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| starring = [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]]<br/>[[Debraj Ray (actor)|Debraj Ray]]<br/>Krishna Bose<br/>Indira Devi<br/>Kalyan Chowdhury<br/>[[Jayasree Kabir|Joysree Roy]]<br/>Sefali | | starring = [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]]<br/>[[Debraj Ray (actor)|Debraj Ray]]<br/>Krishna Bose<br/>Indira Devi<br/>Kalyan Chowdhury<br/>[[Jayasree Kabir|Joysree Roy]]<br/>Sefali | ||
| distributor = | | distributor = | ||
| released = {{Film date|1970|10|27}} | | released = {{Film date|1970|10|27|df=y}} | ||
| runtime = 110 min. | | runtime = 110 min. | ||
| language = Bengali | | language = Bengali | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''''Pratidwandi''''' ({{lang-en|'''The Adversary''', '''Siddharta and the City'''|italic=yes}}) is a 1970 [[Cinema of India|Indian]] [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali]] | '''''Pratidwandi''''' ({{lang-en|'''The Adversary''', '''Siddharta and the City'''|italic=yes}}) is a 1970 [[Cinema of India|Indian]] [[Cinema of West Bengal|Bengali]] drama film written and directed by [[Satyajit Ray]] based on the novel by [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]]. It is the first part of the '''[[Satyajit Ray|Calcutta Trilogy]]'''. ''Pratidwandi'' tells the story of Siddharta, an educated middle-class man caught up in the turmoil of social unrest. Corruption and unemployment are rampant, and Siddhartha cannot align himself with either his revolutionary activist brother or his career-oriented sister. The film is known for experimenting with techniques such as [[negative (photography)|photo-negative]] [[flashback (narrative)|flashback]]s.<ref>{{cite news|title=First Light: Satyajit Ray From the Apu Trilogy to the Calcutta Trilogy|author=Nick Pinkerton|date=14 April 2009|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-04-15/film/first-light-satyajit-ray-from-the-apu-trilogy-to-the-calcutta-trilogy|access-date=2009-07-09}}</ref> | ||
==Plot== | ==Plot== | ||
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Waiting to cross the road, he notices a beautiful woman. He drifts back to his days as a medical student in a flashback. The professor is explaining the anatomy of the female breast. Many flashbacks and dreams occur to Siddartha throughout the film. | Waiting to cross the road, he notices a beautiful woman. He drifts back to his days as a medical student in a flashback. The professor is explaining the anatomy of the female breast. Many flashbacks and dreams occur to Siddartha throughout the film. | ||
On his way to the hostel, he has an encounter with some hippies. Along with an ex-classmate, he goes out to see an uncensored Swedish film but, to their disappointment, the film turns out to be boring. | On his way to the hostel, he has an encounter with some hippies. Along with an ex-classmate, he goes out to see an uncensored Swedish film but, to their disappointment, the film turns out to be boring. | ||
In such constant wandering in Calcutta, disintegrating relationships with his sister and a | In such constant wandering in Calcutta, disintegrating relationships with his sister and a communist brother, his friendship with Keya is the only thing that keeps him sane. | ||
Keya is a simple girl. Siddharta and Keya enjoy each other's company but they cannot make any commitment to each other due to the circumstances. | Keya is a simple girl. Siddharta and Keya enjoy each other's company but they cannot make any commitment to each other due to the circumstances. | ||
After yet another attempt at a job interview, Siddhartha leaves the big city to take a modest job as a salesman in a far off small town. He writes to Keya that he still cherishes their relationship. He also hears the call of a bird that he remembers from his childhood in his dreams but this time it is for real, and not in his mind. After completing the letter, he comes out to the balcony of his modest room. The bird calls again. He also hears the sombre chants of a funeral procession. As he turns to the camera, the picture is frozen. | After yet another attempt at a job interview, Siddhartha leaves the big city to take a modest job as a salesman in a far-off small town. He writes to Keya that he still cherishes their relationship. He also hears the call of a bird that he remembers from his childhood in his dreams but this time it is for real, and not in his mind. After completing the letter, he comes out to the balcony of his modest room. The bird calls again. He also hears the sombre chants of a funeral procession. As he turns to the camera, the picture is frozen. | ||
The ending is reminiscent of the first scene which shows the death of Siddhartha's father. However, the last scene is symbolic of the end of Siddhartha's aspirations of finding a job in Calcutta. | The ending is reminiscent of the first scene which shows the death of Siddhartha's father. However, the last scene is symbolic of the end of Siddhartha's aspirations of finding a job in Calcutta. | ||
