Nayak: The Hero (1966) Nayak (original title)

Director:

Satyajit Ray

Writer:

Satyajit Ray

Release Date:

13 April 1994 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A matinee idol Arindam Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar) is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train...

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Uttam Kumar	...	Arindam Mukherjee
Sharmila Tagore	...	Aditi
Bireswar Sen	...	Mukunda Lahiri
Somen Bose	...	Sankar
Nirmal Ghosh	...	Jyoti
Premangshu Bose	...	Biresh
Sumita Sanyal	...	Promila Chatterjee
Ranjit Sen	...	Haren Bose
Bharati Devi	...	Manorama (Mr. Bose's wife)
Lali Chowdhury	...	Bulbul (Mr. Bose's daughter)
Kamu Mukherjee	...	Pritish Sarkar
Susmita Mukherjee	...	Molly (Mr. Sarkar's wife)
Subrata Sensharma	...	Ajoy
Jamuna Sinha	...	Sefalika (Ajoy's wife)
Hiralal	...	Kamal Misra
Jogesh Chatterjee	...	Aghore, elderly journalist
Satya Banerjee	...	Swamiji
Gopal Dey	...	Conductor

Directed by
Satyajit Ray

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Satyajit Ray

Produced by
R.D. Bansal	....	producer

Original Music by
Satyajit Ray

Cinematography by
Subrata Mitra

Film Editing by
Dulal Dutta
Satyajit Ray

Production Design by
Bansi Chandragupta

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Amiya Sanyal	....	first assistant director

Production Companies

• R.D.Banshal & Co.

Distributors

• Artificial Eye (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Bollywood Films Ltd. (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Gala Entertainment Corp. (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Trans World Attractions (1974) (USA) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

"Nayak" - India (original title)

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG

Company:

R.D.Banshal & Co.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Autograph (2010)

Another one of Ray's less known but remarkable gems.

'Nayak' starts with two news headlines about movie star Arindham (Uttam Kumar). One headline states that Arindham got involved in a brawl and the other states his nomination for a prestigious award. While travelling to Delhi by train (in order to receive the award) he comes across various people including a young simple but modern journalist Aditi (Sharmila Tagore) to whom he confides his inner thoughts. In the process, the actor further discovers himself and his fear. Aditi too is moved as her prejudice against the cocky pompous movie star changes while she discovers the man behind the name.

Ray cleverly tells Arindham's story about how he made it to stardom, his sacrifice of his art, loss of friends leading to isolation, fear of failure, seeking comfort in alcohol, his inner conflict...He weaves it all into a screenplay that takes place during a train trip from Calcutta to Delhi. A lot of it is shown in flashback mode. The dream sequences are another example of fine writing and execution. We're also given a brief view of the corrupt world of cinema, how art is long lost and how it's become all about money, fame and name...very relevant and applicable to today's Indian film industry.

Uttan Kumar, being the biggest star in Bengali Cinema perfectly fits the part. One wonders how much of the character resembles Kumar in real life. Though Ray is known to cast Soumitra Chatterjee (who happened to be Kumar's arch rival) in most of his films, he made the correct decision by casting Kumar for I cannot imagine anyone else play the part. Sharmila Tagore is wonderful. The actress has an amazing presence and with her grace, simplicity and sincerity, she shines. 'Loved her scenes with Uttam.

Like most of Ray's powerful work, 'Nayak' is a rather less known but remarkable film. One of my favorites!