This Weekend @ Suchitra

Suchitra

No.36, 9th main , B V Karanth Road, Banashankari II Stage Bangalore 560 070, India

Phone: +91 80 2671 1785 | 9845055034

E-mail: info@suchitra.org

Friday, 25 May 2012, 7 PM

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)

1955, India. 115 min, B/W, In Bengali with subtitles.

Synopsis The time is early twentieth century, a remote village in Bengal.The film deals with a Brahmin family, a priest – Harihar, his wife Sarbajaya, daughter Durga, and his aged cousin Indir Thakrun – struggling to make both ends meet. Harihar is frequently away from home on work. The wife is raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for elderly cousin Indir, whose independent spirit sometimes irritates her… Apu is born. With the little boy’s arrival, happiness, play and exploration uplift the children’s daily life.   Durga and Apu share an intimate bond. They follow a candy seller whose wares they can not afford, enjoy the theatre, discover a train and witness a marriage ceremony. They even face death of their aunt – Indir Thakrun. Durga is accused of a theft. She fall ill after a joyous dance in rains of the monsoon. On a stormy day, when Harihar is away on work, Durga dies.   On Harihar’s return, the family leaves their village in search of a new life in Benaras. The film closes with an image of Harihar, wife and son – Apu, slowly moving way in an ox cart.   Saturday, 26 May 2012, 7 PM

Aparajito (The Unvanquished)

1956, India. 113 min, B/W, In Bengali with subtitles.

  Synopsis 1920. Harihar, Sarbajaya and their ten-year-old son Apu, live in the Temple City of Banaras (Varanasi) on the banks of the holy river Ganga (Ganges). Harihar earns a meager living by reciting religious scriptures. The film opens with Apu wandering and exploring the city. He also encounters their neighbor Nanda Babu, who would soon make a pass at Sarbajaya.   Harihar falls ill with fever and collapses at the riverbank. In the early hours of the next morning, Sarbajaya wakes Apu to fetch holy water from the river to put in his father’s mouth as he is dying. Harihar’s death leaves mother and son to fend for themselves. The mother decides to return with Apu to live in a village where an old uncle works as a priest. Apu’s mother works to support the family. Apu is initiated into priesthood and takes over the old man’s work. He is unhappy because he wants to go to school. Apu persuades his mother to send him to school. She makes sacrifices so that he might pursue his studies. Apu, now sixteen, wins a scholarship and departs for Calcutta, leaving her alone. It breaks Sarbajaya’s heart, but she relents. Her health is failing, and the loneliness in the village takes its toll. Engulfed in city life – studying during the day and working in a printing press at night to pay for his expenses – Apu grows away from his mother. His visits get shorter as the time passes. This emotional distance unnoticed by the growing Apu, hurts Sarbajaya deeply. She waits silently for her son’s visit as her illness accelerates and falls into a depression. On a night sparkling with dancing fireflies, Sarbajaya dies. Apu comes back to an empty house. He grieves for his mother, but soon finds strength to leaves the village for the last time, to carry on with his new life in the city …   Sunday, 27 May 2012, 11 AM

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)

1959, India. 106 min, B/W, In Bengali with subtitles.

Synopsis Apur Sansar is the third and final film of the The Apu Trilogy. Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is now a graduate and without a job. He lives in a rented room next to a busy railway yard. He finds himself among a large population of the unemployed youth in the city. To pay his rent, he has to sell his books. The job search turns out to be an amusing and a tormenting experience. Unfazed, He is writing a novel based on his life, which he hopes will make him famous. His life takes a turn, however, when he meets his old friend Pulu. He coerces Apu to travel to his ancestral village to attend the wedding of his cousin, Aparna (Sharmila Tagore). On the boat ride to the village Pulu reads Apu’s manuscript and appreciates the work.   On the day of the wedding, the bridegroom turns out to be mentally deranged and the wedding is canceled. The villagers believe if she is not married before the auspicious hour passes, the ill-fated bride can never be married again. Apu primarily of out sympathy for the bride and some convincing by Pulu, agrees to be the substitute groom. He has not even seen her yet. The marriage takes place and Apu and his young wife return to his Calcutta apartment. Soon, a warm and caring relationship develops. Apu willingly takes up the clerical job that he has so far avoided. The marital bliss, however, is short lived. Pregnant, she goes to her parents’ place and dies during the childbirth. Apu’s world shatters as he receives the news of Aparna’s death. Sunken in grief, he refuses to even see the child whom he holds responsible for his wife’s death. He leaves Calcutta to lead the life of a wanderer. About five years pass, Apu’s friend Pulu, who had been abroad, is shocked to find the child growing wild and not cared for. Pulu goes in search of Apu and requests to take responsibility for his son, Kajal. Reluctantly, Apu comes back to the village. On seeing Kajal, Apu is overwhelmed by affection. Now it is the child who refuses to accept him as his father. Apu wins over the little boy. The child accepts him as a friend, though not as a father yet. United, they leave for Calcutta to make a new beginning.   Sunday, 27 May 2012, 3 PM

Kanchenjungha

1962, India. 102 min., Color, In Bengali with subtitles.

Synopsis A wealthy family from Calcutta is on the last day of their vacation in Darjeeling, a hill station at the foot of Mount Kanchenjungha, the second highest peak of the Himalayas. Until now, they have been unable to catch a glimpse of the peak Kanchenjungha.The family members are dominated by the father, Indranath (Chhabi Biswas), an industrialist. He wants his daughter to marry a man of his choice and hopes that the man will propose if they are left together alone for some time. Several long walks and long conversations form the main body of the film. The real-time drama unfolds the daughter’s feelings about her father’s idea, and the negative reactions to this by her mother and others. By accident, she meets an outsider, Ashoke, a young student who has refused a job offer from Indranath. Though nothing develops between them, his presence coupled with the setting of mountains and the failure of her sister’s marriage, prompt her to reject the proposed suitor. At the end of his walk, the industrialist arrives at a rendezvous point, expecting to meet his family and the successful suitor. None of them is present to greet him. As the mist clears, the peak of Kanchenjungha is revealed in its full glory. But Indranath is too pre-occupied to admire it.   Anand Varadaraj I’m learning to be brave in my beautiful mistakes…  ]]>