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Reviews
Charulata (1964)
Never again can this magic be recreated!
Ray tagged Charulata as "one of his favourite films" and as an observer and a Ray-addict, I would call it his most perfect creation out of his 29 films-old filmography. Not a frame is out of place, all the subtle nuances are mesmerisingly captured and detailed almost like a Mughal portrait.The film follows the suppressed sexual emotions of Charulata, whose loneliness is seen through the carelessness of her husband for her and through brilliant metaphors like a bird's cage or the iron grills of a window. Emotional repressions lead to a tumultuous upheaval when Amal, her husband's cousin storms into her life. Ray sets his work in the late 19th century when patriarchal society did not allow a woman to vent out her feelings and adds a distinguished and unique dimension to Rabindranath's novella, "Nashtanirh". The film unfolds in a majestic pace, never too slow and never too fast, through intelligent dialogues and a masterstroke of a screenplay - scenes like the one where Charu uses her binocular to gaze at Amal and then at the mother carrying her child, almost throw the viewers off their feet. Ray's direction is aptly supported by a a viciously sublime performance by the protagonist. Madhabi Mukherjee makes Charulata her own, her spiralling gazes and the movement of those eyes give it the aura of a silent film. She makes Charu an embodiment of most women in that age and even in the future - the angst, the intensity and the pangs culminate in one of the best performances by an actress that the world has ever seen and without doubt, the best in the country. Soumitra Chatterjee amply supports her and brings a beautiful mix of innocence and masculinity to the role ; so does Sailen Mukherjee and the other actors. Tagore's songs set the mood for every emotion in this movie.All in all, its a movie for every hardcore enthusiast who loves cinema and a masterpiece from the master himself. Never again can this magic be recreated!