The great Ritwik Ghatak's iconic film "Meghe Dhaka Tara" (translated as the Cloud-Capped Star), is perhaps his most popular and famous film. The ruling theme of the narrative revolves around the financial effects of the Bengal Partition. The overwhelming tragic nature of the film is what makes it so memorable in the minds of cinema-goers the world over, who are bound to if not identify, they will most certainly feel for the characters of this very human, and very touching story.
The character of Nita (played brilliantly by Supriya Choudhury) is a girl from a middle class Bengali family living near Calcutta (now re-named as Kolkata). She is the protective sister to her brother Shankar (played by Anil Chatterjee) who is portrayed as a lazy sort of chap who aspires to be a singer and like most aspiring artists, lives off his family looking to them for financial support. So quite obviously, like in most families, the parents have issues with their son, but Nita defends him from her parents as her love for her brother goes very deep. Apart from Nita and Shankar, there are two other siblings in the family, a brother Mantu, a good student (played by Dwiju Bhawal) and Gita (played by her namesake Gita Ghatak). Nita's father (played by Bijon Bhattacharya) is unwell and is unable to take on the responsibility of his family as would be his traditional role as the patriarch. So non-traditionally so, Nita being the daughter, takes on the responsibility which would traditionally be that of the son of the family, of being the sort of head of the household, due to her education. She bares all difficulties with silence and poise, but as would be expected, with her love life too not quite panning out as she would have liked, such pressures begin having its negative effects on her physically and mentally. So in a way this is one of Indian cinema's strongest feminist movies showing a woman sacrificing her marriage and education for the greater good and well being of her family and loved ones. Who was the inspiration behind this character? Was she someone Ghatak knew personally or was she a stranger whose life he imagined? Was she a character he dreamed up by combining the strength of all the strong women in his life? Only Ghatak would be able to answer these questions. But whoever the real life inspiration may be, one thing is for sure, is that this female leading character is etched in the minds and memories of cine-goers across the world.
Perhaps modern and "refined" audiences today might find the sentiment of the film "melodramatic", but if you ask me, such things are subjective, and with such fine craftsmanship as Ghatak's with the characters developing so subtly and naturally, one can't help but be swept away by the heightened emotion of the film. The darkened notes are contrasted with the lightness of the music of the classical Indian instrument the Sitar. The cinematography and lighting are so artistic that it is not surprising that this film is not just watched by film lovers but also studied widely by film students, making "Meghe Dhaka Tara" still one of the most celebrated and talked about films in the history of Indian cinema
The character of Nita (played brilliantly by Supriya Choudhury) is a girl from a middle class Bengali family living near Calcutta (now re-named as Kolkata). She is the protective sister to her brother Shankar (played by Anil Chatterjee) who is portrayed as a lazy sort of chap who aspires to be a singer and like most aspiring artists, lives off his family looking to them for financial support. So quite obviously, like in most families, the parents have issues with their son, but Nita defends him from her parents as her love for her brother goes very deep. Apart from Nita and Shankar, there are two other siblings in the family, a brother Mantu, a good student (played by Dwiju Bhawal) and Gita (played by her namesake Gita Ghatak). Nita's father (played by Bijon Bhattacharya) is unwell and is unable to take on the responsibility of his family as would be his traditional role as the patriarch. So non-traditionally so, Nita being the daughter, takes on the responsibility which would traditionally be that of the son of the family, of being the sort of head of the household, due to her education. She bares all difficulties with silence and poise, but as would be expected, with her love life too not quite panning out as she would have liked, such pressures begin having its negative effects on her physically and mentally. So in a way this is one of Indian cinema's strongest feminist movies showing a woman sacrificing her marriage and education for the greater good and well being of her family and loved ones. Who was the inspiration behind this character? Was she someone Ghatak knew personally or was she a stranger whose life he imagined? Was she a character he dreamed up by combining the strength of all the strong women in his life? Only Ghatak would be able to answer these questions. But whoever the real life inspiration may be, one thing is for sure, is that this female leading character is etched in the minds and memories of cine-goers across the world.
Perhaps modern and "refined" audiences today might find the sentiment of the film "melodramatic", but if you ask me, such things are subjective, and with such fine craftsmanship as Ghatak's with the characters developing so subtly and naturally, one can't help but be swept away by the heightened emotion of the film. The darkened notes are contrasted with the lightness of the music of the classical Indian instrument the Sitar. The cinematography and lighting are so artistic that it is not surprising that this film is not just watched by film lovers but also studied widely by film students, making "Meghe Dhaka Tara" still one of the most celebrated and talked about films in the history of Indian cinema