Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar turns 50

Goutam Ghose,Bengali feature filmmaker:

My memory of Mahanagar goes back to when I was 14. That is the first time I saw the film. The most important thing about the film was the title shot,which showed the tram lines of Calcutta with sparks erupting along the lines,and with each new spark,a new frame appeared. Later on,I found out from Subrato Mitra,Ray’s Director of Photography that these sparks were created on the editing table by scratching the negatives.

I have seen Mahanagar many times since and used scenes from the film in my documentary,Ray: Life and Work of Satyajit Ray. The film is significant for Bengali cinema because it was the first to portray Calcutta in full light and the character of Arati was a very typical woman from Calcutta of the ’50s-’60s. It showed how the girls of that time began coming out of their homes for work. The story was written in the early ’60s and is a statement on the empowerment of women.

There is an underlining story in the movie,that of equations between the Anglo-Indian character (Edith) and the Indian character. I particularly like the scene where after being harassed by the boss,Edith starts weeping in the washroom. Arati comes and comforts her and shares her agony. The presence of Anglo-Indians in the workspace in Calcutta was a typical feature of the ’60s.

At another level,I would like to draw a parallel with Ritwik Ghatak’s Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) where the protagonist Nita (played by Supriya Choudhury) bears a resemblance to Arati.

Unlike other films of the time which dealt with women’s emancipation,Ray’s approach to filmmaking was very realistic,natural and credible and that is the most important cinema of the time. There were other films that measured in stature to Ray’s Mahanagar,but Ray’s work carries the stamp of credibility.

The thick chemistry between the trio of Ray,Mitra and art director Bansi Chandragupta also makes the film memorable. They had a fantastic alchemy,which was even seen in Charulata (1964). For instance,in Mahanagar,most of the shooting even though is done in a studio,looks real and is an achievement. Chandragupta and Mitra had contributed a lot to Ray’s films and there were many external shots of Calcutta which gave a real sense of the city. Mahanagar remains a memorable film.

(As told to Debesh Banerjee)

Madhabi Mukherjee on her iconic role as Arati in Mahanagar,Satyajit Ray and cinema

On Arati: Arati is someone you find in every household of Bengal and every other Indian home. Ever since the film released,nothing has changed in our country. The plight of women,and the way they are treated in society,shows we are still frozen in time. She is the embodiment of every Indian woman.

On Mahanagar: I think Mahanagar is more relevant in today’s society. It talks about important issues within the family space without being too loaded. I remember being joyous upon getting the script. I’ve been acting from an early age,but such a strong female character was a delight to discover in a script. This film along with Charulata has brought me a lot of accolades,which continues till date. I remember being invited to San Francisco where American poet and novelist William Packard gave me an award on the same stage where Greta Garbo was honoured. I felt really overwhelmed.

On Satyajit Ray: I consider myself lucky that Satyajit Ray thought I would be apt for Arati’s role. This was my first film with him. I went on to do two more. He gave actors a lot of freedom on sets and that’s why they shone bright in his films.

On the restoration of Mahanagar: I’m very glad that the film has been restored to its pristine glory. Theatrical and home video releases will take the film to a new generation of viewers who might have missed Ray’s film earlier. I haven’t seen it in its new avatar,but Kamal Bansal (son of producer R D Bansal) has told me how beautiful it looks. I hope to catch it soon.

On Today’s Hindi cinema: I was never really interested in Hindi films. Bengali cinema has given me everything — name,fame and artistic satisfaction. I’ve worked with Satyajit Ray,Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen among others who are comparable to other great directors of the world. To be honest,I also wasn’t quite comfortable with Hindi language. And the idea of doing films in Bombay meant shifting my base from Calcutta to Bombay which didn’t motivate me much. But yes,I have always been inundated with offers from Hindi filmmakers but I have maintained by stance. Raj Kapoor did pursue me for more than six months to act in Mera Naam Joker. In those days,Bengali film industry made far better films than Hindi cinema. So,I never really bothered about doing Hindi films. Cinema has gone through a drastic change now and I can’t identify with it. I believe any art form can be beautiful when it knows how to use the nava rasas. But cinema now uses the worst rasa of the nine and exploits it to the hilt. Most of the films are filled with violence and abuses. This is not the cinema I grew up with or acted in. (As told to Ranjib Mazumder)

