Charulata (1964)

Directed by Satyajit Ray. Starring Madhabi Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Shailen Mukherjee, Shyamal Ghoshal, Gitali Roy.

Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s Bengali novella, “Nastanirh,” Ray’s late-19th century Victorian-era drama (set in India under British rule) stars the luminous Madhabi Mukherjee as a restless, soulful woman married to a self-absorbed newspaperman (Shailen Mukherjee, no relation) who does not inspire or challenge her; a visit from the husband’s cousin (Chatterjee), however, enables her to free her repressed emotions and embrace her passion for poetry and literature. The division between the “intellectual” realm of political fervor and the “creative” realm of art is too unequivocal here, and neither of the lead male actors generates a personality that’s vivid and assertive enough to meet Madhabi’s intense screen presence. However, the rhythmic narrative is smartly structured and the pure filmmaking is often superb, resulting in several exquisite sequences that deserve to be viewed again and again (the voyeuristic yearning of the opening scene, the camerawork capturing Madhabi’s open-faced ecstasy during a swing ride, etc.). The writer/director also composed the compelling sitar-heavy score. Ray cited this film as his most-favored work.

78/100