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==Cast== | ==Cast== | ||
* [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]] as Siddhartha | * [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]] as Siddhartha | ||
* [[ | * [[Jayashree Roy]] as Keya | ||
* Krishna Bose | * Krishna Bose as Sutapa<ref name="Chanda2022">{{cite book | author = Barun Chanda | date = 15 May 2022 | title = Satyajit Ray : The Man Who Knew Too Much | publisher = Om Books International | pages = | isbn = 9789392834653 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WOhsEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT115}}</ref> | ||
* Indira Devi | * Indira Devi | ||
* Kalyan Chowdhury | * Kalyan Chowdhury | ||
| Line 43: | Line 43: | ||
==Reception & awards== | ==Reception & awards== | ||
[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it a "particularly moving comedy" in which the protagonist "seethes with rage about social injustices, about economic corruption, but he is powerless to express it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/09/archives/an-indian-adversarysatyajit-ray-work-is-a-moving-comedy-an.html|author=Victor Canby|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=22 October 2018|title=An Indian 'Adversary': Satyajit Ray Work Is A Moving Comedy An Ex-Medical Student Seethes at Injustices|year=1972}}</ref> Dennis Schwartz, grading the film an | [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it a "particularly moving comedy" in which the protagonist "seethes with rage about social injustices, about economic corruption, but he is powerless to express it."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/09/archives/an-indian-adversarysatyajit-ray-work-is-a-moving-comedy-an.html|author=Victor Canby|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=22 October 2018|title=An Indian 'Adversary': Satyajit Ray Work Is A Moving Comedy An Ex-Medical Student Seethes at Injustices|year=1972}}</ref> Dennis Schwartz, grading the film an A−, calls it a "beautifully observed political film of [[disenfranchisement]]." "Satyajit Ray", he writes, "gives his nod of approval to world-wide [[counterculture of the 1960s|counter-culture]] revolution, the revolt of youth against the stagnant older generation, and the social upheaval taking place in his beloved Calcutta. But he also points out that India is a different animal than the Western countries in upheaval. He says it's because India has a different temperament after being oppressed so long by being colonized by the British and therefore the youth has to re-establish their own true identities before they can change things for the better." " The message seemed accessible", he concludes, "but, perhaps, what was most inaccessible in this political drama, was Ray's wickedly [[droll]] sense of humor (like those timely placed X-rays to let us see the stark truth of reality)."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/adversary.htm|title=adversary|website=homepages.sover.net}}</ref> [[James Travers (journalist)|James Travers]] gave the film a perfect score, noting "a significant stylistic shift from Ray's previous films, so much so that it may have shocked and surprised contemporary audiences who had grown accustomed to his poetic flavour of [[Parallel cinema|neo-realism]] during the previous decade." He comments that the film's [[cinéma vérité]] style "suits its subject perfectly" and calls it an "[un]comfortable film to watch" due to its "austerity and bleakness that distance the spectator from the subject and, unusually for Ray, its harshness is not softened by poetic irony."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmsdefrance.com/review/pratidwandi-1971.html|title=Review of the film Pratidwandi (1971)|first=James|last=Travers|date=22 June 2019|website=filmsdefrance.com}}</ref> | ||
Writing for ''[[Sight & Sound]]'', [[Tom Milne]], considered that "[t]oo much [...] ha[d] been made of the increasingly direct political involvement in [...] ''The Adversary''", finding parallels with his previous films such as ''[[Mahanagar]]'', ''[[Kanchenjungha (film)|Kanchenjungha]]'' and ''[[Jalsaghar]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/DocDetail?docId=1921|title=Document Citation|website=cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu}}</ref> [[Derek Malcolm]] wrote that the film's "lyrical flashback technique [...] does not always work out too well" despite having some "superb passages" and "that elusive quality of looking as deeply under the surface of things as almost anyone" in his writing and direction. He also defended the film from its detractors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/DocDetail?docId=1918|title=Document Citation|website=cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu}}</ref> | Writing