ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch Satyajit Ray’s #GANASHATRU often dismissed as his worst film ever. Ray made this in 1989 based on an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play ‘The Enemy of the People’ written in 1882. It is a very short film, just about 100 minutes and touches upon a theme that is so very relevant even today. The upright doctor Ashok Gupta comes across contamination in the charanamrita (holy water) offered to devotees at the local temple and raises this to public attention but faces the wrath of the public and his own relatives as the issue at hand has religious connotations.
1. Ray’s favourite actor Saumitra Chatterjee plays the morally upright doctor Ashok Gupta and comes up with a stellar performance displaying integrity, anxiety, angst, spunk and dejection all in the hundred minutes.
2. As is typical of Ray’s films, the cast includes Saumitra Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee and Mamta Shankar who outdo themselves and put in brilliant performances. Unfortunately, though most of the other characters are not fleshed out well and are often caught in awkward situations in the framing of certain scenes
3. Ganashatru also suffers from the limitations that a film has when adapted from a play – limited settings, over-dependence on dialogues and lack of subtle nuances.
4. The theme though is relevant in today’s times – matters of religion are like opium to the masses and vested interest groups can subvert even the most noble of intentions. Igniting public ire is the handiwork of the political bosses and this is an art that well-meaning citizens do not understand and end up facing the perils.
5. And finally, some trivia – Ganashatru was made after Ray suffered a heart-attack and was advised not to work at actual locations but stick to studios and hence the limitations of the settings in the film. At times, it almost looks like a multi-act play in progress.
The debate on Ganashatru will continue. I would vote for it as a fascinating subject amplified by some terrific acting. If not for anything, watch it for the histrionic duel between Dhritiman Chatterjee and Saumitra Chatterjee in front of the microphone at the public hall. Two masters of Bangla cinema at their dramatic best!
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