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Mahanagar

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Mahanagar
A poster forMahanagar
Directed bySatyajit Ray
Screenplay bySatyajit Ray
Based onAbataranika
byNarendranath Mitra
Produced byR.D. Banshal
StarringMadhabi Mukherjee
Anil Chatterjee
Haradhan Bannerjee
Jaya Bhaduri
Vicky Redwood
Sefalika Devi
Haren Chatterjee
Music bySatyajit Ray
Production
company
R.D. Banshal & Co.
Distributed byEdward Harrison (US)
Release date
  • 27 September 1963(1963-09-27)(India)
Running time
131 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali

Mahanagar(lit. 'The Mighty City') is a 1963 IndianBengali-languagedrama filmwritten and directed bySatyajit Ray.StarringMadhabi Mukherjeein the leading role[1]and based on the short storyAbataranikabyNarendranath Mitra,it tells the story of a housewife who disconcerts her traditionalist family by getting the job of a saleswoman. The film marked the first screen appearance ofJaya Bhaduri,one ofHindi cinema's leading actresses.

Shot in the first half of 1963 in Calcutta, this was also the first film directed by Ray set entirely in his nativeCalcutta,reflecting contemporary realities of the urban middle-class, where women going to work is no longer merely driven by ideas ofemancipationbut has become an economic reality. The film examines the effects of the confident working woman onpatriarchialattitudes and social dynamics.[2][3]BesidesThe Apu Trilogy,the film, according to veteran film criticPhilip French,is one of Ray's greatest films.[3]

Plot[edit]

Set inCalcuttaduring the 1950s,Mahanagarexplores the evolving independence of middle-class women of the city. Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), a homemaker, takes a job as adoor-to-doorsaleswoman to meet the increasing financial pressure on her orthodox and conservative family, who share a cramped apartment. Despite the disapproval of her father-in-law, Priyogopal (Haren Chatterjee), the hesitant and nervous Arati soon begins to prosper in her field and gradually starts to enjoy her new-found financial and psychological independence.

Her begrudgingly supportive husband, Subrata (Anil Chatterjee), starts to feel insecure and asks Arati to quit her job after he tentatively secures another part-time job. Before Arati can quit, Subrata loses his full-time job when the bank he was working for shuts down in the last of the Calcutta bank crashes.[1]Subrata has no choice but to let Arati continue to work.

Arati now becomes the sole breadwinner of the family. She befriends anAnglo-Indiancolleague, Edith (Vicky Redwood), a move which raises suspicion and increases conflict within her family. Slowly Arati begins to shine in her job and earn the trust of her manager, who promises her more responsibilities if she continues to work with efficiency.

Priyogopal, a retired schoolteacher, visits several of his former pupils who are now prospering in their chosen professions to solicit funds (after refusing to accept money from Arati). One of them, an optometrist, gives Priyogopal a badly needed pair of eyeglasses. Another of his ex-pupils, a doctor who provides free medical care after Priyogopal falls down a flight of stairs, chastises Subrata for neglecting his father's material needs.

Meanwhile, Subrata spends his days idly at home and is consumed by suspicion and insecurity. Subrata finally decides to meet Arati's boss, Himangshu (Haradhan Bannerjee), to ease some of his suspicions. He finds that Himangshu is an affable and friendly person who, like him, hails fromPabna District.They discuss Subrata's unemployment and Himangshu promises to find him a job somewhere.

Edith returns to work after a long illness, but Himangshu doubts she was actually sick and fires her, citing her frivolous lifestyle. Arati discovers her crying and persuades Edith to tell her why she is upset. Despite being the sole breadwinner of the family, the previously timid Arati abandons her inhibitions and confronts Himangshu over his unjust firing of Edith. After a heated exchange in which her boss refuses to apologize to Edith, Arati hands in her resignation letter and storms off.

On her way out of the office, she meets Subrata, apologizes to him for impulsively quitting her job, and admits she is scared of the future. Subarata realizes that his wife has shown courage rather than meekly submitting to her boss to sustain her livelihood. He placates Arati and tells her that he believes some day they both will get jobs to support their family.

