Page 10 - THE CHANGING WORLD OF RAY

wdirector pointed out in an caste system and the inherit-

interview that the realistic ed inequalities of feudalism.

depiction of the forest was Ray portrayed the disinte-

exclusively imagined in nos- gration of the zamindar sys-

talgic ways as a lost Bengali tem with Jalsaghar (Music

past [Satyajit Ray, Chan- Room 1958) and Devi (God-

nel 4 UK 2/5/1991]. Despite dess 1960).
its manufactured realism,

Pather Panchali won the While Jalsaghar

first prize for the ‘Best Hu- takes a rather pitiful view

man Document’ in Cannes of the delusional zamindar

in 1956, instigating Ray’s Biswambhar Roy, whose mu-

‘humanist’ reputation for be- sic room is an imagined rem-
ing a ‘Bengali Renaissance nant of a nostalgic past,

Man’. Devi is a much more forceful

A Study of Disen-
A Study of Disen - film in exposing the hypoc-
risy of the old elite through
chantment: Devi
chantment: Devi
the character of Kalikinkar
(1960) Roy (Chhabi Biswas), a za-
(1960)
mindar father-figure of the

Both Ray and Tag- village, who dreams that

ore were members of the his daughter-in-law Doyam-

Brahmo class, which was oyee (Sharmila Tagore) to

‘founded by Raja Rammohan be the reincarnation of the

Roy, an eminent intellectu- goddess Durga. His super-

al of the 19th century, (who) stition (andhvishwas/ ‘blind
rejected idolatry and caste; belief’) is materialized by

the Brahmos were interest- imprisoning her in a tem-

ed in social reform and in ple and making her a public

changing of existing social spectacle. Devi is based on

systems’ (Banerjie 1996:7). Mukherjee’s story, written in

In this context, they were the 1890s. The original story
eager to express a distaste takes place in 1790s, but the

(and sometimes pity) for the film is set in 1870 in Chandi-