Aparajito
Aparajito | |
---|---|
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay | |
Produced by | Epic Films (Satyajit Ray) |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Subrata Mitra |
Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
Music by | Ravi Shankar |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Merchant Ivory Productions |
Release date | 11 October 1956 |
Running time | 113 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Bengali |
Aparajito (
When Ray started making Pather Panchali, he had no plans of following it up with a sequel. The critical and commercial success of the film prompted him to start making Aparajito.[2][broken footnote] Unlike his previous venture, where he stayed faithful to the novel, Ray took some bold artistic decisions here, such as portraying the relationship between Apu and his mother in a very different manner from the book. As a result, in contrast to its predecessor, the film was not received well locally; Ray recalled that "as for the suburban audience, it was shocked by the portrayal of the mother and son relationship, so sharply at variance with the conventional notion of mutual sweetness and devotion".[3][broken footnote]
Critical reception outside of India, however, was overwhelmingly positive. It won 11 international awards, including the Golden Lion and Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first ever film to win both.[4] Veteran film-maker Mrinal Sen said he considers it to be one of the best Indian movies he had ever seen.[5] Bosley Crowther said that "it is done with such rare feeling and skill at pictorial imagery, and with such sympathetic understanding of Indian character on the part of Mr. Ray, that it develops a sort of hypnotism for the serene and tolerant viewer".[6] The critical acclaim this movie received encouraged Ray to make another sequel, Apur Sansar (1959), which was equally well received, and thus concluded one of the most critically acclaimed movie trilogies of all time, as Roger Ebert later pointed out: "The three films ... swept the top prizes at Cannes, Venice and London, and created a new cinema for India – whose prolific film industry had traditionally stayed within the narrow confines of swashbuckling musical romances. Never before had one man had such a decisive impact on the films of his culture".[7]
Plot
In 1920, Apu and his parents, who have left their home in rural Bengal, have settled into an apartment in Varanasi where his father Harihar works as a priest. Harihar is making headway in his new pursuits: praying, singing, and officiating among the ghats on the sacred river Ganges. Harihar catches a fever and soon dies, however, and his wife Sarbajaya is forced to begin work as a maid. With the assistance of a great-uncle, Apu and his mother return to Bengal and settle in the village Mansapota. There Apu apprentices as a priest, but pines to attend the local school which his mother is persuaded to allow. He excels at his studies, impressing a visiting dignitary, and the headmaster takes special interest in him.
Within a few years, the teenaged Apu has done well enough to receive a scholarship to go to Kolkata for further studies. Sarbajaya feels abandoned and frightened by this, but gives in and lovingly packs his suitcase. Apu travels by train to the city and starts working at a printing press, after school hours, to subsist. He becomes more accustomed to the city life and feels out of place in the village. Sarbajaya expects visits from him, but he visits only a few times. Her loneliness and yearning for her son grow. She becomes seriously ill, but does not disclose her illness to Apu, lest his studies be disturbed. When Apu finally realises her poor health, he returns to the village to find that she has died. Bhabataran, Apu's great uncle, requests that he stay there and perform last rites of his mother. Apu replies that he will perform the last rites in Kolkata and begins his journey back to the city.
Cast
- Pinaki Sengupta as Apurba "Apu" Roy (boy)
- Smaran Ghosal as Apu (adolescent)
- Kanu Banerjee as Harihar Roy, Apu's father
- Karuna Banerjee as Sarbajaya Roy, Apu's mother
- Ramani Ranjan Sengupta as Bhabataran, Sarbajaya's uncle and Apu's great uncle
- Charu Prakash Ghosh as Nanda Babu
- Subodh Ganguly as Headmaster
Production
Origin and development
Aparajito was based on the last fifth of the novel
Script and crew
The novels had a female character named Leela who influenced Apu's alienation from his mother when he was living in Calcutta. After rejecting two aspirants, Ray found one actress to portray the character, but the actress was not allowed to act in the film by her fiancé. Eventually, Ray removed the character from the script reluctantly.[8] Ray himself later commented that he thought Leela, with whom Apu had an understated affair, was a strong reason behind Apu's attraction of Calcutta, and that without Leela's presence in the film, Apu's attraction to Calcutta might seem to some extent artificial: "I'm never sure, whether Apu's attachment to the city without the element of the girlfriend is strong enough, the pull that the city exerts is a bit abstract". However, when he watched the movie later, he did not feel the absence of Leela.[15]
Subrata Mitra, the cinematographer for The Apu Trilogy, made his first technical innovation with this film: the application of bounce lighting on large scale diffusers to match studio sets with location shooting.[16] According to the Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers:[17]
The fear of monsoon rain had forced the art director, Bansi Chandragupta, to abandon the original plan to build the inner courtyard of a typical Benares house in the open and the set was built inside a studio in Calcutta. Mitra recalls arguing in vain with both Chandragupta and Ray about the impossibilities of simulating shadowless diffused skylight. But this led him to innovate what became subsequently his most important tool—bounce lighting. Mitra placed a framed painter white cloth over the set resembling a patch of sky and arranged studio lights below to bounce off the fake sky.