for ''[[Sight & Sound]]'', [[Tom Milne]], considered that "[t]oo much [...] ha[d] been made of the increasingly direct political involvement in [...] ''The Adversary''", finding parallels with his previous films such as ''[[Mahanagar]]'', ''[[Kanchenjungha (film)|Kanchenjungha]]'' and ''[[Jalsaghar]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/DocDetail?docId=1921|title=Document Citation|website=cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu}}</ref> [[Derek Malcolm]] wrote that the film's "lyrical flashback technique [...] does not always work out too well" despite having some "superb passages" and "that elusive quality of looking as deeply under the surface of things as almost anyone" in his writing and direction. He also defended the film from its detractors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu/cinefiles/DocDetail?docId=1918|title=Document Citation|website=cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu}}</ref> | ||
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* [[Cinema of West Bengal]] | * [[Cinema of West Bengal]] | ||
* [[Cinema of India]] | * [[Cinema of India]] | ||
* [[Parallel | * [[Parallel cinema]] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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[[Category:Films directed by Satyajit Ray]] | [[Category:Films directed by Satyajit Ray]] | ||
[[Category:1970 films]] | [[Category:1970 films]] | ||
[[Category:Bengali-language films]] | [[Category:Bengali-language Indian films]] | ||
[[Category:Films set in Kolkata]] | [[Category:Films set in Kolkata]] | ||
[[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director National Film Award]] | [[Category:Films whose director won the Best Director National Film Award]] | ||
[[Category:Films about Naxalism]] | [[Category:Films about Naxalism]] | ||
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray]] | [[Category:Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray]] | ||
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[[Category:Second Best Feature Film National Film Award winners]] | [[Category:Second Best Feature Film National Film Award winners]] | ||
[[Category:1970s Bengali-language films]] | [[Category:1970s Bengali-language films]] | ||
[[Category:Films based on works by Sunil Gangopadhyay]] | |||
Revision as of 13:38, 17 December 2022
| Pratidwandi (The Adversary) | |
|---|---|
.jpg) A poster of Pratidwandi | |
| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Produced by | Priya Films (Nepal Dutta, Asim Dutta) |
| Screenplay by | Satyajit Ray |
| Based on | Pratidwandi by Sunil Gangopadhyay |
| Starring | Dhritiman Chatterjee Debraj Ray Krishna Bose Indira Devi Kalyan Chowdhury Joysree Roy Sefali |
| Music by | Satyajit Ray |
Release date |
|
Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | Bengali |
Pratidwandi (English: The Adversary, Siddharta and the City) is a 1970 Indian Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It is the first part of the Calcutta Trilogy. Pratidwandi tells the story of Siddharta, an educated middle-class man caught up in the turmoil of social unrest. Corruption and unemployment are rampant, and Siddhartha cannot align himself with either his revolutionary activist brother or his career-oriented sister. The film is known for experimenting with techniques such as photo-negative flashbacks.[1]
Plot
Siddhartha (Dhritiman Chatterjee) is forced to discontinue his medical studies due to the unexpected death of his father. He has to now find a job instead. In one job interview, he is asked to name the most significant world event in the last ten years. His reply is 'the plain human courage shown by the people of Vietnam', instead of the expected: man landing on the moon. The interviewer asks if he is a communist. Needless to say, he does not get the job.
He reaches a coffee shop where he is offered work for the communist party. When he does not show any interest, the party leader tells him about an opening for a medical representative. To escape from the heat and have a snooze, he goes into a cinema. As a government propaganda newsreel is being shown before the feature, a bomb explodes in the cinema hall. In the stampede that follows, Siddartha breaks his watch. He goes to a watchmaker but he cannot afford the repairs.
Waiting to cross the road, he notices a beautiful woman. He drifts back to his days as a medical student in a flashback. The professor is explaining the anatomy of the female breast. Many flashbacks and dreams occur to Siddartha throughout the film. On his way to the hostel, he has an encounter with some hippies. Along with an ex-classmate, he goes out to see an uncensored Swedish film but, to their disappointment, the film turns out to be boring. In such constant wandering in Calcutta, disintegrating relationships with his sister and a communist brother, his friendship with Keya is the only thing that keeps him sane.
