Charulata (1964) - Movie Review | Madhabi Mukherjee | Satyajit Ray Masterpiece

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Jimmy Cage and Deniz the Buddymeister review CHARULATA
India 1964
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Intro/Outro Music © Deniz the Buddymeister
► Twitter: / thebuddymeister
In German we’d say:
CHARULATA ist ein weiteres Meisterwerk von Satyajit Ray. Wie immer wunderschön anzusehen, ist es hier aber vor allem die sorgfältige und subtile Erforschung von menschlichen Beziehungen, die hervorsticht. Und natürlich die wunderschöne Madhabi Mukherjee.
#Charulata #SatyajitRay #MadhabiMukherjee

[@nikhiljayakrishnan]

The first seven minutes are an absolute masterclass in exposition using purely cinematic methods. Ray establishes his primary character, her interests, her relationship with her husband and the space she inhabits all in this duration without resorting to dialogue or song. Deserves to be studied shot by shot.

[@amalbanerjee1935]

It is widely believed the character Amal is actually Rabindranath Tagore himself. He was Guru of Satyajit Ray. In original story Amal's character was sketchy. But Ray made that character dignified.

[@arundhatighosh9606]

Another thing that was much stronger in the story but was subtler (but important) in the movie was a contrast of Charu's and Amal's writing styles. Amal's writing style is ornate, very influenced by Western writer's, full of big words, grand metaphors (something that both Tagore and Ray were very critical of). Charu's in contrast was lucid, easy, very much emerging out of her own memories of her maternal village, etc. When Amal first reads it he is stunned and also feels threatened/less than and that is also a big part of how their relationship pans out. There is a reference to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay right in the beginning, who is a stalwart in Bengali literature but his writing style is very much "western" orante, more sankritised, which Tagore (and later Ray contrasts with Charu's more vernacular, everyday language). Just putting it out there since not sure that would come across in translation/without a knowledge of the literary works/styles being refered to.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you for adding that little angle :)

[@debjyotimandal4927]

Was Tagore critical of Bankimchandra's style? Tagore's own style was less ornate or Sanscritised? No. Tagore never criticised Bankimchandra's style! We should count the percentage of Sanskrit derived/tatsam words used by Tagore before declaring him un-Sanscritizing writer!

[@bhaskarghosh1219]

The opening credits song is a slow version of " Mama Chitte Nrite Nritye" by Rabindranath .

[@abhirrup93patra]

The film didnt feel like a 2hrs watch. It came and made me feel some overwhelming emotions and left. It was that good... N the emotions actually stayed with me.

[@aravindpm]

Good review. I would also suggest Ray's "Days and Nights in the Forest", which is my personal favourite among his works after Apu Trilogy.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@asai4093]

It's great to see you guys continuing with your bengali movie reviews, inspite of getting overwhelmed by South Indian and Bollywood movie requests 😊

[@TheJimmyCage]

We will always come back to the great films by Satyajit Ray :)

[@amidishamondal]

Do review some new Bengali movies also.

[@akaplise8952]

Every satayjit Ray's movies are bit slow but for us(bengalis).those are just perfect.

[@arkasengupta2328]

Dude, watch Mrinal Sen's Padatik , Calcutta 71 or Interview. Trust me.

[@suprakashsaha8481]

throughout the whole review it gave me goosebumps, I don't know why

[@devmalyabhattacharjee3847]

It's truly a masterpiece.

[@komal146]

Oooh, my favourite Ray film.

[@sravan7628]

Hey guys, today I watched "Das Boot" movie and I really loved it. I will give it 9/10 it's more like 8.7 but I won't do that. Thank you for recommending.

[@TheJimmyCage]

That's awesome to hear :)

[@aritramajumdar6648]

The next Ray film you should watch is 'Nayak/The Hero'

[@pontysoldier]

Charulata's filming styles are still copied by directors in India. Any shot in films which have scene woman looking outside their window is reference to Charulata. You can watch Kahaani for this

[@anubratar]

For Last few months, I have been watching this channel and I eagerly wait for the KZbin Notification pop-up where this channel name appears. And when it's a Ray movie, it's a bigger smile. You 2 truely understand cinema.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much :D That's super nice to hear.

