TEEN KANYA
A film by Satyajit Ray
1961/ Bengali with Eng. Subtitles / 173
mins
21st Sept 201; 5.45pm /
Perks Mini Theater
http://konangalfilmsociety.blogspot.in
Released in
1961, this Bengali film has three of Tagore’s stories presented as
three different short films in one. Satyajit Ray made this film as a tribute to mark Tagore’s
birth centenary. In all three stories, female characters are in focus and the
director beautifully portrays their emotions on-screen.
The first
story, The Post Master, is about a young orphan girl of about 8-10 years, Ratan
(Chandana Banerjee), who works as a maid in the village postmaster’s house. Her
new master is a young man from Calcutta, Nandalal (Anil Chatterjee) who misses
the hustle-bustle of city life and his family back home. Unlike her previous
masters, Nandalal is kind to Ratan and starts teaching her Bengali. The story is simplicity itself, seeming to
touch on Ray’s interest on the variety of forms of learning and cultural exchange,
taking in issues of family, friendship, education with a socially conscious eye
towards equality, fairness and justice. Thogh the segmant is short, it conveys such a wealth of
revelation and understanding with its few dramatic strokes that it stands as a
thing of full expression, a cinematic gem.
Monihara (The
Lost Jewels) is the second story in the film and is a psychological thriller.
Manimalika (Kanika Majumdar) is married to a rich man Phanibhusan (Kali
Banerjee) and stays in a large mansion in a village. Bored at home, her only
companions are her pieces of jewelry. She loves her jewels more than anything
and her obsession with them becomes visible when her husband faces financial
crisis.
Samapti (The
Conclusion), the third piece in the film is a love story. Mrinmoyee (Aparna
Dasgupta) is a carefree young girl, who as per her mother does nothing what
good girls of marriageable age should do.
She spends her time playing with
kids, chasing squirrels and enjoying the swing next to the river. She catches
the attention of Amulya (Soumitra Chatterjee), a young man who is returning to
his village after taking his exams in Calcutta. His mother has already found a
suitable match for him but he convinces her to arrange an alliance with
Mrinmoyee.
The film captures the innocence of a young married couple who are
different from each other and one of them does not even understand the meaning
of marriage or love.
Teen Kanya
presents three different films in one and all are masterpieces in their own
genre. The script, the direction and the music, all created by Ray, make a
blend of poetic creation that is almost majestic. ( Source:Internet)
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
was born on May 2, 1921 in Calcutta into a Bengali family of a distinguished
cultural lineage. He gradually developed a passion for films and with a few
friends founded the Calcutta Film Society in 1947.French director Jean Renoir
came to Calcutta and the great filmmaker's encouraging words motivated Ray to
tread the path of filmmaking. Next year Ray went to London as D.J. Keymer's art
director and there he got an opportunity to watch Vittorio de Sica's film
'Bicycle Thief.' The film, a neorealist classic, kindled the filmmaker in
Satyajit Ray.
Despite being
dogged by financial hassles, Ray and his ensemble of amateur crews finally
completed Pather Panclali in 1955. The film won rave reviews all over the globe
and heralded the arrival of a master filmmaker. Satyajit Ray made two more
films Aparajito (1956) and Apur Sansar (1959) based on the life cycle of
central protagonist Apu. Ray unleashed a slew of memorable films such as
Jalsagar (1958), Devi (1960), Teen Kanya (1961), Abhijan (1962), Kanchenjunga
(1962), Mahanagar (1963)) and Charulata (1964). Some of his prominent films are
Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1969), Pratiwandi (1970), Jana Aranya (1975), crime fiction
Sonar Kella (1974), Jai Baba Felunath (1978) and Shatranj ke Khiladi (1977),
his first film in Hindi. Considered as one of
world's most respected filmmakers, Satyajit ray received many awards, including 32 National
Film Awards by the Government of India, numerous awards at international film
festivals and honorary doctorates and citations from universities world over.
In 1983 a
severe heart attack crippled Ray's mobility and. Satyajit Ray breathed his last
on April 23, 1992.
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