The Woman We Forgot

RANJIB MAZUMDER on Reading Mahanagar…

Mother India is the best thing that has happened to women-centric cinema in India. Perhaps it’s also the worst. It cemented women as a mother who endures the worst for the child and when the need arises she can turn into a goddess who can slay her own son if he becomes a demon. As for the ones who are not The Mother India type,they are very busy fanning desires,with choreographed songs and dances in flashy costumes.

But what about the other real women? We just completely forgot to care for the woman who exists between the two ends who is not just curves and bones,a devi or a item but defined by a distinctive mind and a passionate heart. Arati,the protagonist of Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar is that rare breed of woman we hardly find in Hindi cinema. It’s been five decades since Arati Mazumdar decided to come out of her boundaries as a housewife and discover the world outside. While a nation struggles to come to terms with its newfound independence,Arati slowly transforms into an independent woman and realises her responsibilities beyond the realm of her family circle thanks to her job. Ray,the great observer of a director,makes her transformation so fluid that you hardly notice it until you see the lipstick and what it represents. And he never ever judges his characters.

A masterwork of deceptive simplicity,Mahanagar drew praises from critics worldwide and Ray bagged Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival. Fifty years later,it’s been restored to its pristine glory to display Madhabi Mukherjee and Anil Chatterjee’s restrained brilliance as a couple,a far cry from the dramatic discourse of dialoguebaazi. Not to forget Jaya Bachchan’s bustling screen presence in her debut appearance. Mahanagar represents the best of what Ray’s cinema could offer to a viewer,and Arati’s dilemmas still ring true,questioning women’s place in today’s India. Between the mother and the whore,if you care for the real woman,perhaps Arati could live.

Kahaani’s screenwriter,Advaita Kala: It is about the lipstick,the one she (Arati) tucks into her bag and pulls out at the elevator leading up to her office,not at first,but every day soon after. It’s a recent acquisition and has come from a new sense of empowerment and awakened womanhood,however it is the only visible manifestation,performed in secret. It is also what he (Subrata) finds in her handbag. To him,it signifies the unravelling of the composite that is them,brought on by the reversal of gender roles. So what does she do? She tosses it out of the window in response to his inquisition. Will that reassure him?

It all feels a little unfamiliar,he tells her. He doesn’t know how to explain it. In a moment of searing intimacy,she lifts his hand to her mouth,his finger hovers over the mole on her face,“Do you recognise me by the mole?” she asks looking into his eyes.

There are a couple of ways one can view Mahanagar,one as a story of the power dynamics between a man and a woman in a marriage,another as the awakening of a woman — a realisation of an inner worth that is denied to her by the constraints of her dharma and finally as a simple love story between two people at the crossroads of their lives,wherein the man is emasculated and the woman empowered. But most importantly it is Ray’s interpretation of a woman that always leaves me in awe. It is so organic and devoid of cynicism that one cannot help but think of the great auteur as not only a genius but also a humanist. And one is yet again reminded that art without humanity is not worth practising.

When Arati is compelled by financial circumstances to step out of her home and earn a livelihood there is a sense of sacrifice that underlines this act,in many ways it can be translated as a “gesture” — one of solidarity with her husband. She only wants to contribute to the running of her home,until her husband is confronted with her competence,one so easily overlooked at home,but recognised by the outside world. It unfurls in him a gnawing insecurity and he asks her to give up her job. And it is in that moment,that one glimpses her instinctive reluctance. For it means not only giving up a job but a new way of life.

Told with a nuanced subtlety that mirrors the manner in which a woman in those times would communicate,Ray makes Arati the compelling,silent narrator of this story.