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Synopsis
Varanasi (Kashi) 1920; Apu (Pinaki Sengupta)
and his mother Sarbojaya (Karuna Banerjee)
live in this holiest of the holy cities,
where his father Harihar (Kanu Banerjee)
works as priest and a seller of herbal medicines.
Harihar dies, leaving the mother and son
helpless. Apu and his mother return to Bengal
and start living in Mansapota, the village
of an old uncle of Sarbojaya. Little Apu
works a priest but pesters his mother to
put him in school. Reluctantly, she agrees.
Apu performs brilliantly in his matriculation
exams and gets a scholarship to pursue higher
studies in Kolkata. The teenaged Apu (Smaran
Ghoshal) gets engulfed in city life –
studying hard in the daytime and working
in a printing press at night. He grows distant
from his mother. Sarbojaya suffers in solitude,
her health deteriorates. Sarbojaya dies
lonely and neglected. Apu is devastated
but his spirit is unvanquished … He
leaves the village forever, his adolescence
is over and he is now ready to step into
adulthood…
The film
Pather Panchali,
the first film of Satyajit
Ray’s 'Apu Trilogy' explored the
childhood experiences of its protagonist
Apu and the trials and tribulations that
had forced his family to leave the small
village of Nischindipur. Aparajito
continues Apu’s journey from the end
of Pather Panchali – it portrays
his stepping into adolescence and finally
his complete break from his roots to become
his own man ... The central theme of the
film is conflict between Apu’s quest
for independence versus his mother Sarbojaya’s
possessive love and her want for stasis
and security.
Aparajito is a film in three distinct
acts and a resolution. The first depicts
the life of Apu, Harihar and Sarbojaya in
the holy city of Varanasi where Harihar,
a Brahmin ekes meagre a living reciting
shlokas to widows and dispensing
ayurvedic medications to the poor.
Apu is happy; he doesn’t have to go
to school and spends his days in a carefree
manner playing games with his friends in
the narrow lanes of Varanasi, slipping through
the legs of a huge bull or gaping in awe
at pehlwans. The family is still
poor but Harihar seems to have overcome
the series of shocks that forced him to
leave his village.  But
Sarbojaya, who spends most of the time indoors
in the suffocating house, is the one who
is scared and diffident. It is through Sarbojaya’s
isolation and edginess the film reveals
the consequences of leaving the village
and relocating in an urban set-up. Her helplessness
is manifested through her encounters with
the monkeys at the water tap and the lecherous
advances of their neighbour Nandababu –
a character who has visual similarity with
a monkey. Yet despite all the problems there
is a modicum of stability and better prospects
and the film brilliantly portrays this sense
of optimism through little details like
Sarbojaya providing extra bit of milk for
her husband and a sick Harihar thinking
about getting a better accommodation and
putting Apu in school. The film uses the
city of Varanasi with it’s the majestic
ghats, the dingy lanes, the murals
and the temple rituals – common images
which seen through the eyes of a master
filmmaker assume a monumental quality –
as a backdrop to this subtle human drama.
The optimism is cut short by Harihar’s
death - a death portrayed without any melodramatic
excess. A cut from the close-up of the dying
Harihar to a flock of pigeons taking flight
acts a poignant metaphor of release of a
humble, religious soul. The next shot of
Apu being wrapped up in the funeral clothes
on the banks of the Ganges expresses his
stunned incomprehension about the magnitude
of the tragedy that has occurred.
Sarbojaya now becomes the dominant figure
in the film and naturally so – as
a widow with a young son she becomes the
strong and dedicated mother. Swallowing
her pride she takes up the job of a cook
in the household of a rich family. But the
moment she realises that her stability would
undermine Apu’s future she decides
to take up the offer of her uncle Bhabataran
and return to Bengal. A swish pan from the
pained face of Sarbojaya after she sees
Apu lighting the hookah of the zamindar
to the wheels of a steam engine accompanied
by a rousing sitar melody signals the beginning
of the second act of Aparajito.
The transition is conveyed through the train
journey back home - a classical montage
sequence of the changing landscapes shot
from the train window. As soon as the scenery
of Bengal appears Ray uses his first reference
to Pather Panchali – the
haunting theme music of the film fades into
the soundtrack signifying a welcome and
start of a new life.
The key element of the second part of Aparajito
concerns Apu’s admission to the village
school and his interactions with the sincere
headmaster who realises his potential and
provides him with books to read. The film
depicts the opening up of a new world through
a series of shots showing Apu making a siphon
out of a papaya stem and him dressed in
a weird costume and shouting 'Africa' at
his unsuspecting and uncomprehending mother.
