Sunday, June 07, 2009

A Scene from NAYAK (Bengali; 1966)




There's a superb sequence in Satyajit Ray's Nayak (Bengali; 1966) where the film-star (played by Uttam Kumar) is talking to a young (and inexperienced, at least where cinema is concerned) female journalist in a railway dining car; the train has stopped at a station, and there is a crowd with its faces pressed against the window, clearly unnerving the journalist (played by Sharmila Tagore); Ray even adds an inspired touch, the ceaseless tapping of the fans' fingers on the window, that not only affects Tagore's character, but also gets under the audience's skin, preventing the scene from being a "comfortable" one for it. Through it all, Kumar's character feigns indifference, the sort of Olympian reserve that, one imagines, might well add to his fans' yearning; and is amused at his female companion's discomfort. Many gazes are in play here: the theatre audience watching the crowd at the train station; the latter itself clamoring for the star's attention; and the celebrity, enjoying the attention, watching the journalist's discomfort; and the journalist herself, hitherto perhaps a bit smug at (what she has imagined is) the shallowness of the celebrity's life, embarrassed by the attention, and feeling the weight the star bears every public moment. I cannot think of a better cinematic representation of the star's aura, of the star's position vis-a-vis the audience.

Satyam commented on the same scene here.

9 comments:

Sam Juliano said...

This is a superb sequence indeed Qalandar, but I am very sorry to say (and am embarrassed) that I have not seen NAYAK. (at least I don't think I have, even though I adore the earth that Ray walked on) What an observant, deliniating breakdown of a single sequence, and one that defines in large measure Ray's kind of art.

This is great here:

"Many gazes are in play here: the theatre audience watching the crowd at the train station; the latter itself clamoring for the star's attention; and the celebrity, enjoying the attention, watching the journalist's discomfort; and the journalist herself, hitherto perhaps a bit smug at (what she has imagined is) the shallowness of the celebrity's life, embarrassed by the attention, and feeling the weight the star bears every public moment."

The star's "aura" indeed. I must negotiate NAYAK and see what you've beautifully related here.

Qalandar said...

Thanks so much for your kind words Sam -- I do think you'll like Nayak a lot (I myself saw it for the first time last month, at the Lincoln Center Ray film festival). It is one of my favorite Ray films (although I would probably give the palm to Days and Nights in the Forest)...

Sam Juliano said...

DAYS AND NIGHTS is close to my top Ray too Qalandar. Over the past two years I have really grown to love both the brilliant metaphorical THE MUSIC ROOM and the deeply-moving CHAULATA, while PATHER PANCHALI has never released it's hold on me.

That's great that you got to the Lincoln Plaza festival, and I'm very happy you saw this film. I was hoping to hook up with Satanm, but we just couldn't get a mutual time.

Qalandar said...

Yes, that festival was a godsend: I got to catch 7-9 of the films on offer, which was just as well, as until then I had only ever seen a few of Ray films (Pather Panchali, Devi, and The Music Room). While the timeless quality of Pather Panchali cannot ever be ignored or rendered superfluous (the film's art is quite possibly the most unobtrusive I've seen, the closest cinema gets to representing breathing), as we move to the "later" Ray (perhaps I should say the more mature Ray) of Nayak, Days and Nights in the Forest, The Adversary, I do appreciate the greater visual artistry.

I'm ashamed to admit I've never seen Charulata. It's a wonder satyam hasn't banned me! :-)

Conrad Barwa said...

Charulata is fantastic; perhaps my favourite Ray Film. Do you speak Bengali Q?

Qalandar said...

No Conrad, alas, I do not...

gaddeswarup said...

Somewhat offtopic. Have you looked at Brian Larkin's book 'Signal and Noise' about (partly) the impact of Bollywood in Nigeria?

Qalandar said...

No, but thanks for the reference -- will try and track it down...

gaddeswarup said...

In that casr, here are a couple of posts in my blog which give links to hispaper:
http://gaddeswarup.blogspot.com/2008/11/interesting-book.html
http://gaddeswarup.blogspot.com/2008/12/popularity-of-bolloywood-outside-india.html
I liked the book and recommended it to a fiend in New York and found that he knew Brian Larkin and both were in Bernard College.