I just watched Nishijapon after being urged by my father, with whom I share a bond over Satyajit Ray’s Movies. Satyajit Ray was the greatest director, able to pick up subtle nuances in human relationships or anything really with his expert direction and remarkable observations. He was truly a masterful artist, and he alone managed to display life as it REALLY is onscreen...no filminess, no cheap tricks, nothing. Just intelligent, genius, brilliant. Every music, every detail, every light direction, every word is in place, painted into a movie masterpiece. People nowadays still don’t get how that is really how movies should be, instead of mindless entertainment, as is sometimes necessary, but has managed to dull the masses completely.
The previous review of Nishijapon was accurate that this film, Nishijapon, would not attract the masses. That is very true since the masses have no clue how to tell good cinema from bad. People just want to watch fantasized, shallow and contrived movies to turn off the harsh realities that exist everywhere in life. That’s fine if that’s what you like, however, Sandip Ray’s Nishijapon is keeping Ray’s REAL Cinema alive. I am happy that Ray is keeping the style of his father alive, and that he has his own subtle style. His film is accurate in that even in the most wonderful looking pictures: eg. that of a perfect family, or even a perfect marriage, has a seedy undercurrent that lurks until lured out. Anita and Nirmal seemed as if they were in love and teasing eachother about cheating, but in a time of true hardship, when human nature dictates the desire to point fingers and blame and distract from the actual situation at hand, Anita reveals how unhappy and disgusted she is with her husband and her suspicions and how they may be true about his cheating. This is reality...most women do react this way, and most men do take advantage of their wives and their culture of decency. Anita clearly respects her culture, her father in law, is a dutiful daughter and sister and would never leave her husband, and he is totally at home with making her unhappy. Though he clearly provides for her well, and appreciates her in his own way, she’s unhappy. And insecure it seems.
Sunita and Shyamal are real characters of this time and age...both independant of thought and strong in personality, but open minded enough to find love in eachother amidst all the scary situations that the crumbling marriage of her sister and his brother in front of them has brought out.
Soumitra’s character serves as a time marker of a generation that is leaving a newer generation behind, one that will forget his way of life and live their own, however Suni with her Tagore songs and Shyamal with his interest in literature, may keep alive what Nirmal has so easily forgot: respect for one’s customs, beliefs and morals, or better put, just plain Respect for others.
Brajen-Babu serves as an appropriate catalyst, a selfish, flawed character who means well, but is gone past reconciliation in his blind love for his seemingly new found faith in his Guru. He is quick to forget the fundamental tenets of his religion in his greed for food and his utter selfishness in situations of hardship.
The slow narrative of the film is essential for its realness, as it is the pace that life happens in. But in retrospect, I wouldn’t call it slow. True, there was None of that filmi everything happens in five minutes nonsense with ten million songs and ten minutes of dialogue. However, I found every minute of this movie just so enjoyable, happening, real. After all, This is really how life is.
I can’t write enough about this film. It brings up issues that SHOULD be talked and thought about nowadays in a world where selfishness and disrespect abound. Suni and Shyamal mark the beginning of a hope that there are people who can manage to triumph through the disgusting show of human nature that abounds everywhere in this day and age. They are thoughtful, careful and kind, willing to take the step in the right direction despite their fears. They were the only selfless characters in the movie.
This is a must see, an excellent film. Although I can never say anyone is as good as Satyajit Ray as he was truly a diamond in the rough, Sandip I am certain will carry on his tradition as time goes on, and will only get better and better from where he is now, the best. This film is a gem in the rough and I look forward to watching Sandip uncover a diamond in whatever projects he undertakes next.