God’s Gift to Indian Cinema

I found out to my dismay that our DVD Player does not play the format the Pather Panchali DVD from Cinema Paradiso was configured. Our computer screen was reduced to half its original size due to some picture tube problem. As my mother and I started watching the movie such technological hitches seized to matter. From the first scene when Durga steals guava from her cousin’s orchard I was completely enthralled by the movie. And how it unfolded and in what splendor! My favorite characters were Durga who’s simply the heart and soul of Pather, and the old lady. Durga’s simple and innocent energy and vitality is so infectious. There is something so poignant about the old lady’s dignity despite the utter poverty. I was moved to tears in the scene in which she waters a plant after she drinks some water. Hari the father is a dreamer and a mellow person. Even when his family is in dire straits as his wife constantly reminds him he still dreams of the day he will become a renowned playwright. In the midst of all this is Apu carefree and playful, and yet (as the scene in which he declines to play with his cousins), reserved and circumspect. Sarbajaya, the mother’s love is unstated and yet all pervasive. This movie’s realism lies in the fact that unlike most other movies which claim to show reality, Pather does not scream out loud saying," Look at me, I am real!" It simply is real.Pather Panchali turned my worldview of Indian Cinema upside-down. Until I saw it Barathiraja,Balu Mahendra and Balachander were the benchmarks by which I measured the quality of the films I saw. I still deeply respect these filmmakers, and yet Ray is above them by leaps and bounds-in a class of his own.Pather Panchali is without the slightest doubt the best Indian movie I have seen, and now the measure by which I would rate other movies. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’s delightful fantasy made me realize the breadth of Ray’s genius. What a contrast it is to the understated realism of Pather. Ghosts, naive kings, manipulative ministers, magicians, all combine with the guileless Goopy and Bagha to form a dreamland even J.K.Rowling could not have imagined. My favorite part of this film was the ghost dance. The shadow puppetry, dances,and the instruments(such as Mridamgam) make it a treat for the sences.It was mesmeric. I saw Charulatha with a teacher and friend, Arun Anna(for those who don’t know,in The School-K.F.I where I studied we call our teachers Anna and Akka respectively).After watching two Ray films I totally adored, I was a little disappointed by the first half of the film. But after watching the movie until its conclusion there was a sense of watching something very fulfilling. As my teacher said the movie was like a painting. Just like a painting may not appeal in a half finished state, and yet may be splendorous when viewed after completion, Charulatha was something, which can be appreciated only in totality. Though the interplay of emotions between Amal and Charulatha is magnificent, it was Bhupati, Charu’s husband and editor and publisher of a political newspaper,whose character I could relate to the most. He feels betrayed by all he trusted and loved. His reaction when he finds that Charu is in love with Amal is a total contrast to the melodramatic way in which a similar situation may have been portrayed in a 60s Tamil movie. The scene in the beginning when Charu views through a binoculars the goings on in the street in front of her house, through window slits, and later at her husband is a visual spectacle. It also shows how Charu feels like a caged bird(in that sense it is like a caged bird's eye view of the world).Both Arun Anna and I really enjoyed hearing a song we used to sing in school(and apparently they still sing it), phole phole,dole dole and the other song Videshini was also lovely(including the way Amal sings it in the movie). After watching three of his movies I state proudly that Ray’s cinematic appeal is universal and he belongs to world cinema. His movies are so Indian yet has vast global appeal. As a cine buff, I feel proud to say that I come from the land of Satyajit Ray. He is God’s gift to Indian Cinema and it’s lovers.