Screened in conjunction with Swagatam: A Celebration of India on Thursday, November 18 from 10 am – 3 pm. For more information and to register for the event, click here.
Charulata
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Thursday, November 18, 1:45 pm
Free
“An exquisitely traced drama of repressed desire.”—Kate Muir, The Times (UK)
Based upon the novel Nastanirh by Rabindranath Tagore, this adaptation by Satyajit Ray on the surface addresses 19th-century values, but also incorporates political and colonial discourse, class, proto-feminist values, music, poetry, and love.
Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee) is an isolated, artistically inclined woman who sees little of her busy journalist husband. Realizing that his wife is alienated and unhappy, he convinces his cousin Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee) to spend time with her and nourish her creative impulses.
Amal is a fledgling poet, and the two develop a bond over their shared love of art. Charulata finds herself creatively inspired and dangerously drawn to him.
Charulata is a work of subtle textures, a delicate tale of a marriage in jeopardy, and a woman taking the first steps to establishing her own voice. 1964, India, DCP, in Bengali with English subtitles, 119 minutes. Recommended for 12+.