Devi

"Devi" (Hindi, 1960): Directed by Satyajit Ray, and banned in India until the intercession of Nehru, this is the story of a lovely 17 year old wife, who is suddenly labeled as a "Goddess" (while her husband is absent to complete his final exams in college), due to a dream ("vision") by her father-in-law. What follows is a fascinating, multi-angled look at the transitional Indian culture (and MOST cultures, frankly). Is this any different, any worse, or any more desperate than seeing the face of Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich or the grain of a wooden door? Is her overnight change in status unique? Are the people who have confused motives, hopelessness, or malleable minds any less vulnerable here and now? The quality of the video copy I viewed was rough – a copy of a copy of a copy – yet even then, the power of Ray's vision shines through. This is a serious, beautiful, insightful, tragic film. (It has something of a "cousins" relationship to the film "Anchoress".)

In the countryside of India, Umaprasad (Soumitra Chattopadhyay) has been happily married with his seventeen year-old wife Doyamoyee (Sharmila Tagore) for three years. They live in the house of Umaprasad´s father Kalikinkar Roy (Chhabi Biswas), who worships the goddess Kali, with Umaprasad´s elder brother Taraprasad (Purnendu Mukhopadhyay), his wife Harasundari (Karuna Bandyopadhyay) and their child Khoka. Umaprasad has a conversation with Doyamoyee and explains that he will move to the big city to study English and she questions why he needs to travel to go to school. Sometime later, Kalikinkar has a dream that Doyamoyee is the reincarnation of Kali and the locals come to Kalikinkar´s house to worship her. Doyamoyee asks Harasundari to write to Umaprasad and soon he returns home. But Doyamoyee has been brainwashed with the situation and begins to believe that she might be the reincarnation of Kali leading the family to a tragedy.

"Devi", a.k.a. "The Goddess", is a little gem with a story of family tradition (and respect), religion, superstition and ignorance in the Nineteenth Century in India. "Devi" is beautifully shot in black-and-white and has magnificent performances and a perfect open conclusion. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Deusa" ("The Goddess")

Satyajit Ray made "Devi" in 1960. It was only his sixth film after completeing his 'Apu Trilogy' and "The Music Room" but it's much less well-known and little seen today. It's also a masterpiece. The great Chhabi Biswas, (he of "The Music Room"), once again plays a rich, lonely old man who comes to believe his daughter-in-law is a reincarnation of the Goddess Kali. If the tale is a fanciful one it's grounded in the harsh realities of the India of the time, (it's set in the mid-nineteenth century), and its heart is a heart of darkness. Goddess or witch, the end result is the same; such superstition can only have a tragic outcome and this is one of Ray's finest tragedies. Working again with what was basically his stock company, Ray draws superb performances from his cast and like so much of his work, this is a great ensemble piece, superbly shot by Subrata Mitra and scored by Ali Akbar Khan. It's a film that cries out for restoration and rediscovery.

A film that explores the line between the good aspects of faith (e.g. humility) and the bad (e.g. ignorance) when an elderly man has a dream that his daughter-in-law is the incarnation of the goddess Kali, and immediately begins venerating her. In Hinduism the idea of one of the deities from its pantheon incarnating as a mortal is fairly common and has some interesting and profound philosophical implications, but here we feel a deep sense of falseness and unease. When the young woman's husband returns to find her on a dais surrounded by chanting worshippers he eventually tries to get her out of there, but she begins to wonder whether she might indeed be Kali, and if leaving may cause the gods to inflict their wrath upon him. It all seems a little crazy - a single fleeting moment in an old man's dream, and suddenly streams of people are coming to a trapped young woman, some bearing sick children and expecting her to heal them.

Before the dream, the old man has a somewhat creepy relationship with her - for example, calling her 'mother' and praising her while she waits on him and tenderly washes his feet. Later we find out she's just 17 years old, and has been married for 3 years, causing some uncomfortable internal math even if it is based on the reality of 19th century India (and apparently a true story). Sharmila Tagore plays the conflicted aspects of the part well, and she was only 16 years old. I found that the film was an interesting look into the culture - and director Satyajit Ray's criticism of blind faith - but the pace of the film was a little too slow for what is a pretty simple story. It finishes strong though, and with some powerful images of Tagore.

Devi / The Goddess (1960) : Brief Review -

A Satyajit Ray Classic on Superstition and Religious Dogmatism. Master Ray had to make that one woman oriented film with fictionalized mindset of society and i think this story of blind devotion and incarnation stuff was a perfect fit for it. Devi was Ray's 6th film after Appu Trilogy, Jalsaghar and Parasha Patthar and eventually it was far different with the content. A young woman is deemed as a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali. This leads a devotional rampage in the village and the woman finds herself caught in the crowd which she didn't want and then after the rituals stays very lonely remembering her earlier happy life. Sharmila Tagore in the lead role portrays the character with utter finesse. Those long shots have been framed by her expression without any cuts which shows how dedicated and immersed she was into the character. Soumitra Chatterjee as her husband has sort of supporting role if we go with the screen space but whatever scenes he has, he does it comfortably. Karuna Banerjee came as a complete surprise for me because the role was very sidelined and i didn't expect her to do so well with less potential of the character. I loved her in Pather Panchali so i never doubted her acting skills and she did not disappoint but moreover surpassed my expectations. The supporting cast too does well with everyone having important scenes. Devi has Satyajit Ray marking all over. From framework to storytelling to pauses and scene cutting everything has Ray's artistic touch to it. The climax is more subtle than what it looks and i am sure Satyajit Ray's Fans will understand it. However, the mass audience would never reach to the bottom of it. Overall, another Ray Classic but this time with an Important Subject like Superstition in rural areas.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.