Subarnarekha

Watched at a retrospective event at NYC. A true masterpiece .... glad to add this missing gem in my collections of great movies by the great masters ...

I watched this film at my college days.I saw it twice.But still I have not lost my appetite to watch it again.

This film features post-independent state of Bengal.

This film contradicted many old ideas like 'Nachiketa','Upanishad' and pioneered a new era after partition of Bengal.

The river Subarnarekha and a beautiful home (surrounded by birds,music) on the bank of the river symbolizes the happiness,joy of the homeless people who has come from the East Pakistan.

The director shows here that continuous rioting,communality,partition have killed Bengali classic culture,pride etc.

The background music applied is just awesome by Ustad Bahadur Khan and good singing by Arati Mukherjee.

The application and implication of the Rabindra song "Aj Dhaner Khete" implies the director's great sense.

No doubt it should be taken as one of the best movies ever made in India.

This great work by Ritwik Ghatak should get many awards but got nothing.

I think this was the next master work after 'Meghe Dhaka Tara' by Ritwik Ghatak.

The more I watch of Ritwik Ghatak, the more I wonder how such an enormous talent got not taste of success and accolades in his lifetime as much as his contemporaries did. As his movie Subarnarekha reiterates, that no matter how much people bear suffering, they are not willing to read or see on celluloid. But the movie ends with hope when the tired feet of old Ishwar are dragged on by his nephew boy to a yet new beginning with the spirit that not all is lost to life. Mr Ghatak's stories are of sacrifices, sufferings, acute turns and events of life and losses where it hits an individual the most, and he does not treat them with melodrama but portrays those moments as intense and loud as they hit his characters, which I believe he remains true to what it should be. Subarnarekha deals with pragmatism over idealism, realities over dreams, and the unending pursuit of security over everything else and the choices one makes of these. Stupendous acting by Abhi Bhattacharya of Aradhana fame and a young Madhabi Mukherjee who later on appeared in many a great film. My appetite increases with each movie of his and I am yearning for more. Subarnarekha 8/10.

I've seen two of Ghatak's films, this and "Cloud-Capped Star". Ghatak creates a distinct and poignant mood of tragedy that is not entirely without redemption or promise. He also puts music to powerful effect; here the lead (Sita) sings so beautifully and sadly it will break your heart. The film has elements of a fairy tale - - I am thinking particularly of the way in which fateful forces separate and then reunite the long-lost characters. Ghatak handles the story in such a way that such elements feel entirely natural.

I cannot figure out why Ghatak is relatively unknown in the United States. He's at least as good as Ray. Both, though, are underrepresented, and their films are pitifully hard to find.

I thought this was one of the best films I've seen.

I've seen this film recently at the Ritwik Ghatak retrospective in the Vienna Filmmuseum in February 2002. I only can say: a masterpiece. A real discovery.

After having seen this extraordinary film, I can't understand why Ghatak's genius was hardly appreciated in his lifetime, why it had to take so long to rediscover him as one of the most amazing film directors of the 20th century.

The beautiful and heart-wrenching story tells about a family of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who struggle to find a new home in West Bengal. Ishwar Chakravorty gets a job near the river Subarnarekha and goes there with his little sister Shita and Abhiram, a low-caste young boy from the refugee camp he has adopted after the boy's mother had been abducted. They hope to find happiness in this new environment, but when Abhiram comes home after his school years and wants to marry Shita (who is also in love with him), tragic conflicts emerge that shatter the lives of all main characters.

The impressive direction with unorthodox usage of sound and music and expressionistic camera angles, the beautiful photography (notably in Ishwar's "breakdown scene"), and the great performances especially by the amazing Abhi Bhattacharya and Madhabi Mukherjee (though there is also some rather bad acting by some supporting actors, but this is only a minor drawback to the film) all add to the great impression of this wonderful picture. An absolute must-see!