Thursday 7 August 2008

Aranyer Din Ratri (Days & Nights in the Forest) [1969]


Often considered among Ray’s finest films, Aranyer Din Ratri is a tour de force whose character driven analysis of urbanization, human behaviour and class dynamics, have made this a masterpiece. It is a complex yet subtle character study of four Calcutta youths – an affluent, well read, and extroverted company executive and a leader by nature (Ray favourite Soumitra Chatterjee in one of his finest performances); an idealistic middle-class employee actively involved in union politics, who happens to believe in leftism; a hot headed and brash struggling sportsperson; and a goofy, witty, happy-go-lucky unemployed guy with a knack for gambling(brilliantly performed by the mercurial character actor Robi Ghosh) – representing four distinct walks of life, bonded by friendship, but unique in every other aspect. The movie, with its subtle, wry humour and deft psychoanalysis, managed to reinforce Ray’s ability to say so much in so few words. Sharmila Tagore’s restrained and endearing portrayal of a sophisticated, enigmatic Calcutta girl and Chatterjee’s love interest was also exceptional. The black-and-white cinematography aided by a fluid narrative and an ending left to the viewer’s interpretation, have all added to the underrated but undoubted greatness of the movie.








Director: Satyajit Ray
Genre: Drama/Ensemble Film/Buddy Film/Psychological Drama/Romantic Drama
Language: Bengali
Country: India

4 comments:

Sthito said...

Aranyer Dinratri delves into the subconscious instincts, of the minds of ordinary humans, like no ther...a masterpiece of psychoanalysis...

Shubhajit said...

Touche. Each of the 4 characters carried a slice of me, the various alter-egos of my existence. And despite such complex psychoanalytical undertones, it was still a very captivating movie to watch.

Sthito said...

Ohk..I didnt know dat u personally knew Ray that he had carved all d charactars, keeping you in mind :P
But I guess it only proves how terrific the auteur was in making people identify with such realistic characters.

Shubhajit said...

It would have been great to personally know Ray, but unfortunately for me (& not so unfortunately for him) we never got to meet ;)