In some respect, the protagonist of Ray’s SEEMABADDHA & Mrinal Sen’s AKASH KUSUM are quite alike. Both have a burning ambition to go up the social ladder. In the Ray film, the protagonist succeed in his endeavor through unscrupulous means. The Sen protagonist fails but unlike the Ray protagonist doesn’t come across as being too cruel a person.
Ray comes across as a greater pragmatist in this case, as in modern life one need to pull a few strings (maybe bump off a few people too) to climb up the corporate/success ladder. If this be true, it’s a sad commentary on human values. Mrinal Sen seem to second the Ray conviction in his later film EK DIN ACHANAK where a less ambitious academically inclined Professor leaves his family unable to cater to their ever increasing need/greed.
Greed can even compel a mother to send her daughter for prostitution as seen in both Sen’s CALCUTTA SEVENTY ONE & Ray’s JANA ARANYA. While greed helps the protagonist rise in stature in SEEMABADDHA, it leads to a downfall in AKASH KUSUM. Even in Sen’s INTERVIEW the protagonist in need of a better job doesn’t succeed in the end. Can we say that while MS seem to suggest that greed ought to be kept on a leash, SR unleashes the contemporary reality by projecting characters in higher echelons riding on the miseries and tribulation of the commoners?
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Ambition and greed as reflected in the films of Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray
Posted: April 4, 2017 in Bengali films, Mrinal Sen, Satyajit Ray, social commentaryIn some respect, the protagonist of Ray’s SEEMABADDHA & Mrinal Sen’s AKASH KUSUM are quite alike. Both have a burning ambition to go up the social ladder. In the Ray film, the protagonist succeed in his endeavor through unscrupulous means. The Sen protagonist fails but unlike the Ray protagonist doesn’t come across as being too cruel a person.
Ray comes across as a greater pragmatist in this case, as in modern life one need to pull a few strings (maybe bump off a few people too) to climb up the corporate/success ladder. If this be true, it’s a sad commentary on human values. Mrinal Sen seem to second the Ray conviction in his later film EK DIN ACHANAK where a less ambitious academically inclined Professor leaves his family unable to cater to their ever increasing need/greed.
Greed can even compel a mother to send her daughter for prostitution as seen in both Sen’s CALCUTTA SEVENTY ONE & Ray’s JANA ARANYA. While greed helps the protagonist rise in stature in SEEMABADDHA, it leads to a downfall in AKASH KUSUM. Even in Sen’s INTERVIEW the protagonist in need of a better job doesn’t succeed in the end. Can we say that while MS seem to suggest that greed ought to be kept on a leash, SR unleashes the contemporary reality by projecting characters in higher echelons riding on the miseries and tribulation of the commoners?
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