Charulata (1964)
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92% of critics liked it
(13 reviews) -
92% of users liked it
(778 ratings)
This film by Satyajit Ray, India's most renowned filmmaker, tells the story of Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee), a woman in late 19th-century Calcutta. She is neglected by her busy husband, Bhupati (Shailen Mukherjee), a politically active newspaper publisher. When Bhupati's younger cousin Amal… More This film by Satyajit Ray, India's most renowned filmmaker, tells the story of Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee), a woman in late 19th-century Calcutta. She is neglected by her busy husband, Bhupati (Shailen Mukherjee), a politically active newspaper publisher. When Bhupati's younger cousin Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee), a sensitive, intellectual student on break from the university, comes for an extended visit, Charu enjoys Amal's company, and the two while away the hours in conversation. But as their relationship grows closer, Charu falls in love with Amal. The film, based on a popular Indian novel, marks a significant point in Ray's career, as it bears the influence of Western film on his directorial style. Shown at the 1965 Berlin Film Festival, the film was curiously and inexplicably rejected by the committee at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi
- Directed By
- Satyajit Ray
- Written By
- Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Art House & International
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1964 Limited
- On DVD
- Feb 6, 2007
- Studio
- Amanda Films Ltd
Critic Reviews
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Michael Sragow, New Yorker
Ray recognizes the paradox that reformers are insulated from the people for whom they toil, but the movie is too stately and attenuated.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
You shouldn't miss this.
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Variety Staff, Variety
Possibly more relaxed and leisurely than most Satyajit Ray films, Charulata nevertheless has a graciousness and dignity which impart an added sincerity to the simple, yet thoroughly acceptable story.
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Tom Milne, Time Out
Certainly one of Ray's best films, with a superb music score of his own composition.
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Howard Thompson, New York Times
To put it baldly, as the Ray camera could never do, the picture is an artistic masterpiece, impeccably performed, but diluted in impact and power by a stately, inchworm pace that accentuates a plot as old and familiar as the hills.
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