Reason, Debate and a Story (1974)

In this quest narrative that makes the Odyssey look like a trip to the mall, four men, each peculiar in his own way, embark on a quest to reason with the estranged wife of the protagonist.

Director:

Ritwik Ghatak

Writers:

Ritwik Ghatak (as Shri Ritwik Kumar Ghatak), Ritwik Ghatak

Stars:

Tripti Mitra, Shaonli Mitra, Sugata Burman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tripti Mitra	...	Durga
Shaonli Mitra	...	Bangabala
Sugata Burman	...	Nachiketa
Bijon Bhattacharya	...	Jagannath
Ranen Ray Choudhury
Partha Pratim Chowdhury
Utpal Dutt	...	Shatrujit
Satindra Bhattacharya
Pranab
Tarak Chatterjee	...	(as Tarak Chattopadhyay)
Nani Chatterjee	...	(as Nani Chattopadhyay)
Subrata Sensharma
Gyanesh Mukherjee	...	Panchanan Ustad (as Gyanesh Mukhopadhyay)
Arun Roy
Ananya Ray	...	Leader of Naxalites (as Ananyo Roy)

Storyline

Nilkantha, an alcoholic frustrated intellectual, suddenly finds himself out of the street. His wife, Durga has suffered for his waywardness and his love for the bottle, finally leaves him, taking their son with. Nachiketa, a young, unemployed engineer, stays behind to look after him. Bangbala, a young refugee form Bangladesh comes into the empty house looking for shelter. While they sit musing on a part bench, they are joined by Jagannath, a penniless Sanskrit teacher. The strange foursome start on their extraordinary journey to Kanchanpur, Nilkanth's wife's new home. They along with Panchanan Ustad, an exponent of the chhau dance witness a Chhau performance of goddess Durga destroying a demon. The group walks into a confrontation between the tribals and the landlord. The landlord shoots in panic and kills Jagannath. On their way to Nilkanth's wife Durga's place, they have to pass through a sal forest, where hidden eyes watch their progress. The forest is a hideout for rebellious ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

YOUTUBE [India]

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Release Date:

30 September 1977 (India)

Also Known As:

Reason, Debate and a Story

Company Credits

Production Co:

Angel Digital Private Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: New Directors, New Form (2011)

User Reviews

One of the best Indian films in its genre

This is one of the classic Indian films of the period 1970-1980. In a time when West Bengal ( the Indian portion of Bengal after the Partition of India) was in the turmoil of Naxalite politics Ritwick Ghatak comes up with this masterpiece. It should be noted that he wrote the script, produced and directed "Jukti Takko Aar Gappo'. The film has long sequences (shorter though than Ghatak's other films) and is edited quite well. The music draws heavily on Tagore's compositions and Bengal folk music and also includes much instrumental music composed by Ghatak himself.

Ghatak was affected by the Indian Partition in his personnel life and which greatly moulded his outlook to the world. He leant heavily on leftist political themes in his work but he always manages to deliver a message. Nilkantha is a hopeless drunkard who cannot rid himself of his addiction. He eventually loses wife and son and is forced to set off on a road in search of food and shelter. He takes along with him a wretched homeless women who has crossed the border from Bangladesh and his younger relation of his. While on the road he meets many similar people out on the road with him. He likes those who find solace in the bottle like him, a theme which comes up in a repetitive way in the films. Ghatak manages to show many sights and sounds of rural Bengal. In this depiction he is a master and depicts his homeland with an expert eye. The song by the Bangamala sounds quite melodious while she's singing but reality for Nilkantha and his groups starts immediately when it stops. To use film as a medium to show this is quite Ghatak's achievement considering the long sequences that he uses. Ghatak is a master in showing the world of the alcoholic with its bouts of drinking, wandering and loitering. Eventually the aimless alcoholic meets his end by an arbitrary police bullet just when he is to be reunited with his son. The police carry his remains away and silence descends on the forest. Life goes as ever. Can an alcoholic, even after many failed attempts, be eventually cured by contact and love of his family? One cannot tell because the state intervenes with bullets intended to kill terrorists (the Naxalites were branded as such in the 1970s) and the wretched alcoholic is caught in the crossfire and dies.