India

  • Satyajit Ray – Abhijaan AKA The Expedition (1962)

    Satyajit Ray1961-1970DramaIndia

    Quote:
    Abhijan was Satyajit Ray’s most popular film in Bengal: a “conscious” effort to communicate with a wider audience. The project was originally conceived by his friends and Ray stepped in when they panicked at the prospect of directing. Ray’s mastery turned a starkly conventional plot into a subtly nuanced story which topped the Bengali box office for months.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Seemabaddha AKA Company Limited (1971)

    Satyajit Ray1971-1980ClassicsDramaIndia

    Synopsis:

    Shyamalendu (Barun Chanda) is a successful executive at a fan company where he is expecting a promotion shortly. His life revolves around his work and socialising with colleagues along with his wife, Dolan (Paromita Chaudhuri). His sister-in-law, Tutul (Sharmila Tagore) comes to stay with them for a few days. She is given a tour of the life they lead – in restaurants, beauty parlours, clubs and race courses.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Teen Kanya AKA Three Daughters (1961)

    1961-1970ArthouseClassicsIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Quote:
    Satyajit Ray was not only one of the biggest admirers of Tagore but he was also one of the few who understood and interpreted Tagore’s works with his own unique vision. Ray with his neorealistic style of filmmaking found a perfect ally in Tagore’s stories of ordinary folks. “Teen Kanya”, based on three stories by Tagore –The Postmaster, Monihara and Samapti– was meant to be a tribute to the poet laureate by Ray, made as it was in the author’s birth centenary in 1961. The film however becomes a perfect symbiosis of a master writer and filmmaker.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Kanchenjungha (1962)

    1961-1970AsianClassicsIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Summary
    A wealthy family from Calcutta is on the last day of their vacation in Darjeeling, a hill station at the foot of Mount Kanchenjungha, the second highest peak of the Himalayas. Until now, they have been unable to catch a glimpse of the peak Kanchenjungha.The family members are dominated by the father, Indranath (Chhabi Biswas), an industrialist. He wants his daughter to marry a man of his choice and hopes that the man will propose if they are left together alone for some time.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Agantuk AKA The Stranger (1991)

    Satyajit Ray1991-2000DramaIndia

    Quote:
    Satyajit Ray’s valedictory film is a multifaceted character study that contains both humor and melancholy rumination. Based on the filmmaker’s own story, The Stranger involves a bourgeois couple who are taken off guard when a man claiming to be the wife’s long-lost uncle sends word that he will be coming to stay with them after years of travel. Though they fear he’s an impostor, they tentatively let the man into their home, commencing an eye-opening emotional journey for the family. A humanist exploration of class, faith, and tradition versus progress, The Stranger is a bittersweet good-bye from one of the world’s most important filmmakers.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Pikoor Diary (1980)

    1971-1980IndiaSatyajit RayShort Film

    Quote:
    “Pikoo is a very complex film by Satyajit Ray. It is a poetic statement which cannot be reduced to concrete terms. One statement the film tries to make is that, if a woman is to be unfaithful, if she is to have an extramarital affair, she can’t afford to have soft emotions towards her children, or, in this case, her son. The two just don’t go together. You have to be ruthless. Maybe she’s not ruthless to that extent. She’s being very Bengali. A European in the same circumstances would not behave in the same way.”Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Shatranj Ke Khilari AKA The Chess Players (1977)

    Drama1971-1980ArthouseIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Synopsis:
    Wazed Ali Shah is the ruler of one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British, intent on controlling this rich country, have sent general Outram on a secret mission to clear the way for an annexation. While pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political manoeuvres, Ali Shah composes poems and listens to music, secluded in his palace. The court is of no help, as exemplified by nobles Mir and Mirza, who, ignoring the situation of their country and all their duties towards their families, spend their days playing endless parties of chess.
    — IMDb.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Nayak AKA The Hero (1966)

    1961-1970DramaIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Quote:
    In this psychologically rich character study, written and directed by Satyajit Ray, Bengali film star Uttam Kumar draws on his real-world celebrity to play Arindam Mukherjee, a matinee idol on the brink of his first flop. When Mukherjee boards an overnight train to Delhi to accept an award, a journalist (Sharmila Tagore) approaches him seeking an exclusive interview, which initiates a conversation that sends the actor reeling down a path of self-examination. Seamlessly integrating rueful flashbacks and surreal dream sequences with the quietly revelatory stories of the train’s other passengers, The Hero is a graceful meditation on art, fame, and regret from one of world cinema’s most keenly perceptive filmmakers.Read More »

  • Arun Karthick – Nasir (2020)

    Drama2011-2020ArthouseArun KarthickIndia

    Salesman Nasir lives a contended life with his mother Fatima, wife Taj and nephew Iqbal in a closely populated ghetto. Employed in an apparel shop at the heart of a busy city, the middle aged Nasir is a hard worker. He speaks humorously and makes others laugh. He is also endowed with a half-baked philosophical attitude, so he likes poetry. On Sundays he composes poems along the lines of Hindi film songs of the sixties and launches them in front of his co-workers. When he recites his poems, he starts with his right hand placed over his chest and with wave-like motions nearly brushing the noses of the listeners. He smokes ten Beedis a day and drinks four cups of tea. He goes for his midday prayers occasionally. Read More »

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