Aparajito (1956) | Review

30/Dec/2021.

Last film of the year.

Watched. 

My rating: 10/10. 

 This being my second Satyajit Ray film, I can most definitively confirm that Ray is a cinematic god and he truly deserves his place among names like Bergman, Fellini and Truffaut. 

  This film invented the bounce lighting technique. And now I know where Karan Johar got the scene of a man feeding seeds to birds whilst saying, "Aao. Aao. Aao..." (Come. Come. Come...). The same sciene is used in Johar's 1995 film, DDLJ and that's the film because of which the scene is in the mainstream consciousness of the Indian audience.

 I'm once again writing against my writer's block today and I'm anxious as hell. I should've written it last night, it would've been one of the better pieces of this month.

 The film picks up where the first film left off, and things are starting to look better for the Roy family. But soon, tragedy strikes again and Apu and his mother are left to fend for themselves. They move back to the village and try to live a happy life. Apu does well in school, grows up and moves to Culcutta, leaving his woeful mother behind and only seldom getting a chance to visit her.

 The film is all about how something flourishes for a fleeting moment. Like a lonesome daffodil in spring, moments bloom and await us. It us our lack of understanding of their fragility that leads us to unhappiness. Our very own mortal uncertainty is the cause for our happiness and our sorrow. And Appu learns this lesson by the end of this film, but then its too late. 

 Satyajit Ray's films capture the very soul of Indian literature. The literature on which I grew up on and have loved dearly. His echo with the likes of stories found in the Nandan and Champak magazines or R K Narayan's Malgudi Days. There is a certain earnestness about them which resonates very strongly with me. And the score of this film carries that same energy with it.

 This film, like Pather Panchali, boasts of a score by Ravi Shanker. I recognize him as the man who taught George Harrison of the Beatles the Indian musical theory. But man... I've become a fan of his music. And he reminds me of Illaiyaraja because of his mastery over classical music. His score conveys the doleful fate of a mother and a child's joy and wonder. It conveys the anxiety and it conveys the hope for the future. The music elevates the film in scented coils of purples and yellows and blues and pulls us into Apu's sansaar (world). 

 There are a few swift pan cuts in this which are just mind blowing. The editing overall is revelatory and so are the actors. Karuna Bannerjee, who plays the mother, is a spectacle to behold in this. Her each gesture embodies care and resiliency. At times I had to remind myself that its a performance and I'm watching a movie. I wanted to step into the screen and give her a big warm hug. The two actors which played Apu and Kanu Bannerjee, who played Apu's father, were equally great as well but Karuna was the highlight of this film for me.

 This film made me smile, laugh, and cry. Oh did this film made me cry... This is what cinema is for. For telling your own truth. For being honest. For putting the human condition up on display in all it's terrible beauty. An empathy generating machine indeed. 

 I bow before you in awe and gratefulness.