[@Sonakshi111]

Great review. I haven’t watched the original. Not a native Bengali speaker but understand the culture well. What I have watched is another adaptation which happened very recently. It’s a series called ‘stories by Rabindranath Tagore’ which features on EPIC channel in India but is also available on NETFLIX. It’s directed by Anurag Basu, who is another great director working in Bollywood (Bengali himself). His movies are also few of the highly rated ones. I think it would be nice if you could watch that adaptation too and compare. It’s not more than an hour for sure. Also you must check other stories of Rabindranath Tagore on the same show on Netflix. His stories are a good reflection of the Bengali society of 1800s and 1900s. Fun fact: Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems have been borrowed from his poems. Another thing if you didn’t already know Charulata is somewhat of a semi autobiographical work of Rabindranath. It’s the equation he shared with his sister in law kadambari Devi who was more or less his age (married very young). Rabindranath was youngest amongst 13 kids. She apparently died by suicide soon after tagore’s wedding, which had a huge impact on Tagore. Many movies have also been made on this aspect of his life, not particularly adapting Charulata.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :) I didn't know about the series. Maybe I will check out at least the Charulata / The Broken Nest episodes.

[@gigi2615]

I am so, so happy I came across your channel. Grew up listening to 'Ami chini go chini tomare' in Kishore Kumar's voice. Can't thank you enough for beautifully breaking down this masterpiece. Onekta bhalobasha!

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much :) It's our pleasure.

[@zm5427]

Please review Ray's Nayak next

[@Shourav101]

Ray directed one hindi film, shatranj key khiladi, i.e., the chess players. Also his film sonar kela, ie., The golden fortress is a classic. Looking forward to your review of both.

[@sds1943]

Do a review of Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron: Unlike Ray films which were made in Calcutta, this one is of Bombay vintage. Political satire that deserves wider recognition.

[@anantsaini]

Watch *Bulbbul* on Netflix now. You are qualified to watch that movie now. Much love and Happy Holidays! :)

[@popoproutfesearymami]

So glad you made a movie review of this masterpiece. It is also my favorite of Ray's 😊

[@TheJimmyCage]

It was our pleasure :)

[@prof.hijibiji9649]

Jimmy I think the time has come to review his detective movies, also written by him. But before that please complete his "Gupi-Bagha" series or "Hirak Rajar deshe" atleast.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Since 2021 marks Satyajit Ray's 100th birthday, we plan to review a lot of his movies :)

[@prof.hijibiji9649]

Yeah. You told that before. Eagerly waiting for that...

[@araani8740]

Wow this is wild, i was just thinking about this movie yesterday!

[@TheJimmyCage]

Perfect timing :)

[@muniaification]

Very good review as always. I love the fact that you are so thorough with your research. I also appreciate your choice of unconventional movies. Both rare attributes. I would like to recommend some other Satyajit Ray movies, like, Devi (The Goddess), Aranyer Dinratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), The Calcutta Trilogy, Tin Kanya (Three Daughters) and Kanchenjungha.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much :) 2021 will mark the 100th birthday of Satyajit Ray and we plan to review a lot of his movies. Unfortunately though we very likely won't review Devi and Three Daughters. Both are only available in absolutely terrible quality :/ Even on the Criterion Channel. :/ I only found the second story of Three Daugthers in good enough quality on KZbin... Hopefully there will be new digital versions sometime in the future, because I think the prints have been preserved.

[@muniaification]

@@TheJimmyCage Thanks for replying! It's great news and I will be looking forward to your reviews. I really hope you will find Devi and Three Daughters in good prints....the first story of the Three Daughters is one of his best works, IMO.

[@dkmystery]

I saw this movie for the first time some years back on a rainy night and I loved the pace. Not many movies touch me when they are slow, maybe it depends on a great director to not let the viewer wander even when the scenes are 'slow'.

[@akhilrkzz6511]

Watch telugu movie "agent sai srinivasa athreya"...

[@dibyenduchakrabarty8734]

I await your reviews of Indian movies , particularly Ray movies. Hope you get a chance to review Hirak Rajar Deshe soon. Keep up the good work !

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@ritwikmaity4821]

Please watch meghe dhaka tara of 1960 by Ritwik Ghatak and meghe dhaka tara of 2013 on Ritwik Ghatak

[@rabishankarmishra4341]

I just loved the way you reviewed this masterpiece... You have equally emphasized on the two different outlook that people can have after watching the movie... Wonderful!

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much for your kind words :)

[@ankurnaskar2469]

The film's black & white, the characters are colorful.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Well put :)

[@Tamaltoru]

You're doing a nice job, really bringing the movie reviews in a nice manner. Love it. I'd love to recommend you to watch Satyajit Ray's "Two" -a short film. ❤️

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@SF-li9kh]

Man.. wish Buddy was there for every review. Does that man Jimmy is jobless though? 😁

[@stayinawesum]

1:22 Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian-Bengali and he wrote our nation anthem (yes our national anthem is in bengali) and also Bangladesh's too

[@arkodas1985]

plz react to Ray's Ghore-Baire.

