Parash Pathar / The Philosopher's Stone (1958) :
Brief Review -
A pure work of fiction by Satyajit Ray which brings comedy, fantasy, satire, farce and a touch of pathos together. Like other Satyajit Ray films, Parasha Pathar does not offer solid content but it is damn funny to look at the texture. Actually, it tries to prove the regular Satyajit Ray effects by putting middle-class family sufferings and economical crisis in the script but the efforts aren't enough to have made a concrete version. Although its humour partly transplants to the west, the technical sounding isn't understandable to the Indian culture or society as shown in the film. It's just a simple story of a middle-class clerk who accidentally discovers a stone that can turn other objects into gold. Whatever follows is pretty enjoyable even if it shows some terrible events because the main course is humorous. Parash Pathar lacks substantial programming to its fictional theories that causes film's directions to go downwards in the climax. On the other side, the performances and brilliant designing of screenplay uplifts the film a bit. The lead actor Tulsi Chakrabarty grabs your attention in first 10 minutes never to leave it for a second. Rabibala Devi, Kali Banerjee and Bireswar Sen have small roles but plays it very good. Ray's screenplay is crispy and elated which keeps the film engaged and that's the only reason why this predictable film never make you feel bored. As a director, Satyajit Ray does decent job which is below par considering his high standard. But figuratively speaking, it is not that bad because Ray had made only two films before this and both belonged to non-comedy genre. So you see that below par concerns his overall filmography he did in 36 years. Overall, Parash Pathar is a pleasant watch anyday but nothing special.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
