The cloudcapped star 1960 is the second film of what i call ghataks partition quartet, which also includes nagarik 1952, eflat 1961, and subarnarekha completed in 1962. Komal gandhar is the second act in ghataks exquisite, heartrending refugee trilogy the first being meghe dhaka tara the cloudcapped star, 1960 and the last, subarnarekha golden lining, 1962 all three of which will be screened as part of the timely poetry and partition. Stills must not be reproduced, copied or downloaded in any way. By interplaying light and shadows and incorporating evocative, aggressive sounds that underscore emotional impact and comedic tone, ghatak creates a unique. The cloudcapped star featured screening screen slate. Although their roles were often adversarial, they were ardent admirers of each others work. The following is a description that appears on the website of the british film institute, the national film archive of the united kingdom.
The cloudcapped star was ghataks fourth completed feature, and it is the. In the cloud capped star, the movie anchors itself to the claywalled. Probably no other auteur in the history of cinema has garnered such a tremendous influence by churning out only eight movies and one script in his entire career span, which ritwik ghatak did. Subarnarekha 1965, the runaway bari theke paliye 1959, a river called titas titash ekti nadir naam 1972, reason, debate and a tale jukti takko ar gappo 1977, the pathetic fallacy ajantrik 1958, eflat komal gandhar 1961, and the cloudcapped star meghe dhaka tara 1960. Breaking from the graceful realism of compatriot satyajit rays concurrent miniatures of indian society, the story is filtered through fevered montage, jump cuts, baroque frames a multiplane, deepfocus composition involving a riverbank and a locomotive puts ghatak on the level of kurosawa and wajda, and, most striking, the frequently. Man, is there a more depressing film from this year than the cloudcapped star. University center for human values 304 louis marx hall princeton. It could be argued that all of ghataks features between 1952 and 1977, when his last work was released posthumously, were concerned with the partition, but it is the trilogy that has been. We prepare each batch with simple processes you use in your own kitchen. The story of a beautiful young student who sacrifices education, love and health for the sake of her family, refugee victims of partition, who are struggling for survival on the outskirts of calcutta in the late 1950s. Jun 10, 2017 through its tale of nitas struggle to keep her refugee family afloat, the cloudcapped star operates as a harsh criticism of the social and economic conditions that arose from partition a driving force in the life of celebrated filmmaker ritwik ghata. Meghe dhaka tara original title not rated 2h 6min drama, musical 14 april 1960 india 2. The cloudcapped star 1960 changes the movie database. Chai is the warmest beverages rating of the film the cloudcapped star chai is the warmest beverage kumar shahani on the film.
As ghatak says in his last film in which he plays the alcoholic intellectual nilkantha, i am burning the universe is burning, everything is burning. Jul 04, 20 probably no other auteur in the history of cinema has garnered such a tremendous influence by churning out only eight movies and one script in his entire career span, which ritwik ghatak did. The cloudcapped star 1960 is the second film of what i call. Meghe dhaka tarathe cloudcapped star ghataks trilogy part one april, 1960. She watches helplessly as her own hopes and desires are pushed aside time and again by those of her siblings and parents, until all her chances for happiness evaporate, leaving her crushed and. The cloudcapped star september 10 directed by the visionary bengali filmmaker ritwik ghatak, the cloudcapped star tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the partition of india.
Along with prominent contemporary bengali filmmakers satyajit ray and mrinal sen, his cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality. Neither a bollywood extravaganza nor the precise lyricism of satyajit ray, ghataks evocation of a womans struggle to retain hope in an unjust world is a highly mannered, forcefully emotional melodrama. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing a cloudcapped star near you. The cloudcapped star 1960 a selfless young woman supriya choudhury sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family.
The films of ritwik ghatak this weekend, and into next week, at new yorks lincoln center. It stars supriya choudhury, anil chatterjee, gita dey, bijon bhattacharya, niranjan roy, and gyanesh mukherjee. Ghatak remains a controversial, yet a pivotal figure in the history of the. The cloud capped star september 10 directed by the visionary bengali filmmaker ritwik ghatak, the cloud capped star tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the partition of india. The academy film archive and the film foundation present new 4k restoration of edgar g. Very soon, ghatak became a prominent force in the indian parallel cinema movement which challenged the monopolistic, stardriven, narrative and. The retro awards quality cinema club message board. Regarded as the second most famous indian filmmaker after satyajit ray, ghatak was praised by the critics of his time, and, especially, by ray himself. Neeta an extraordinary performance by leading bengali actor supriya choudhury is the eldest daughter in a family of. The cloudcapped star 1960 the criterion collection.