[@pritambiswas1000]

What a lovely and informative review 👏 Thanks a lot *Jimmy* and *Denis* ❤️ Next please explore some works of *"Kaushik Ganguly"* (one of best Bengali directors of current era) Try these following films directed by *"Kaushik Ganguly"* 👇 1) *Nagarkirtan* 2) *Shabdo* 3) *Apur Panchali* ( kind of a spin-off of the *"Apu Trilogy"* ) 4) *Cinemawala* 5) *Chhotoder Chhobi* 6) *Bishorjan* 7) *Laptop*

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much :) I actually just watched Nagarkirtan and I will review it in the near future.

[@sayansingha6370]

@@TheJimmyCage great

[@pritambiswas1000]

@@TheJimmyCage oh wow! Another good news... I'll be waiting for your review of *"Nagarkirtan"* You've made my day 😊 Btw there are a lot of cultural and mythological references in *"Nagarkirtan"* I'm certain about the fact that you'll understand the human emotions and aspects shown in *"Nagarkirtan"* but it's not possible for any foreigner to decipher all the details, subtle, layered references that were there in this film. Also before you review it please do a little bit of research about *"Lord Krishna"* , *"Radha"* and *Lord Krishna's* reincarnated form *"Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu"* who was born in *'Nabadwip'* village, *'Nadia'* district of the Indian state of *'West Bengal'* and look up in the internet about the local form of folk song of Bengal named *"Kirtan"* which is still very much a part of rural Bengal. The story of this film is also based on that same place named *"Nabadwip"* because the director tried to depict that *"Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu"* is residing inside our main protagonist the young transgender woman because just like him *"Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu"* also had the soul of a woman trapped inside a man's body. Even in the last scene where you saw the protagonist hanging himself/herself inside that room and the camera focused only on his/her hanging legs, the colour of the feet and legs were blue because the colour of *"Lord Krishna"* is sky blue. So there are many minute details like these in the film which made it a masterpiece and grabbed the *"National Award"* in 4 different categories. I hope this was helpful. Please do a little more research on these topics.

[@danupaul6926]

That song "fule fule"❤

[@partgee]

Another wonderful review again.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@sayansingha6370]

Great review!!

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thanks!

[@bhaskarghosh1219]

Glad to see someone really appreciating Satyajit ray .I would like to ask where would you rank Ray in the list of greatest filmmakers ever?

[@TheJimmyCage]

I have seen only part of his filmography so far but I would rank him very high and he's definitely in my top 10 favorite directors.

[@smkudva]

Wonderful movie! Thanks for reviewing this. Black and white with Satyajit Ray direction is a killer combination!!

[@TheJimmyCage]

It was our pleasure :)

[@thakara]

I count myself fortunate to have been able to watch it on the bigscreen for a second time at the 25th IFFK. Satyajit maharaj ki jai!

[@TheJimmyCage]

I would love to watch this on the big screen someday :)

[@ahmedtanvir346]

Nice review guys

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thanks!

[@rupomsreel4835]

Bengali Rock.Love from Kolkata

[@suravichattopadhay6243]

I love this review. The original story is "Nastonir " or "The Broken Nest" written by Rabindranath Thakur .

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@onomatopoeia6787]

Which indian movie according to you guys is 10/10 or can there be a 10/10 movie ever?

[@TheJimmyCage]

It's extremely rare that I give 10/10... especially if I have only seen a movie once... and most Indian movies I only have seen once, because there are constantly more movies to watch and review. ':D Deniz gave Apur Sansar 10/10. I can imagine to bump up my 9 for The Big City to a 10.

[@debjyotimandal4927]

@@TheJimmyCage Your rating of The Great City will surprise many! It's generally thought of as Ray's second class! Basically the poetic ones are rated much higher than the realistic ones! But to each one his own!

[@Xyz19781i]

You guys are awesome. Thank you for watching films which are native to me.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you so much :) It's our pleasure.

[@shubhranshubasistha9002]

Can you please review the classics of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Jean-luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa , Abbas Kierostami ? ...like to hear from you.

[@TheJimmyCage]

I would love to review more classics in the future and I'm sure from time to time I can squeeze one in but the focus will remain on Indian Cinema and international new releases. I simply don't have enough time and the audience isn't big enough to review all the classics in-depth.

[@shubhranshubasistha9002]

@@TheJimmyCage Sad but true that audience is less interested to hear about classical films. I am currently watching Bergman Films...and man!! i am in a different world altogether. Most of his films are conversation with himself , i think. A true artist in the purest sense of the term.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Bergman is super fantastic. I bought the giant Bergman collection that was published by Criterion two years ago or so. It includes almost all of his movies. So far I only watched some of them... and I always want to go back to the rest but it's quite difficult to make the time besides watching all the movies for the channel. ':D

[@samikdhar273]

According to Ray himself, Charulata was his most perfect movie..

