Month: January 2023

Released in 2020
Genre- Drama
10/10
Main Cast: Frances McDormand
Screenplay: Chloé Zhao
(Based on the book “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder)
Direction- Chloé Zhao

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Story about a woman, who after losing her husband, decides to spend her life as a lone traveler, eventually becoming a nomad along with the journey.

My comments A stellar performance by Frances McDormand, the powerhouse of acting, the secondary cast also acted well. The simplicity of the screenplay and dialogues attracts one to become a part of the movie, the script values the character study very well. It gives the feeling of nostalgic completeness at points when Fern is reciting the poem or revisiting her husband’s workplace or her old residence. The background music soothes the feeling of isolation that you feel for the character as a nomad while watching the film. A quality picture that gives you a deep view of actual nomad life experience, how they really spend their life van dwelling from one place to another.

P.S. Nomadland won several accolades, including three Academy Awards (2021), best actress for McDormand, best director for Zhao, and best film.

Released in 1960
Genre- Drama, Realistic
10/10
Main Cast: Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Bijon Bhattacharya, Gita Dey, Gita Ghatak, Niranjan Ray, Dwiju Bhawal.
Screenplay: Ritwik Ghatak
(Based on “Meghe Dhaka Tara”, the novel by Shaktipada Rajguru)
Music- Jyotirindra Moitra
Direction- Ritwik Ghatak

BRIEF INTRODUCTION The story revolves around the life and struggles of a selfless young girl whose sacrifices are taken for granted by everyone around her. Like a lifeless thing, she is just treated like a working machine, even by her family.

Notes on the film One of the finest films that I have seen. Meghe Dhaka Tara is not just a film, it’s an experience of how the so-called practicality in the world has taken over love, warmth, relationships, and values. Nothing matters to the world more than selfish objectives. It never even acknowledges or values the contributions and sacrifices of a person, an innocent, selfless girl in this film, not even her own family. The sound of whiplash in the background music is used very uniquely by Ghatak, to describe the emotional damage done to Nita.

Nita The only people who care about Nita are her father and brother. The father (portrayed by Bijon Bhattacharya), due to an accident, is not able to do much for her daughter or the financial condition of his family. And Nita’s almost absent brother (played by Anil Chatterjee) is often lost in his world of music.

Ritwik Ghatak The Extraordinaire This was my first interaction with Ritwik Ghatak’s work. Before this, I didn’t know much about Ghatak’s work except that he wrote the popular and acclaimed 1958 film Madhumati’s screenplay and after watching Meghe Dhaka Tara, I realized that Ritwik Ghatak is one gem that our industry should be immensely proud of. His style of telling a story is very simple but the way he uses themes, sub-themes, cinematography, and music in his screenplay is something worth appreciating.

P.S. The film also features a song by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

Released in 1955
Genre- Drama, Family
10/10
Main Cast: Balraj Sahni, Nirupa Roy, Jayant
Screenplay: Rajinder Singh Bedi
Music- Pandit Amarnath
Direction- Amar Kumar

BRIEF INTRODUCTION Another tale showcasing the loss of human values and warmth. The story revolves around a family struggling to meet their daily needs and how fate pushes the protagonist to the edge of sanity.

Notes on the film The story of Garam Coat is based on the master novelist Nikolai Gogol’s widely acclaimed short story “The Overcoat”, although the end of the film is quite different from the original story. Yes, you read it right, the same “Nikolai Gogol”, mentioned in “The Namesake (2006)” by Mira Nair.

Music and songs Memorable music given by Pandit Amarnath, with almost all the songs beautifully sung by Lataji. My favorites are, Kahiyo roye dukhiya re and Zulfon wale ko kya pata hai.

Special mentions There is something about Balraj Sahni that makes him so unique. He used to become the character, one of the earliest actors to follow method acting.

The Evergreen Jodi We often talk about jodis in the film industry, Balraj Sahni-Nirupa Roy jodi, whenever appeared on the screen together, created magic, starting right from Do Bigha Zamin (1953), Garam Coat to Ghar Ghar ki Kahani (1970).

P.S. One of the episodes from Katha Sagar (1986) was also based on “The Overcoat”. It was directed by the National Award Winning filmmaker Shyam Benegal.

Released in 1966
Genre- Drama, Family
10/10
Main Cast: Indrani Mukherjee, Rajesh Khanna
Screenplay: Chetan Anand
Music- Khayyam
Direction- Chetan Anand

BRIEF INTRODUCTION A moving story about love and innocence, revolving around a broken romance followed by the protagonist looking for his lost child.

The Film Chetan Anand was able to capture something very special in this film, the bare innocence of life in the most beautiful and natural way. The last scene of the film is very moving, it’s too natural to be cinematic. No wonder, Aakhri Khat was selected as India’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 40th Oscars in 1967. Chetan Anand’s quite underrated work.

P.S. Aakhri Khat marked the debut of Rajesh Khanna. Music and the songs of the film are unforgettable.