Raajbari, in Nimtita Village, 10 kilometers from Murshidabad. Jalsaghar is a narration of the end days of a zamindar in Bengal. The landlord, Roy (Chhabi Biswas), is a just but other-worldly man who loves to spend time listening to music and putting up spectacles rather than managing his fields ravaged by floods and the abolition of zamindari system by the Indian government. He is challenged by a commoner who has attained riches through business dealings, in putting up spectacles and organizing music fests. This is the tale of a zamindar who has nothing left but respect and sacrifices his family and wealth trying to retain it.
Cast
- Chhabi Biswas - Biswambhar Roy
- Padma Devi - Mahamaya, Roy's wife
- Pinaki Sen Gupta - Khoka, Roy's son
- Gangapada Bose - Mahim Ganguly, Neighbour
- Tulsi Lahari - Manager of Roy's estate
- Kali Sarkar - Ananta, Roy's servant
- Ustad Waheed Khan - Ustad Ujir Khan, Singer
- Roshan Kumari - Krishna Bai, The dancer
- Begum Akhtar - Durga Bai, Singer
Other credits
- Music & Dance performances
- (On screen) - Begum Akhtar, Roshan Kumari, Ustad Waheed Khan, Bismillah Khan
- (Off screen) - Dakhshinamohan Thakur, Ashish Kumar, Robin Mazumdar, Imrat Khan
Home video
An HD digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD and blu-ray by The Criterion Collection in July 2011.[3]
References
- ^ http://www.satyajitray.org/films/jalsagh.htm
- ^ Jalsaghar (The Music Room) at IMDb
- ^ "The Music Room". The Criterion Collection.
External links
- Criterion Collection Essay by Philip Kemp
