Mahapurush

This is one of Ray's short stories. It lacks the intensity of his full-length features. Its a satire which appropriately captures the post-independence Indian zeitgeist. Its a sweet tale of how a charlatan is exposed with help from basic science and motivation from a lover boy in distress. Be it a short story or not, in every one of his movies, Ray has been a beacon by conveying his socially progressive ideas. He's a master at exposing the fault lines in the Indian society and delivering his wisdom packaged in a entertaining manner. I saw the movie in a combination pack with another one of his shorts - Kapurush. Kapurush is an emotion-packed drama. It captures the anxiety and rekindling of emotions of a chance meeting between two estranged lovers.

A religious charlatan claims to have been around for thousands of years, and no matter how outrageous his lies, has an entire village rapt and under his influence. This includes a widower and his daughter, upsetting the plans of marriage for her suitor, so the young man turns to his friends for help. The film is based on a short story by Parashuram, but it seems like a variation of Molière's Tartuffe, or reminded me of it anyway. I certainly like the concept of exposing religious hypocrisy anywhere and everywhere, but the story here is too linear and simple to make a great film. Ray doesn't flesh out his characters or develop any other subplot, so even at 65 minutes it felt a little dry. It's kind of interesting to compare this fictional character to other con-men though.

A short, simple & straightforward comedy released as one half of the double bill presentation along with Kapurush, Mahapurush (The Holy Man) concerns a devout Hindu family that falls victim to a charlatan posing as a holy man and a group of rational, intelligent men who take it upon themselves to expose him.

Co-written & directed by Satyajit Ray (The Music Room, The Big City & The Hero), the film may lack the scope of his best-known works but it still does well with the little material, thanks to its rich script, excellent cast & brief 65 mins runtime. Ray only keeps what advances the story and narrates it with aplomb while keeping things lighthearted.

The film shows the so-called god-men for who they really are and how they seduce the pious & vulnerable people into their swindling schemes without mocking the ignorance & blind following of their victims. The plot is easy to follow, even allows the viewers to catch up when it drops too many details, and maintains its neat composure from start to finish.

Overall, Mahapurush features a premise that could've been expanded upon for greater impact but it still goes past the finish line with the elegance that Ray films are known for. Not amongst his finest but a fun & enjoyable outing nonetheless that delivers both as a satire & farce and is patient in its approach & execution of the proceedings despite the limited runtime.

I was there said the Holy Man and many other claims were made by the clever con from India who has camped out at a believers house. However Love conquers Con and a camp fire puts the Holy man on the run, but not without compensation!

Those who are into the afterlife, this a a must movie to see. Beware of false prophets and you will overcome such scams.

"Mahapurush: The Holy Man" is a decent little film, but I definitely should point out that it is little in scope and style. Satyajit Ray has taken one of his short stories and brought it to the screen. And, at only a little over an hour and a very simple plot, it seems pretty obvious that it was a short story. Because of this, the film is rather slight and I don't recommend it for folks not familiar with Ray's work, as he's done better and more amazing films. This one is more for someone wanting to see all of Ray's films--even the minor ones.

The film begins with a widower meeting a holy man on a train. Soon, the man is won over by the holy man and has convinced practically everyone in his family to become disciples of the guy and he comes to live with them. There is only one problem--he spouts nothing but hogwash and he's clearly a phony. For example, the guy claims to be older than the Buddha and Jesus AND that he told Einstein about the theory of relativity!! So how are the family's friends going to expose the truth? See the film and find out for yourself.

My biggest complaint about the film is much of the ending--which I found a bit vague and confusing. However, there are some nice character studies and the film is enjoyable. In many ways, this is like an Indian version of the old Moliere play, "Tartuffe".