Charulata (1964) on Netflix
NR19641h 57m
In 1879 Calcutta, Charulata fills her days with novels while her husband Bhupati runs a struggling political newspaper. He asks his cousin Amal to draw out her literary talent.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb8.1/108,114 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes93%
Trailer
Plot summary
Bhupati edits a small political newspaper in Calcutta in 1879, and the work leaves his artistic wife Charulata alone in their house, where she embroiders and watches the world through opera glasses. He brings in her brother Umapada to manage the paper's finances and Umapada's wife Manda to keep Charulata company, but Manda is domestic and traditional and offers little intellectual company. When Bhupati's younger cousin Amal arrives to help proofread, Bhupati also asks him to nurture Charulata's literary talents. The two debate Bengali authors and poetry, and Charulata makes Amal a notebook for his writing, telling him that nothing he writes in it may be published.
Cast
- Dilip Boseas Shashanka
- Nilotpal Deyas Joydeb
- Bholanath Koyalas Braja
- Suku Mukherjeeas Nishikanta
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Charulata (1964)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Charulata won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival, but was rejected by Cannes, a rejection protested by David Lean and Ingmar Bergman. The film was reportedly an all-time favourite of Jean-Luc Godard.
- Kishore Kumar sang the Rabindra Sangeet "Aami Chini Go Chini Tomarey" for the film, the first Rabindra Sangeet he ever sang, and he recorded it in Bombay rather than Calcutta. He charged no money for Charulata, nor for Ray's 1984 film Ghare Baire.
- Satyajit Ray spent many months researching the film's historical setting, working for the first time in his career without a deadline for pre-production or the shoot. No interior scene was shot on location; the sets were built or remodelled with art director Bansi Chandragupta to show 1880s India.
- The scene in which Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee) sings Rabindranath Tagore's "Fule Fule Dhole Dhole" on a swing while looking at Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee) is referenced in the 2005 Bollywood film Parineeta. Parineeta's Lalita (Vidya Balan) is dressed to resemble Charu.