Critical reception
The film has been enthusiastically received by critics. James Berardinelli wrote:
Aparajito was filmed forty years ago, half way around the world, yet the themes and emotions embedded in the narrative are strikingly relevant to modern Western society (thus explaining why it is called a "timeless classic"). ... Aparajito is an amazing motion picture. Its rich, poetic composition is perfectly wed to the sublime emotional resonance of the narrative. For those who have seen Pather Panchali, Aparajito provides a nearly-flawless continuation of the journey begun there. Yet, for those who missed Ray's earlier effort, this film loses none of its impact. On its own or as part of the Apu Trilogy, Aparajito should not be missed.[18]
Roger Ebert said that "the relationship between Apu and his mother observes truths that must exist in all cultures: how the parent makes sacrifices for years, only to see the child turn aside and move thoughtlessly away into adulthood. ... It is about a time, place and culture far removed from our own, and yet it connects directly and deeply with our human feelings. It is like a prayer, affirming that this is what the cinema can be, no matter how far in our cynicism we may stray".[7]
During the Venice Film Festival, Penelope Houston, who was among the jury, broke protocol and told Ray personally: "I think it was magnificent".[19] The chairman of the award ceremony, René Clair, was initially reluctant to give it the coveted prize; he eventually acquiesced, but not before saying to Houston: "I hope Ray will go away and learn how to make films!" [20] The Japanese director Akira Kurosawa had an important film entered in that year's festival competition, Throne of Blood (Kumonosu-jō), which lost to Ray's film. However, many years later, Kurosawa's daughter generated a list of 100 films admired by him; this list quoted him as having affirmed the jury's choice as "Absolutely right" (though he misidentified the winning film as Pather Pancheli).[21]
Emanuel Levy said: "Made in 1956 (and released in many countries a year later), 'Aparajito' indicates India's processes of modernization and industrialization and their inevitable impact on both individual and culture. Nonetheless, in his upbeat outlook, Ray suggests that individuals can rise to the occasion and might not be compromised by the corruption that characterizes the society at large".[22] Bosley Crowther, who had earlier given a lukewarm response to Pather Panchali, saying that the film was so amateurish that "it would barely pass for a rough cut in Hollywood",[20] praised it, saying that "Mr. Ray's remarkable camera catches beauty in so many things, from the softness of a mother's sad expression to the silhouette of a distant train, that innuendos take up the slack of drama. Hindu music and expressive natural sounds complete the stimulation of the senses in this strange, sad, evocative film".[6] At Rotten Tomatoes, Aparajito has a 94% fresh rating based on an aggregate of 18 reviews with an average rating of 8.7/10.[23]
Awards and nominations
Aparajito won the
Ray also won the Golden Gate awards for Best Picture and Best Director at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 1958, along with the Critics Award for this film.[24]
The film won the
It won the Selznick Golden Laurel for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival.
It also received the
The film was nominated for the Best Film and Best Foreign Actress at the 1959 British Academy Film Awards.
Accolades and legacy
In 1992,
Smaran Ghosal who played the role of adolescent Apu, at the age of 14, did only one more film, documentary Rabindranath Tagore (1961), also made by Ray, where he played young Rabindranath Tagore. Smaran died in 2008 in Kolkata, at the age of 64.[33]
Aparajito was preceded by Pather Panchali (1955) and followed by
According to Michael Sragow of
Preservation
The
References
- ^ Robinson 2003, p. 94
- ^ Ray 2013, p. 63.
- ^ Ray 2013, p. 42.
- ^ a b Ray 2012, pp. 168.
- ^ Das Gupta, Ranjan (2010). "I don't rank my films: Mrinal Sen". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b Crowther, Bosley (29 April 1959). "The Screen: 'Aparajito'; Indian Movie Continues 'Pather Panchali' Story". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b Ebert, Roger (4 March 2001). "The Apu Trilogy". Retrieved 24 September 2014.
- ^ a b Robinson 2003, p. 94.
- ^ Gokulsing & Dissanayake 2013, p. 277.
- ^ Gugelberger 1996, p. 173.
- ^ Robinson 1989, p. 74.
