Satyajit Ray Eloquently Portrays Loneliness and Relationships

“Bankim, Bankim, Bankim, Bankim”, these are the words we hear while a woman is randomly going through books written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay to curb her boredom and try to fill the void existing in her heart, longing for love and compassion. Satyajit Ray paints a beautiful picture of a young woman who feels trapped inside an aristocratic house in Kolkata just like a little bird is trapped inside a gold cage with no way out and her only contact with the outside world is the gaps between the cage bars from where she watches people passing by and stay connected to the world.

Charulata is essentially a character study that focuses on the life of the young woman Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee) and her loneliness as she tries to figure out her life and try to complete it with household chores and literature while her husband (Shailen Mukherjee) who is the editor of a progressive English newspaper ‘The Sentinel’ and has little to no time for his young wife. The story starts leisurely as we are introduced to the life of the protagonist and her mundane schedule and how she feels distant from her husband which is reflected in the scene where she uses a binocular to watch her husband as he ignores her while he is engrossed in his work. The story takes an interesting turn when two guests arrive at their house, Charulata’s brother and her husband’s cousin Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee). On one hand, we see Charu’s brother whose demeanor points towards betrayal and impending disaster which proves to be true when he steals money from her husband and betrays them whereas Amal proves to be a ray of new hope for Charu whose mundane and boring life is suddenly filled with the poetry of Amal and his thoughts about life, its purpose and love for literature and arts. She is unaware of the fact that slowly she is getting attracted towards him and his vibrant personality, as she gets more confused about her life and the path she should follow.

The film portrays the relationship of husband and wife in a very interesting and mature manner which does not go overboard at any moment in the film. The husband tries to listen to his wife and her problems but ends up ignoring her just like a pet and hands over the responsibility of looking after her to his brother Amal. Their relationship has only one person happy at a time while the other one struggles to keep up. When Bhupati had his newspaper, he had no time for his wife and after he is forced to close down the paper, he finds time for her but by then she had already developed feelings for Amal. This emotion is portrayed at the end of the film when their hands are not able to meet as Bhupati gets to know about Charu’s feelings for Amal.

Ray uses camera movements on a level which could be called pioneering for that time, he uses a fast zoom in and zooms out to give a comedic feel as well as communicate the internal feelings of Charu as the camera reflects her actions by impersonating her movement, something which is similar to the use of camera in David Fincher’s detective crime thriller ‘Zodiac’ where the camera moves as if it is connected to the subject and reflects the slightest of their movement. The use of the camera in a scene where Charu is riding on the swing while singing can be regarded as one of the most beautiful and elegant cinematic movement of the camera and is also very similar to how Agnes Varda uses the camera in her film ‘Cleo from 5 to 7’, another film which is a tribute to artists and their art. Camerawork done by Subrata Mitra has often been overlooked with respect to world cinema and this film alone can be used to give him the praise and recognition he deserves.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film which gives it its natural beauty is the music, composed by Satyajit Ray, who also used some of Rabindranath Tagore’s original compositions becomes the soul of the film as we progress with the story. ‘Ami Chini Go Chini Tomare’, sung by Kishore Kumar is pick of all the beautiful compositions which were used in the film as it becomes an important plot point that turns to be the backbone of the story. Portraying Charu’s internal conflict as she is torn apart between her devotion towards her marriage and the new found attraction and love she has found in Amal. Even though the song is centred around how he sings a song for a girl who has been adjudged as suitable for him, it still brings out emotions within Charu which she is not able to hide and ends up giving into her feelings for Amal and decides to gift him the sandals she had prepared for her husband.

One thing which stood out from the very start is Madhabi Mukherjee’s subtle and internalized act as Charulata who looks ever so graceful throughout the film. She is sensitive and vulnerable while she also comes off as a well-read and learned woman, who is the definition of a modern woman for that time. Soumitra Chatterjee is extremely vibrant as Amal and his presence lights up the frame and brings a smile on your face. The way he sings ‘Ami Chini Go Chini Tomare’ is enough to make you fall in love with his charm.

Charulata is poetry in motion, laden with breath-taking visuals, soulful music, charming yet subtle performances, and impeccable direction from Satyajit Ray who is able to transport us to Charulata’s barren world and empathize with her as she tries to navigate through the mystery of love and life. The film is way ahead of its time with respect to its portrayal of women and relationships which is mature, nuanced and is the definition of elite storytelling from the auteur Satyajit Ray.

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Written by:

Moksh Jindal

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