Rain as metaphor! How Bengali films bridged human relationship and nature

The usage of nature as a character to denote one’s mood or a moment or what is to happen next in a film is a tricky business. Clouds, rivers, mountains... have always been great character metaphors. Like looking up at the sky symbolizes ambition, crossing a river can denote the expanse of what the protagonist has to cross over in the script, and mountains denote peaks of either happiness or sorrow.

The story and what’s happening in the film should also convey what it wants to narrate and everything else, the location, background score, costumes, sets or even the lack of it, all become secondary aspects. It’s fascinating to see how the rain has been the often-used natural phenomenon to denote change-overs in mood or tonality shift in a screenplay.

Bengali cinema has many a time explored the metaphor of rain to depict human relationship with mother nature showcasing a wide range of human emotions. Here we take a look at two cult classics and one contemporary film in recent times to analyze the neo-noir treatment.

Satyajit Ray’s debut film has shown one of the most poetic depictions of the monsoon in Indian cinema. Sarbajaya, mother of Apu and Durga, once receives the letter from her husband, informing her he’s finally got work. It’s like on cue, nature shows hope and happiness. Rain clouds suddenly appear on the horizon; lotus fronds start waving in the breeze; a man opens his umbrella and but is surprised when water drops fall on his bald head; Sarbajaya rushes for the washing, and a dog finds shelter in their hut. As usual, Ray is deeply engrossed in constructing the scene.

What’s more interesting is Ravi Shankar’s mellifluous background score out of nowhere picks up the tempo as Durga can be seen dancing in the rain, face lifted in abandon, sticking her tongue out at her adorable brother Apu who observes all of these from under a grove. It’s sadly the children’s last burst of joy before tragedy strikes - Durga falls sick due to the thorough drenching and dies.

The rain was used in a crucial sequence in this Ritwik Ghatak classic. Family of Neeta is shell-shocked to know that she is suffering from tuberculosis and her father urges her to leave – “Your breath is poison,” as if he spits poison. It’s the last cruelty for Neeta as a long line of betrayals destroy her despite sacrificing everything – her studies, her prospects for a better job, her love interest and all hopes of marriage – only to ensure her siblings can relive their dreams.

But Neeta’s expression, as she leaves her room, is not sorrow or anger. She just smiles, widely and ecstatically, as if she is at peace with the tumult of nature. It’s heartbreaking to see the smiling face which denotes her tragedy far more than a drop of tear or a burst of anger could have done.

The pouring rain superbly establishes the frame for Boudhayan Mukherji’s triptych of dark love. In the first set - ‘Boy meets Girl’, a rain-soaked Kolkata evening is the perfect gloomy backdrop for a story told in a flashback of an eight-year-old boy’s unique, yet innocent love for a 16-year-old bride who has just arrived in his village, and his crazy actions to drive her husband away.

The second one, ‘Boy Loses Girl’, comes with a similar setting. Heavy rains bring Kolkata to a standstill but it can’t stop a man from forcing into the apartment of his wife’s lover. His wife had committed suicide just the night before and he now wants to face him. And so, as the elements rage outside this room, do the men inside - who has failed her more?

All picture courtesy: Facebook