Keya is a simple girl. Siddharta and Keya enjoy each other's company but they cannot make any commitment to each other due to the circumstances. After yet another attempt at a job interview, Siddhartha leaves the big city to take a modest job as a salesman in a far-off small town. He writes to Keya that he still cherishes their relationship. He also hears the call of a bird that he remembers from his childhood in his dreams but this time it is for real, and not in his mind. After completing the letter, he comes out to the balcony of his modest room. The bird calls again. He also hears the sombre chants of a funeral procession. As he turns to the camera, the picture is frozen.
The ending is reminiscent of the first scene which shows the death of Siddhartha's father. However, the last scene is symbolic of the end of Siddhartha's aspirations of finding a job in Calcutta.
Cast
- Dhritiman Chatterjee as Siddhartha
- Jayashree Roy as Keya
- Krishna Bose as Sutapa[2]
- Indira Devi
- Kalyan Chowdhury
- Debraj Roy
- Sefali
- Biplab Chatterjee
Reception & awards
Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it a "particularly moving comedy" in which the protagonist "seethes with rage about social injustices, about economic corruption, but he is powerless to express it."[3] Dennis Schwartz, grading the film an A−, calls it a "beautifully observed political film of disenfranchisement." "Satyajit Ray", he writes, "gives his nod of approval to world-wide counter-culture revolution, the revolt of youth against the stagnant older generation, and the social upheaval taking place in his beloved Calcutta. But he also points out that India is a different animal than the Western countries in upheaval. He says it's because India has a different temperament after being oppressed so long by being colonized by the British and therefore the youth has to re-establish their own true identities before they can change things for the better." " The message seemed accessible", he concludes, "but, perhaps, what was most inaccessible in this political drama, was Ray's wickedly droll sense of humor (like those timely placed X-rays to let us see the stark truth of reality)."[4] James Travers gave the film a perfect score, noting "a significant stylistic shift from Ray's previous films, so much so that it may have shocked and surprised contemporary audiences who had grown accustomed to his poetic flavour of neo-realism during the previous decade." He comments that the film's cinéma vérité style "suits its subject perfectly" and calls it an "[un]comfortable film to watch" due to its "austerity and bleakness that distance the spectator from the subject and, unusually for Ray, its harshness is not softened by poetic irony."[5]
Writing for Sight & Sound, Tom Milne, considered that "[t]oo much [...] ha[d] been made of the increasingly direct political involvement in [...] The Adversary", finding parallels with his previous films such as Mahanagar, Kanchenjungha and Jalsaghar.[6] Derek Malcolm wrote that the film's "lyrical flashback technique [...] does not always work out too well" despite having some "superb passages" and "that elusive quality of looking as deeply under the surface of things as almost anyone" in his writing and direction. He also defended the film from its detractors.[7]
The film holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10.[8]
The film won three Indian National Film Awards; including the National Film Award for Best Direction in 1971 and a nomination for the Gold Hugo Award, at the Chicago International Film Festival, 1971.
Legacy
Pratidwandi is the first film of Ray's "Calcutta Trilogy", which continued with Seemabaddha (1971) and Jana Aranya (1976).[9] In 2012, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia included the film in his personal top ten (for "The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time" poll), writing: "Pratidwandi sees Ray drop his early style for a gritty hand-held Godardian romp through ’70s Calcutta. Incredible."[10]
See also
References
- ↑ Nick Pinkerton (14 April 2009). "First Light: Satyajit Ray From the Apu Trilogy to the Calcutta Trilogy". The Village Voice. Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ Barun Chanda (15 May 2022). Satyajit Ray : The Man Who Knew Too Much. Om Books International. ISBN 9789392834653.
- ↑ Victor Canby (1972). "An Indian 'Adversary': Satyajit Ray Work Is A Moving Comedy An Ex-Medical Student Seethes at Injustices". New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ↑ "adversary". homepages.sover.net.
- ↑ Travers, James (22 June 2019). "Review of the film Pratidwandi (1971)". filmsdefrance.com.
- ↑ "Document Citation". cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu.
- ↑ "Document Citation". cinefiles.bampfa.berkeley.edu.
- ↑ "The Adversary". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ↑ "Pratidwandi: Satyajit Ray's reflection on the battle between man and metropolis". Firstpost. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ↑ "Ashim Ahluwalia - BFI". www.bfi.org.uk.
External links
- satyajitray.org on the film
- "Pratidwandi (The Adversary)". Satyajit Ray Film and Study Center. University of California, Santa Cruz. Archived from the original on 30 June 2015.
- Pratidwandi (The Adversary) on IMDb
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