Distant Thunder (1973)
"Ashani Sanket" (original title)

Gangacharan is the new Brahmin of a village, where he assumes various duties: teaching, organizing religious events, and trying to prevent epidemics. But in that year 1943, war is raging (... See full summary »

Director:

Satyajit Ray

Writers:

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (novel), Satyajit Ray (screenplay)

Stars:

Soumitra Chatterjee, Babita, Sandhya Roy

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Soumitra Chatterjee	...	Gangacharan Chakravarti (as Soumitra Chattopadhyay)
Babita	...	Ananga, Gangacharan's wife
Sandhya Roy	...	Chutki
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chitra Banerjee	...	Moti
Paritosh Banerjee
Sachin Chakraborty
Govinda Chakravarti	...	Dinabandhu
Shrikumar Dutta
Subal Dutta
Tapan Dutta
Anil Ganguly	...	Nibaran
Noni Ganguly	...	'Scarface' Jadu
Debatosh Ghosh	...	Adhar
Gobardhan Ghosh
Dalim Guha

Storyline

Gangacharan is the new Brahmin of a village, where he assumes various duties: teaching, organizing religious events, and trying to prevent epidemics. But in that year 1943, war is raging (as reminded by the planes occasionally heard flying over the countryside), and a major famine is under way. As food shortages reach catastrophic proportions, Gangacharan attempts to preserve his privileged situation, while his generous wife, Ananga, conversely tries to help and support the community.

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Plot Keywords:

india | disaster

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Release Date:

26 October 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Distant Thunder

Company Credits

Production Co:

Balaka Movies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

User Reviews

One of THE best movies I have ever see.

The chemistry between Chatterjee and Babita is amazing in this classic study of the conflicts between religion, station, and the inner workings of human souls. Ray's best-known masterpiece improves with repeated viewings. Every time, I watch it, I pick up new nuances, particular on Babita's performance. The thin lines between devout and callous, love and loathing, & heroism and insanity have never been examined more in-depth or with greater insights. On one level, great art, on another flawlessly technical, but overwhelmingly emotionally draining in the best possible way.