ANTARJALI
YATRA - The Voyage Beyond
A
film by Goutam Ghose
1989/ Bengal/ 140 min
17th Sept / 5.45pm/ Perks Mini Theater
1989/ Bengal/ 140 min
17th Sept / 5.45pm/ Perks Mini Theater
Antarjali Yatra is a
stunning and beautifully picturised drama happening around the cremation ground
of a Bengali village on the muddy banks of the river Ganga. It traces the
journey of a young maiden who, to save the graces of the family, was married
off to an extremely old man on his deathbed, and how, she finds a company in a
'dom' - a man responsible for cremating at the burning ghats.
She is expected
to practice the ancient Hindu ritual known as SATI in which the widow throws
herself on the burning funeral pyre of her late husband. Wife who commits Sati was worshiped as a goddess
during those days. Antarjali Yatra is set in the Bengal of 19th century, times
of great social turbulence and breaking up of old traditions.
In this remarkable film
nothing happens as you expect and things go berserk. From the beginning , a
painted eye on a boat moored near the burial ground watches the absurd drama unfolding on that river
bank. There are three main characters-
the young bride, the dying old man
and the cremator of that ghat.
Shatrugan Sinha gives his stellar performance as the drunk untouchable
cremator entrusted with the last
cremation rites who is against the practice of Sati.
The film is rife with long
shots, and the cinematography is mesmerizing - the frames sometimes bring out
the bare truth along the muddy banks of Ganga, and sometimes they have this
brooding, lingering feel. Director
Gautam Ghose is also the cinematographer and music director of this film. Film
is based on a novel, Mahayatra by by
Kamal Kumar Mazumdar.
Goutam
Ghose
Goutam Ghose was born on
24th July,-1950 in Kolkata. He did his primary education from the St. John
Diocesan School and later joined Cathedral Missionary Boys for higher
studies.He made his directional debut with his biopic film New Earth in 1973.
Later, he made his cinema debut from the film MaaBhoomi in 1979. His Film Paar
with Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi was based on the Bengali story Paathi. He
made his acting debut from the film Grihajuddha in 1982 and later he acted in a
Gayak in 1987, BaisheSrabon in 2011, Ekla Akash in 2012, Chotushkone in 2014.
He was among the few whose
films were awarded Best Cinematography, Best Direction and Best Screenplay
awards at the National Film Awards ceremony. Including the awards and citations
received for Antanjali Yatra , he has won 16 National Awards and many
international awards like the Silver Balloon Award, the Nantes Film Festival,
the UNESCO Award, the Cannes Film Festival, the Grand Prix-Golden Semurg at
Tashkent,[4] the Fipresci Awards and Red Cross Award.