Ray had just completed his landmark apu trilogy when the cloudcapped star first emerged, and ghataks film would come to be swept up. Neeta, the protagonist, sacrifices everything for her unappreciative family. The purpose isnt simply to describe the daily grind of postwar india, but also the wider. Although inspired from ritwick ghataks life, cloud capped star is neither a biopic on ritwick nor a remake of ritwicks famous film. Bfi video publishing the daughter of a middleclass family becomes their sole provider and sacrifices herself to the point where her life and. Directed by the visionary bengali filmmaker ritwik ghatak, the film tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the partition of india and come to depend on its eldest daughter, the selfsacrificing neeta.
The cloudcapped star dvd the kansas city public library. To director kamaleswar, ritwick is a true star, a legend, with immense contributions to the world of cinema. This restoration is part of the african film heritage project, an initiative created by the film foundations world cinema project, the pan african federation of filmmakers and unescoin collaboration with cineteca di bolognato help locate, restore and disseminate 50. In the cloud capped star, the movie anchors itself to the claywalled house of a family driven closer and closer to poverty, where the difficulties of an outdoor shot continually bleeds in through the latticed windows and gapfilled walls. The cloudcapped star was restored in partnership with the film foundations. Once completed, the library will be a compilation of all known resources on partition managed by a team of volunteer staff and interns, and kept updated through your contributions. The cloudcapped star meghe dhaka tara film the guardian. She watches helplessly as her own hopes and desires are pushed aside time and again by those of her siblings and parents, until all her chances for happiness evaporate, leaving her crushed and ailing. To date, 40 films from africa, asia, eastern europe, central america, south america, and the middle east have been restored, preserved and exhibited for a global audience. The partition library is presently under construction. Lincoln centre remembers ritwik ghatak on his 94th birthday.
Cloudcapped star is the first film in bengali director ritwik ghataks trilogy about the partition of bengal in 1947 and its aftermath. The cloud capped star was ghataks fourth completed feature, and it is the. The cloud capped star ritwik ghatak, 1960 vengeance of a snowgirl lo wei, 1971 manila in the claws of light lino brocka, 1975. It is a bitter critique of the family as an institution and also of the harsh social and. A selfless young woman supriya choudhury sacrifices her own happiness for her unappreciative family. Tragic injustice and a harsh reality revolving a noble heart whose physical beauty. His unique methods of mixing documentary realism with stylized performances borrowed from the theater, references to bengali folk theater tradition and brechtian techniques of narration announced the raising of a promising young filmmaker. And nor is it exactly like the great traditions of indian popular film, the musical and the. Theyre close to us korea, but theyre also the strongest films outside the us after the 80s.
Seven of his films will be screened during this event. A case in point is the cloudcapped star, a merciless, stunningly frank critique of the familyasinstitution that is also one of the most heartbreaking movies ever made. The cloudcapped star meghe dhaka tara ritwik ghatak, india, 1960, 4m bengali with english subtitles considered by many ghataks masterpiece, the cloudcapped star is set in late1950s kolkata, just a few years after the partition that separated historic bengal into the pakistani east bengal and the indian west bengal. Lincoln centre remembers ritwik ghatak on his 94th. The cloud capped star university center for human values. Arguably ghataks finest work, the cloudcapped star is a dark melodrama set in. Camera work and subject placement, coupled with unique sound effects, and the occasional genuine sense of pathos put this movie in a category beyond ordinary melodrama. In 1952 ghatak completed his film nagarik which is considered as a major breakthrough in the bengali film industry. Although the film can be overly melodramatic and unevenly acted, it contains an overriding humanism that is reminiscent of satyajit ray. Meghe dhaka tara the cloudcapped star 1960 rotten tomatoes. The cloudcapped star dvd king county library system.
