What the golden era of Bengali cinema has left us is an inheritance of endless possibilities. If today, the films of
Satyajit Ray,
Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak,
Buddhadeb Dasgupta or
Tapan Sinha are part of our consciousness, then it is due to their ability to enlighten the “dark rooms of our souls” and offer us an outlook – to live and let live. These cinematic works with rich history and heritage continue to influence our discourse and consciousness. The ‘essential humanism’ of these master filmmakers has lived on through time and space. It’s a treasure trove of cult classics but then there is a certain section of films which are criminally underrated.
In this new series of #DirectorsCut, ETimes talks about these relatively lesser-known and yet brilliant films by iconic directors that were overshadowed by their more popular filmworks. This week, we will discuss Tapan Sinha’s solo travel film ‘
Nirjan Saikate
’ (1965).
A journey of self-discovery
Tapan Sinha’s film is a sublime adaptation of a novel of the same name written by Samaresh Basu. It’s a leisurely story of a young writer (
Anil Chatterjee) who comes across four widows (Chhaya Devi,
Ruma Guha Thakurta, Renuka Devi and Bharati Devi) and a jilted young woman (
Sharmila Tagore) on the train to Puri. The rest of this beautifully crafted film is filled with their interactions, the tragic revelation of their backgrounds and also the touristic scenery of Puri.
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So what made ‘Nirjan Saikate’ a timeless classic? Well, its excellence is in the story which is vast and mystical just like the desolate sea. The more you try to understand it, the more you will get lost deep inside human emotions. The film also explores the taboos of widows in Bengali culture, along with the rich heritage of Bhubaneswar temple, Rambha, or the Konark Sun temple. The narrative dives deep into the typical mindsets of people who firmly want to worship their cultural superstitions. ‘Nirjan Saikate’ has a clear message. It teaches us, life's not about what we all are leaving behind, but it's always there just a little ahead of us.
A string of interwoven relationships
The vastness of the story is like a pilgrimage of self-exploration with spectacular cinematography. Be it the sublime beauty of those temples or the wandering souls searching for inner peace is undoubtedly soul-stirring. For instance, the hotel owner’s scene with his helping attitude reflects on the other side of society, the nameless Brahmin symbolizes cultural displacement, the niece with her own share of pain and the widows interacting with the self-reliant writer away from their oppressed lives is somewhat amusing, or it’s an irony that Tapan Sinha wanted to show through his works. ‘Nirjan Saikate’ is a poignant story that touches down a string of interwoven relationships. The dialogues, the cinematography, the sound design – everything stays with you even after the credit starts to roll.
The story is light as fits with the pilgrims and their interactions during their travels, with tender and understated individual scenes. There’s also a faint political subtext highlighting the plight of widows in our society and their proscription against re-marriage is in evidence amid the humorous banter of 4 such women.
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