Apu at this point becomes the universal
and eternal embodiment of a child’s
spirit of curiosity and excitement. But
the seeds of emotional conflict between
the mother and he son are planted obliquely
in this part – for Sarbojaya economic
constancy and continuity of the way of life
is the prime motivation but Apu begins to
dream for bigger things…
The film enters a higher dramatic scale
in the third and final part when the adolescent
Apu passes his school-leaving examinations
with flying colours and earns a scholarship
to study in Kolkata. Sarbojaya’s pride
in her son’s achievement clashes with
her concerns for her own welfare and the
realisation that her little son is a no
longer a child but a young man with his
own ambitions and dreams. In one of the
most emotionally intense moment of Aparajito,
Sarbojaya slaps Apu and then instantly like
the ever-sacrificing archetypal mother atones
for her act by offering Apu her last savings
for his studies in Kolkata. The first parting
scene reflects Ray’s mastery in handling
extreme emotions with restraint and economy
- Apu leaves home, carrying a symbolically
significant globe and walks to the train
that will carry him to college in Kolkata.
Ray captures the brave smile on Sarbojaya's
face as she waves good-bye; when Apu's back
is turned, the smile disappears and her
face grows tense with the fear of loneliness.
Apu in Kolkata symbolizes the fundamental
dislocation of youth. His discovery of the
charms of the big city – beginning
with electric light in his living quarters
- and the imbibing some of the moral laxity
of an urbanite through his growing camaraderie
with his city-slicker friend Pulu –
casually munching peanuts, bunking classes
and whistling tunes – act as signifiers
of his increasing comfort with the life
in Kolkata and the emotional distance with
the life in Mansapota and his mother Sarbojaya.
Apu is caught up in the quintessential dilemma
of an adolescent – the realisation
that growing away from one’s roots
implies sacrificing a bit of one’s
soul. In Aparajito, the evolution
of Apu’s detachment is brilliantly
depicted in the two scenes concerning Apu’s
vacations. When he first visits the village
a bored Apu decides to leave early although
Sarbojaya would have loved to him stay back;
the moment the train arrives, he realises
his folly and so comes back home in a hurry
and lies down with a happy relaxed smile.
Later, with his exams looming and with his
mother’s health deteriorating (though
Apu is unaware of the fact) he decides to
ignore her pleas to return for the Ganesh
Puja. Apu feels guilty. The atonement –
money-order his bonus pay to Sarbojaya.
If the adolescent Apu represents the exhilaration
of youth the Sarbojaya is the personification
of the despondency of old-age. In Aparajito,
this dichotomy is vividly conveyed by the
motif of the train. In Pather Panchali,
the train through the field of kash
flowers was in the vision of the child Apu
the speed-demon of fairy tales. In the beginning
of the second part of Aparajito,
little Apu shows the same response when
he sees the train faraway behind the paddy
fields. But in the final act of the film
when the train is the vehicle of freedom
for Apu it becomes Sarbojaya’s life-line
of hope of Apu coming back to Mansapota.
Ray would use the motif of the train again
in Apur Sansar
(1959), the last film of the trilogy
– this time with harsher connotations.
Sarbojoya’s loneliness is conveyed
through the empty spaces in the frames,
the deliberate sameness of her chores and
actions… When Nirupama the caring
young widow suggests Apu’s marriage
she gives a smile of resignation. This sense
of isolation is heightened through a small
scene involving a more prosperous woman
who boasts of the success of her jamai
resulting in Sarbojaya’s break-down.
Her death scene is another moment of cinema
at its most subtle, poignant and lyrical
form – in falling dusk Sarbojaya impassively
hears the whistle of the train, she hears
the chimera of Apu’s voice, she rushes
out, an overwhelming sense of emptiness
greets her, she watches the magical dance
of the fireflies by the pond, a sense of
fatigue creeps into her face, the fireflies
dance …
In the epilogue, Apu’s breakdown
when he realises his mother is no more resolves
the emotional abyss between him and his
mother. It also severs his final ties with
his roots and provides the strength to ignore
his grand-uncle Bhabataran’s advice
of security and continuity as a village
priest. Apu finally is an adult –
and as he finally comes out of the decrepit
hut and walks down the winding village road
the theme of Pather Panchali fades
in for the second time to greet Apu as he
steps into the future…
Aparajito, although being the
second film of Satyajit Ray’s 'Apu
Trilogy', is an independent film in itself
– the two 'quotations' of the theme
music of its predecessor do not require
previous viewing of the first film and stand
on their own as imaginative use of background
music. However, for those who have seen
Pather Panchali, Aparajito
is the perfect sequel. In the film the timeless
tale of growing-up and the ensuing dissonance
between personal independence and abandonment
of the loved one is masterfully portrayed
by the classically structured screenplay
that abstains from melodramatic excesses
for a lyrical, minimalist style in order
to explore the psyche of its main protagonists.