- ^ Sekhar, Saumitra (2012). "Pather Panchali". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
- ^ Robinson 2010, p. 44.
- ^ Ray 2012, pp. 153.
- ^ Robinson 2003, pp. 94–95.
- ^ Seton 2003, p. 92.
- ^ Subrata Mitra, Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers, retrieved 22 May 2009
- ^ James Berardinelli (1996). "Review: Aparajito (The Unvanquished)". ReelViews. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Ray 2012, pp. 167.
- ^ a b Robinson 2003, pp. 105.
- ^ "Akira Kurosawa's Top 100 Films – Movie Forums". Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (5 August 2011). "Aparajito (1956)". Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Aparajito at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Aparajito, San Francisco Film Society, retrieved 29 May 2008
- ^ Bodilprisen (1960–69) (in Danish), Filmmedarbejderforeningen, archived from the original on 7 October 2008, retrieved 29 May 2008
- ^ Aaron and Mark Caldwell (2004), Sight and Sound, Top 100 Movie Lists, archived from the original on 26 October 2009, retrieved 19 April 2009
- ^ Sight and Sound 1992 Ranking of Films, archived from the original on 22 October 2009, retrieved 29 May 2009
- ^ 2002 Sight & Sound Top Films Survey of 253 International Critics & Film Directors, Cinemacom, 2002, retrieved 19 April 2009
- ^ Totaro, Donato (31 January 2003), "The "Sight & Sound" of Canons", Offscreen Journal, Canada Council for the Arts, retrieved 19 April 2009
- ^ Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll, The Village Voice, 1999, archived from the original on 26 August 2007, retrieved 27 July 2006
- ^ Roger Ebert (4 March 2001), The Apu Trilogy (1959), rogerebert.com, archived from the original on 2 November 2012, retrieved 19 April 2009
- ^ "All-time 100 Movies", Time, 12 February 2005, archived from the original on 23 May 2005, retrieved 29 May 2008
- The Telegraph (Kolkata). Calcutta, India. 12 July 2008. Archived from the originalon 16 September 2008.
- ^ Wood 1972, p. 61.
- ^ Bergan 2006, p. 497.
- ^ Robinson 1989, p. 98.
- ^ Ganguly, Ruman (29 March 2013). "Parambrata starts shooting for Apur Panchali". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
- ^ Sragow, Michael (1994), "An Art Wedded to Truth", The Atlantic Monthly, University of California, Santa Cruz, archived from the original on 12 April 2009, retrieved 11 May 2009
- ^ Chris Ingui. "Martin Scorsese hits DC, hangs with the Hachet". Hatchet. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2006.
- Filmcritic.com, archived from the originalon 8 December 2007, retrieved 4 May 2009
- ^ Sheldon Hall, Ivory, James (1928–), Screen Online, retrieved 12 February 2007
- ^ "On Ray's Trail". The Statesman. Archived from the original on 3 January 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
- ^ Robinson 2003, p. 96
- ^ a b Santas 2002, p. 18.
- ^ Gokulsing & Dissanayake 2004, p. 32.
- ^ Goristas, Helen (May 2002). "Satyajit Ray". Senses of Cinema. Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
- ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
- ^ a b c "The Restoration". Janus Films. Archived from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
Bibliography
- Bergan, Ronald (2006). Film. Dorking Kindersley. ISBN 978-1-4053-1280-6.
- Ray, Bijoya (2012). Manik and I. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-341625-8.
- Gokulsing, K. Moti; Dissanayake, Wimal (2004). Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change. Trentham Books. ISBN 1-85856-329-1.
- Gokulsing, K. Moti; Dissanayake, Wimal (2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9.
- Gugelberger, Georg M. (1996). The Real Thing: Testimonial Discourse and Latin America. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-1844-6.
- ISBN 978-81-250-1565-9.
- Robinson, Andrew (1989). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06946-6.
- Robinson, A (2003). Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye: The Biography of a Master Film-Maker. I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1-86064-965-3.
- Robinson, A (2010). The Apu Trilogy: Satyajit Ray and the Making of an Epic. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78672-962-0.
- Santas, Constantine (2002). Responding to film: A Text Guide for Students of Cinema Art. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0-8304-1580-7.
- Seton, M. (2003). Portrait of a Director: Satyajit Ray. Penguin original: Film, biography. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-302972-4. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- Wood, R (1972). The Apu trilogy. November Books Ltd. ISBN 0-85631-003-4.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-81-7223-320-4.
External links
- Aparajito at IMDb
- Aparajito at Rotten Tomatoes
- Aparajito at SatyajitRay.org (archived copy)
- Reelviews review of Aparajito