Films with: Ray, Satyajit

Aparājito The unvanquished /

Follows the life of the poor Bengali country boy, Apu and his encounter with the school system in Benares and later with the intellectual life at the university in Calcutta.

DVD 2723

Charulata

Set in late 19th-century, pre-independence India, this film is about a woman's artistic and romantic yearning. It is about the lonely wife of a workaholic newspaper editor, Charulata, whose beautiful face masks a burning creativity. When her husband's poet cousin comes to stay with them, Charulata finds herself both inspired by him creatively and dangerously drawn to him physically. A delicate tale of a marriage in jeopardy and a woman taking the first steps toward establishing her own voice.

DVD 10410

Mahanagar The big city /

Set in mid-1950s Calcutta and directed by Satyajit Ray, this story follows the personal triumphs and frustrations of Arati, who decides, despite the initial protests of her bank-clerk husband, to take a job to help support their family. With remarkable sensitivity and attention to the details of everyday working-class life, Ray gradually builds a powerful human drama that is at once a hopeful morality tale and a commentary on the identity of the contemporary Indian woman. The coward: An aspiring screenwriter encounters a former lover, now married, when his car breaks down near her home.

DVD 10475

Pathera pān̐cālī Song of the little road /

A poor Bengali family survives in a village but wider horizons tempt the father. The protection of family members' reputations, the relationship of the family group to an elderly 'aunt', and first confrontations with death contribute to the early development of the boy Apu. His father's dreams prevail over the objections of his mother so that at the end of the film the family moves to the big city of Benares. Apu's experiences are followed in the second film of the trilogy: Aparajito" and his growth to early manhood in the final film "Apur Sansar".

DVD 2724

Shakespeare Wallah

The real-life adventures of a traveling theater group in India during the final days of English colonial rule. They try to uphold British tradition by staging Shakespearean plays but can't compete with the wildly popular Bollywood film industry.

DVD 3381

Shatranj ke khilari Chess players /

This drama about colonialism and indigenous culture is set in 1856 at the court of Wajid Ali Shah in Lucknow, the capital of Oudh. Features two parallel narratives. The first shows rich landowners Meer and Mirza pour every ounce of passion into a never-ending game of chess. Without thinking of their responsibilities to their families and the political uprising in the kingdom, the two men just keep playing. The second narrative dramatises the conflict between Wajid Ali Shah and General James Outram who represents Lord Dalhousie's treacherously implemented annexation policies. Wajid Ali is shown as a politically weak figure who surrenders to the British without a fight.

DVD 4252

World of apu Apur Sansar /

Landmark Indian drama about a hopeful student, who marries to save a bride from disgrace. The crowning finish to the Apu Trilogy.

DVD 2725