Mahanagar (The Big City) [1963]

 While Mahanagar wasn’t Satyajit Ray’s first film set in Calcutta, it was the first where the metropolis formed an essential character, right from the arresting title sequence focussed on a moving tram’s trolley head. That, along with its stirring feminist subtext, eloquent portrayal of female solidarity, progressive expression of gender roles in contemporary society and compelling reflection of women’s experience from a female protagonist’s POV, made this a sublime example of films on women and the city. The first of his three remarkable back-to-back collaborations with Madhabi Mukherjee – this would be followed by Charulata, their most iconic collab, and the striking romantic noir Kapurush (part of his double bill Kapurush O Mahapurush) – follows the transformative journey of Arati (made unforgettable by the lead actress’ fluid interplay between restraint and vitality), who must overcome personal inhibitions, familial restrictions and social boundaries in her transition from housewife to working woman. While her conservative father-in-law is adamant in his refusal to support, her genial husband Subrata (Anil Chatterjee) wavers between reluctant encouragement on account of their precarious financial position, insecurity upon seeing her growing independence and success, and petulant objections triggered by his social conditioning. These are accompanied by Arati’s growing camaraderie with her Anglo-Indian colleague Edith (Vicky Redwood), who couldn’t be more dramatically different in her assertiveness and femininity, and which in turn gives her the moral courage to surmount professional expediency. The Nehruvian backdrop wasn’t just informed through the radio broadcasts that intermittently bled into the diagetic soundscape, it was also underscored by the underlying hopefulness despite the disappointments and setbacks. Ray’s outlook would take an edgier and more cynical turn by the time he made his blazing ‘Calcutta Trilogy’.

Note: My earlier review of this film can be found here.

Director: Satyajit Ray

Genre: Drama/Urban Drama/Marital Drama/Feminist Film

Language: Bengali

Country: India