[@deepakkapurvirtualclass]

Nice Video 👍

[@alapan5030]

I love the way you review movies.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@sravan7628]

Guys please review brochevarevarura(2019) telugu movie it's available in Amazon prime with eng subtitles

[@debanujchatterjee2768]

I really like the way you both agree to disagree on the appeal of the characters. I would like to add some more context to the background of the story Nashta Neer written by Tagore. The most interesting part of Nashta Neer is the fact that it has deep connections to Tagore's real life. Tagore's sister-in-law was Kadambari Devi, who was an ardent literature enthusiast like Charu. She in fact inspired Tagore to write poems in his early age. Tagore and Kadambari shared a deep regard for each other and four months after Tagore got married, Kadambari committed suicide. This event shook Tagore to his heart and was expressed through Nashta Neer. There are infact more interesting speculations about this story. It seems to me that Tagore had a inclination to the name Amal, which he uses in Nashta Neer to represent himself (?). In his lyrical drama The Post Office, the young child protagonist is also named Amal, who share a lot of reflections of Tagore himself. Moreover, Amal means pure in Bengali, and Bimala also means pure in Bengali. Thus one can guess that Bimala in Ghare Baire might also have been a representation of Tagore's conscience.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you for the insight :)

[@debjyotimandal4927]

Bimala represented Tagore's conscience? 😃😃😃😃😃

[@nirmalyajana642]

Awesome review. Now time for another Ghatak movie.

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you!

[@mayaa7434]

Great movie! Great review! 😄

[@TheJimmyCage]

Thank you :)

[@mrs9305]

Review south indian movie Sadma.

[@samkumar2045]

Was this movie inspired by French novel, Madame Bovary(1856)?

[@nilanjansarkar100]

Thanks again for the wonderful review. I also could not connect with the film. No doubt this film is technically Ray's best, but I felt the titular character to be quite unlikeable. Again, I'd love if you could review Satyajit Rays "Calcutta Trilogy" someday

[@TheJimmyCage]

Next year we will review a lot of Satyajit Ray's films because 2021 marks his 100th birthday :)

[@nilanjansarkar100]

@@TheJimmyCage Wow! Even I was unaware of that. Thanks for keeping him alive internationally through tour brilliant reviews

[@moorthyrajesh340]

To review to ratha kanneer movie 1954 .

[@jprakashasuran7409]

See anbe sivam movie by kamal hasan

[@081_che_saptakmandal6]

Please review Ray's Nayak(The Hero, 1966). It's probably the best one ❤️

[@TheJimmyCage]

We will next year. :) Since 2021 marks his 100th birthday, we plan to review several of his films.

[@081_che_saptakmandal6]

@@TheJimmyCage yeah tysm! You will love with the main actor Uttam Kumar and his charm. That's why after almost 50 years of his death he's still on the top, the top, the top!!! ❤️✨

[@movieshubmalayalam7546]

Bro u missed malayalam movie trailer 'marakkaar arabikadalinte simham

[@debjyotimandal4927]

The story by Tagore was allegedly autobiographical ie. On Tagore's affair with his elder brother Jyotirindranath Tagore's wife Kadambari Devi who committed suicide soon after Tagore got married. Unlike Bhupati Jyotirindranath was an artist..composer, painter, writer! Amal is unlike Tagore..only a aspiring writer fashionable, shallow, verbose and often ridiculous! But Charu? Is she likeable? It's a film about relationship but for the informed it is an extraordinary account of cultural history! Thanks for the review!

[@justiceboi9363]

We in India have a farely backward audience to understand and appreciate art so great movies are not made any more.

[@rohithpadikkal7082]

You know Buddymeister could easily pass off as indian...😁 As for you Jimmy, a moustache would help😄

[@TheJimmyCage]

The only problem... I have the worst beard growth in the world. So there's really no chance I could pull it off. ':D

[@rohithpadikkal7082]

@@TheJimmyCage haha dont worry dear Jimmy.. I'm one of the 0.001% of indians who cant grow a full beard either..so its relatable 😆

[@latashukla6086]

Please upload all Satyajit Ray movies with English subtitles Teen Kanya Samapti Ashoni Sanket Chiriakhana Charulata Thanks

[@TheJimmyCage]

This is not a pirate site?

[@harishkiran3663]

ചാരുലത

[@premlatathakur9182]

Binod op