Criterion announces september 2019 releases cinema sentries. Ajanthrik, the first indian movie to depict the life of an inanimate object, a motor car, and its driver, went to venice film festival. Arguably ghataks finest work, the cloudcapped star is a dark melodrama set in late fifties calcutta about a refugee family and the struggle of nita, the oldest daughter, to keep them afloat and together. Ulmers detour 1945 restoration to premiere april 26, 2018 at the tcm classic film festival janus films to release theatrically in fall 2018. The cloudcapped star the story takes place in a lowermiddleclass suburb of calcutta, where nita supriya chowdhury, a schoolteacher of marriageable age, routinely. Although their roles were often adversarial, they were ardent admirers of each. Credits from film, subtitles on film, and from container. As ghatak says in his last film in which he plays the alcoholic intellectual nilkantha, i. Each of these films stays with you long after you leave the theatre, wondering about loss and partition, the nature of family, human nature and humanity.
Thus, time, in addition to space, becomes another factor in the choice of lighting for ghatak, where the usual technical details of lighting are augmented by the naturalistic presence or absence of the sun. The cloud capped star 1960 is the second film of what i call ghataks partition quartet, which also includes nagarik 1952, eflat 1961, and subarnarekha completed in 1962. Ritwik ghatak was a bengali indian filmmaker and script writer. Although the film can be overly melodramatic and unevenly acted, it contains an overriding humanism that is reminiscent of satyajit ray and the neorealist films of the 40s and 50s. Jul 14, 2017 cloudcapped star is the first film in bengali director ritwik ghataks trilogy about the partition of bengal in 1947 and its aftermath. University center for human values 304 louis marx hall princeton, nj 08544 609 2584798. She watches helplessly as her own hopes and desires are pushed aside time and again by those of her siblings and parents, until all her chances for. This film is not currently playing on mubi but 30 other great films are. A melodrama at face value, the cloud capped star explores the deep fissures in indian society perpetrated by the partition, especially on women. The cloudcapped star is an angry film and often bleak, but sudden bursts of sitar music and joyous singing by shankar lighten the tone.
With supriya choudhury, anil chatterjee, gyanesh mukherjee, bijon bhattacharya. Through its tale of nitas struggle to keep her refugee family afloat, the cloudcapped star operates as a harsh criticism of the social and economic conditions that arose from partition a driving force in the life of celebrated filmmaker ritwik ghata. The tragic story of the beautiful daughter of a middleclass refugee family from east pakistan. It took many years for ritwik ghataks classic the cloudcapped star to be.
Considered by many ghataks masterpiece, the cloudcapped star is set in late1950s kolkata, just a few years after the partition that separated historic bengal into the pakistani east bengal and the indian west bengal. The triangular division, taken from tantrik abstraction, is the key to the understanding of this complex film. Tells the story of a family that has been uprooted by the partition of india and come to depend on its eldest daughter, the selfsacrificing neeta. The 15 best movies influenced by bertolt brechts theater. Thus, time, in addition to space, becomes another factor in the choice of lighting for ghatak, where the. The government of india honoured him with the padma shri for arts in 1970.
The cloudcapped star ritwik ghatak, 1960 vengeance of a snowgirl lo wei, 1971 manila in the claws of light lino brocka, 1975. It is a bitter critique of the family as institution and also of the harsh social and economic conditions arising from partition the trauma that defined ghatak as an artist. The cloudcapped star, 1960, the first film of his partition trilogy. The world cinema project wcp preserves and restores neglected films from around the world.
Madhumati 1958, the starstudded bollywood reincarnation drama. Sep 10, 2019 the cloudcapped star 1960 is the second film of what i call ghataks partition quartet, which also includes nagarik 1952, eflat 1961, and subarnarekha completed in 1962. These four films address directly the lifeworlds of bengali refugees, but the partition was the defining experience of ghataks life, and he evokes it in a. While the cinematography and score are excellent and supriya choudhury sort of reminds me of renee falconetti in the passion of joan of arc, the film just leave you empty at the end. Ghataks major breakthrough in cinema happened when he made his debut feature nagarik in 1952. Arguably ghatak s finest work, the cloudcapped star is a dark melodrama set in late fifties calcutta about a refugee family and the struggle of nita, the oldest daughter, to keep them afloat and together. Ritwik ghataks the cloudcapped star is a beautiful bore. Cloudcapped star meghe dhaka tara, india bengal 1960. The cloudcapped star ritwik ghatak, 1960 the cinema of ritwik ghatak had grown in reputation in the last few years. The cloud capped star, glimpses of ritwik ghataks cinema. Get 50% off hundreds of family movies when you preorder on fandangonow today. It could be argued that all of ghataks features between 1952 and 1977, when his last work was released posthumously, were concerned with the partition, but it is the trilogy that has been most widely seen outside india.
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