Technically the film is excellent with
Subrata Mitra’s
cinematography shunning plasticity thus
brilliantly complimenting the director’s
vision. Mitra’s instinctive discovery
of 'bounced' shadow-less lighting to illuminate
Bansi
Chandragupta’s wonderfully realistic
set of interiors of the family’s Varanasi
residence perfectly mimics the light which
Ray described as "qualitatively
unvarying, and one could pass of a morning
shot as an afternoon one" is acknowledged
as a landmark in the history of cinematography.
Often the protagonists are framed through
doorways providing a visual metaphor to
the themes of change, separation and closure.
The balanced use of the evocative background
music composed with traditional instruments
by Ravi Shankar coupled with the imaginative
use of immense variety of synchronous and
non-synchronous sounds adds to the poetic
quality of the film.
A major part of the appeal of Aparajito
lies in its perfect casting and the director’s
ability to extract the very best out of
a team of professional and non-professional
actors. Kanu Bannerjee continues his excellent
work as the meek and humble Harihar as does
Pinaki Sengupta as the younger, innocent
Apu. In an article, Extracts from a Banaras
Diary, Ray described the shoot of Harihar’s
collapse on the steps of Chowshati Ghat
as "Very satisfactory work. A strong
wind ruffled the surface of the river and
lent movement to the shots. Kanubabu fell
most realistically got a nasty cut in the
knee". Smaran Ghoshal in the role
of adolescent Apu brings in all the energy
and restlessness of youth. Karuna Bannerjee’s
performance as Sarbojaya is the highlight
of the film. A single movement of her face,
a fleeting glance of her eyes is enough
to express myriad emotions - pain, hope,
despair, loneliness, love and the futility
of waiting. The tendency of Italian neo-realist
filmmakers like De Sica, Visconti and Rossellini
- whose films Ray had seen regularly during
his stay in London and inspired him - to
use non-actors is reflected in Aparajito.
Ramani Sengupta, "a seventy-year
old resident of Banaras we picked up on
the ghat" as Sarbojaya’s
old uncle Bhabataran is a master-stroke
in casting. The old man does a brilliant
job in one of the final moments of Aparajito
when he delivers a long dialogue counselling
Apu to stay in the village and work as a
priest while smoking his hookah.
Subodh Ganguly, another non-actor, too is
extremely convincing as the headmaster of
the village school who kindles and nurtures
the fire of curiosity in the student Apu.
The influence of neo-realism can also be
noticed in the film’s on-location
shooting and conversational speech rather
than literary dialogue,
Aparajito when released in 1956
following the immense success of Pather
Panchali was initially a commercial
failure. Ray admitted, "the urban
audience which was largely familiar with
the plot of Aparajito were irritated by
the deviations. As for the suburban audience,
it was shocked by the portrayal of the mother
and son relationship, so sharply at variance
with the conventional notion mutual of sweetness
and devotion… the awards won by the
film (at European film festivals) put a
new complexion on the situation …"
Among the prestigious awards the film has
won are Golden Lion of St. Mark, Venice
(1957), Cinema Nuovo Award, Venice ( 1957),
Critics Award, Venice (1957), FIPRESCI Award,
London (1957), Best Film and Best Direction,
San Francisco (1958), International Critic's
Award, San Francisco (1958), Golden Laurel
for Best Foreign Film of 1958-59, USA, and
the Selznik Golden Laurel, Berlin (1960).
Aparajito is a lyrical film imbibed
with a deep sense of empathetic humanism.
It narrates an emotionally resonant tale
of movement and change as the key elements
of human existence and captures the indomitable
spirit of its protagonist who overcomes
external constraints and overwhelming personal
losses to continue his journey of life on
his own terms. Like any great work of art
Aparajito creates its own unique
and sublime universe yet speaks to the hearts
and minds of every sensitive individual.
Contributed by Monish K Das, an
alumnus of the Film and Television Institute
of India (FTII), Pune with specialization
in Film Editing, 1992. He now lives and
works as a documentary filmmaker and social
communication consultant in Kolkata.
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