Drama, by Satyajit Ray, 1964, India.
The story is set in Calcutta in 1879, during the period of the British Raj. Charulata (called “Charu”) is a cultured and sensitive woman, married to Bhupati, an intellectual and editor who runs a liberal political newspaper. Her husband is absorbed in his editorial and political activities and ends up neglecting his wife, leaving her often lonely and melancholy. Charulata nurtures a love for literature, reads poetry and prose, observes the outside world through opera glasses or a telescope, and feels increasingly isolated. Aware of his wife’s loneliness, Bhupati invites his young cousin Amal, an aspiring writer, to live with them and keep Charulata company. Between Charulata and Amal grows an intellectual bond: they share a passion for writing, music, and the arts, and their emotional closeness awakens Charulata’s creativity. However, that connection risks turning into romantic feeling, even if never explicitly consummated.

Charulata is a complex figure: not a passive victim, but an educated, sensitive woman who yearns to escape her inner solitude. The film explores the tensions between desire, respect, and social and intellectual constraints. It is a refined portrait of longing and repression that still resonates today. The richness of detail, the use of the camera, and the composition of the shots make the film elegant and visually intense. The film touches on themes of affection, loyalty, sacrifice, desire, and social limits. Directed by the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, it is considered one of his masterpieces. Ray combines narrative delicacy, psychological introspection, and cultural depth.

LANGUAGE: Bangla
SUBTITLES: English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese