The Music Room (1958)
"Jalsaghar" (original title)

Biswambhar Roy is a zamindar (landlord) and the last of his kind. With the title, he has none of the perquisites, inheriting diminishing lands that are being eroded by the neighbouring ... See full summary »

Director:

Satyajit Ray

Writers:

Tarashankar Banerjee (based on the story by), Satyajit Ray (script),

Stars:

Chhabi Biswas, Sardar Akhtar, Gangapada Basu

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Chhabi Biswas	...	Huzur Biswambhar Roy
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sardar Akhtar	...	Singer (as Begum Akhtar)
Gangapada Basu	...	Mahim Ganguly
Bismillah Khan	...	Musician
Salamat Ali Khan	...	Khyal singer
Waheed Khan	...	Ustad Ujir Khan (as Ostad Wahed Khan)
Roshan Kumari	...	Krishna Bai, dancer
Tulsi Lahiri	...	Manager of Roy's Estate
Tarapada Nandy
Padmadevi	...	Mahamaya, Roy's wife (as Padma Devi)
Kali Sarkar	...	Roy's Servant
Pinaki Sengupta	...	Khoka, Roy's Son

Storyline

Biswambhar Roy is a zamindar (landlord) and the last of his kind. With the title, he has none of the perquisites, inheriting diminishing lands that are being eroded by the neighbouring river. But he must maintain the lifestyle of his heritage. This ostentation is most apparent in the grandest room of his mansion, the music room. Here he inports the finest musicians and dancers to perform, and invites the area's most important commoners. His wife's entreaties to control spending are ignored, and the puberty party he throws for his son bring him down to the last few sacks of family jewels. Then, struck by tragedy, he locks the music room and slips into lethargy - until a final grand soiree consumes the last of his funds.

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Plot Keywords:

landlord | chandelier | master servant relationship | class conflict | falling off horse | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Release Date:

1958 (India)

Also Known As:

The Music Room

Box Office

Gross:

$94,886 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arora

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Voted #20 on the list of "100 Best Films" by the prominent French magazine 'Cahiers du Cinema' in 2008.

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Connections

Referenced in The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

User Reviews

Bollywood movie?

Good heavens! This is about as far from Bollywood movies (cheesy musicals) as one could get. Jalsaghar is a poignant rendering of social transition at the personal level -- the indigent aristocrat whose delusive and self-destructive obsession with bringing his music room back to life shields him from the reality of his family's economic and social collapse, and indeed hastens it; the showy nouveau-riche neighbor who embodies the rise of a new social order based on economic achievement rather than aristocratic roots and inherited wealth. There are parallels to Chekhov and Faulkner (Snopeses and Sartorises). The black and white images (the white horse!) are stunning. I saw this film in the 1980s, and remember it more clearly than the movie I saw last night. It is truly a classic.