IMDb RATING
8.1/10
7.5K
YOUR RATING
The lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.The lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.The lonely wife of a newspaper editor falls in love with her visiting cousin-in-law, who shares her love for literature.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 2 nominations total
Madhavi Mukherjee
- Charulata
- (as Madhabi Mukherjee)
- …
Shailen Mukherjee
- Bhupati
- (as Sailen Mukherjee)
- …
Subrata Sensharma
- Motilal
- (as Subrata Sen)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRay once called Charulata his favorite of his own films.
- Goofswhen Bhupati shows Amal his weekly newspaper 'The Sentinel', it can be seen that it is published every Saturday and the date shown is 7 April 1879 but actually 7 April 1879 was Monday.
- Quotes
Amal: All done with studies, exams, professors, cutting classes.
Charulata: What's left? Foolishness and mischief?
Amal: Poetry. Rhythm. You know, I was thinking.
Charulata: What?
Amal: All of life is like a rhythm. Birth, death. Day - night. Happiness - sorrow. Meeting - parting. Like the waves on the ocean, now rising - now falling. One complements the other.
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD (Extra Movie in "IL LAMENTO SUL SENTIERO"), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Strange Birds (2017)
- SoundtracksGod Save The Queen
(uncredited)
Music by Thomas Augustine Arne
Played on the Piano by Amol (Kumar Basu)
Featured review
Satyajit Ray is one of my very favorite film makers, and I especially love his "Apu" Trilogy and "Home and the World", all four of which I would probably rate 10/10 or possibly 9/10. I saw "Charulata" ("The Lonely Wife") on videotape in the closing days of 1999.
"Charulata" clearly espouses S.Ray's distinctive style with very strong and realistic characters subtly developed, rich immersion into the period of the film (in this case around the time of the Indian Mutiny in the 1860s or 1870s, as I recall from history), having of a very few settings that are each portrayed in detail, and compelling and introspective camera shots. I am not surprised that some people are reminded, in viewing S. Ray's films, of Russian author Chekhov; I think of the paralysis of the characters in "The Cherry Orchard" and their juxtaposition against a lovely estate that they are in the process of losing.
In this film there isn't the same faded glory, but the lovely home decor and liberating gardens do contrast starkly with the paralysis of the wife. Bright and with clear literary talent, she is stuck as but a home fixture for her well-intentioned but unseeing husband. The husband has laudable passion for his newspaper and the truth, but is sadly ignorant of the companionship and time that any relationship, particularly a marital one, demands.
I would probably rate this film 8.5-9 out of 10. For me, it didn't have the strong emotion of any of the other films I mentioned above or the intricate story of "Agantuk" ("The Stranger", in color and which I believe was his last film). But overall, "Charulata" is another masterpiece film by Satyajit Ray with a quiet and humble, yet powerful, presentation, rather uncommon in contemporary film.
"Charulata" clearly espouses S.Ray's distinctive style with very strong and realistic characters subtly developed, rich immersion into the period of the film (in this case around the time of the Indian Mutiny in the 1860s or 1870s, as I recall from history), having of a very few settings that are each portrayed in detail, and compelling and introspective camera shots. I am not surprised that some people are reminded, in viewing S. Ray's films, of Russian author Chekhov; I think of the paralysis of the characters in "The Cherry Orchard" and their juxtaposition against a lovely estate that they are in the process of losing.
In this film there isn't the same faded glory, but the lovely home decor and liberating gardens do contrast starkly with the paralysis of the wife. Bright and with clear literary talent, she is stuck as but a home fixture for her well-intentioned but unseeing husband. The husband has laudable passion for his newspaper and the truth, but is sadly ignorant of the companionship and time that any relationship, particularly a marital one, demands.
I would probably rate this film 8.5-9 out of 10. For me, it didn't have the strong emotion of any of the other films I mentioned above or the intricate story of "Agantuk" ("The Stranger", in color and which I believe was his last film). But overall, "Charulata" is another masterpiece film by Satyajit Ray with a quiet and humble, yet powerful, presentation, rather uncommon in contemporary film.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Charulata: The Lonely Wife
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $77,820
- Runtime1 hour 57 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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