Cast[edit]

  • Madhabi Mukherjeeas Arati Mazumdar
  • Anil Chatterjeeas Subrata Mazumdar (the husband)
  • Haradhan Bannerjeeas Himangshu Mukherjee (the boss)
  • Vicky Redwood as Edith Simmons (the Anglo-Indian colleague)
  • Jaya Bhadurias Bani (Subrata's sister)
  • Haren Chatterjee as Priyogopal (Subrata's father)
  • Sefalika Devi as Sarojini (Subrata's mother)
  • Prosenjit Sarkar as Pintu (Arati and Subrata's son)

Reception and legacy[edit]

Upon its 1967 release in the United States,Mahanagardrew praise fromRoger Ebert,Pauline Kael[4]and others. According to Ebert, "the power of this extraordinary film seems to come in equal parts from the serene narrative style of director Satyajit Ray and the sensitive performances of the cast members." He described the film as "one of the most rewarding screen experiences of our time".[5]Bosley Crowtherof theNew York Timeswrote a rave review of the film "There is nothing obscure or over-stylized about this characteristic work by Mr. Ray. It is another of his beautifully fashioned and emotionally balanced contemplations of change in the thinking, the customs and the manners of the Indian middle-class."[6]In his 2013 reviewPeter BradshawofThe GuardiangaveMahanagarfive stars out of five describing the film as "An utterly absorbing and moving drama about the changing worlds of work and home in 1950s India, and a hymn to uxorious love acted with lightness, intelligence and wit."[7]

The film holds aRotten Tomatoesscore of 92% based on 26 reviews for an average rating of 8.2/10.[8]

Awards[edit]

Satyajit Ray won theSilver Bear for Best Directorat the14th Berlin International Film Festivalin 1964.[9]

The film was selected as the Indian entry for theBest Foreign Language Filmat the36th Academy Awards,but was not accepted as a nominee.[10]

The film won theAll India Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Feature Filmin 1963 at the11th National Film Awards.[11]

The film won first best Filmfare Bengali Movie Award 1963 - R.D. Bhansal

Preservation and restoration[edit]

TheAcademy Film ArchivepreservedMahanagarin 1996.[12]The Criterion Collectionreleased a restored2Kversion of the film in 2013.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abSeton, Marie (2003).Portrait of a Director: Satyajit Ray.Delhi:Penguin Books India.p. 233.ISBN9780143029724.The two sisters, Anime and Monisha, and Gulabi, are a distinct contrast from the more traditional Indian women in Ray's earlier films. But in Mahanagar, Arati is not only the central character but a woman, as Chidananda Das Gupta observed,...
  2. ^Robinson, Andrew (2004).Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker.New York:I.B. Tauris.p. 149.ISBN9781860649653.Retrieved19 August2013.She was like someone I had seen,' says Madhabi Mukherjee of her wonderfully expressive performance as Arati in Mahanagar, which Ray shot in the first half of 1963. This is his first examination of more or less contemporary Calcutta,...
  3. ^abFrench, Philip(18 August 2013)."The Big City – review".The Observer.Guardian News and Media.Retrieved19 August2013.
  4. ^"Mahanagar (The Big City)".satyajit Ray.org.
  5. ^Ebert, Roger (3 April 1968)."The Big City".RogerEbert.com.Ebert Digital LLC.Retrieved14 September2017.
  6. ^Crowther, Bosley (27 September 1964)."'Mahanagar' Relates a Story of a Family ".New York Times.
  7. ^Bradshaw, Peter (15 August 2013)."The Big City-review".The Guardian.
  8. ^"Mahanagar (The Big City) (The Great City) (1967)".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango Media.Retrieved5 July2018.
  9. ^"Prizes & Honours 1964".Annual Archives: 1964.Berlin International Film Festival.Retrieved19 February2010.
  10. ^Margaret Herrick Library,Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  11. ^"Programme - April 25, 1964".State Awards for Films.International Film Festival of India.Archived fromthe originalon 25 February 2012.Retrieved13 September2011.
  12. ^"Preserved Projects".Academy Film Archive.Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Retrieved5 July2018.

External links[edit]

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