Jana Aranya

As bleak a film as Ray ever made and as brutally honest and disturbing as a film can be, Jana Aranya aka The Middleman, the final chapter in the master Indian filmmaker's highly acclaimed Calcutta Trilogy, jabs us in the small of our backs, rudely reminding us of the moral corruption that surrounds our society at large.

And, like most Satyajit Ray films, it is as relevant today as it was back then. Jana Aranya is not an easy film to watch and is certainly not meant for the faint-hearted.

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It would be a bit of a stretch to call this a comedy - the context surrounding this film would be the social and political turmoil of Calcutta in the late 60s and early 70s. But there are a few moments of great gallows humor here, which adds to the sense of sharp realism - the job interview scene immediately springs to mind. More sprawling than most of the Satyajit Ray I've seen, MIDDLEMAN (JANA ARANYA) is nonetheless a remarkable film, further developing the sense of rambling, rhythmic slice-of-life feel (with many quiet moments of great moral insight hidden within) explored in his earlier KANCHENJUNGHA and the 1970 masterpiece DAYS AND NIGHTS IN THE FOREST. Here, Ray's Calcutta recalls Scorsese's rather similar treatment of New York in TAXI DRIVER - location becomes character, and a vast city acquires a symbolic and mythic significance; the two films (made within a few years of each other, and conceived at roughly the same time) could almost be seen as distant mid-70s companions, linked by somewhat similar social and political concerns.

It is a great shame that more of Ray's work isn't available in the US - a body of work equivalent to that of Kurosawa, Ozu, Fellini or Bergman in its' breadth and depth is largely going unseen and sliding into obscurity in the West, due to (presumably) tangled business reasons. One would hope that someone can resolve this unfortunate state of affairs in the near future.

Last movie from the city series. This was the second novel by Shankar which Ray adapted. But these are just mere trivia. In an universe where there is no Apu series, I would call this Ray's best. What do you need in a super cool film. Dark comedy - this is overflowing with it. Fuzzy ending; you will get shocked with the climax and will understand the meaning of depression from the last sequence. And, I had to mention it, ensemble. This flick can be used as a textbook of ensemble cast for those directors who celebrates the guest and cameo appearances. The character actors are so powerful in their scenes, you will even not be interested in what the hero is saying. And that is done purposefully here. References of growing interest for maoism in the veins of a city were shot in guerrilla style makes this a documents of time too. In that way, Ray completes his 'Socialist Trilogy' too :P.

" The middleman is the last film on the Calcutta trilogy if we do not consider Mahanagar along the same genres. The protagonist Somnath is an educated unemployed youth struggling with his life in Calcutta. Somnath fails to get the distinctions in his BA because his answer scripts from university exam goes to a professor who had problems in reading his small hand writings with his broken borrowed specs. The result of which is a mere pass marks in literature much to the irk of his retired father. Somnath's quest with job in corporate Calcutta develops a chain of frustration, regrets, new relationships and dark humors to the amusement of the audience. He finds no answers to stupid questions asked by interview board as "what is the weight of the moon". The only support he gets is from his affectionate sister in law who gifts him a new watch as he enters the challenging phase of job search.

To add to his worry his long term girl friend dumps him in order to seek stability for her by an arranged marriage. There is a strong melodrama on the break up scene which catches the audience. Probably women always break up with a sense of encouragement with the dumped men and Ray brilliantly uses Aprana Sen for this role of Somnath's ex girl friend. Destiny chances upon Somnath when he meets an old football game friend who offers him support to start his own business and to leave the false illusion of cracking a job interview. The rest of the story involves Somnath learning the business rules as an order supplier or middleman.

The script is adapted from the story of Sankar and portraits the missing ethics in corporate world very strongly. The use of PRO (public relations officer) and tricks for luring procurement managers forms the main learning curve for Somnath as his middle class values are put to test for these tricks. Finally Somnath gives up and decides to follow the road ahead at the cost of his internal soul sufferings.

Ray brilliantly uses the plot in a simple and lucid way and this film is not a complex film as "The competitor". The climax is the last 20 minutes when Somnath struggles with his PRO to get a women (escort) for the client manager and ends up hiring his best friend's sister who has unfortunately turned into an underground call girl forced by sheer poverty. Somnath commercial success and his moral failure marks the end of the film as he fails to make an eye contact with his sister in law in the last scene. Somnath's win's in the end but fails to earn the respect and admiration from himself or from his sister in law. Somnath is definitely gray in shades or rather gets converted from a white shade to gray as he fights back the whole system for his own metabolism and future of a better tomorrow. For sure this contrast makes the end of the Calcutta trilogy".

Jana Aranya / The Middleman (1976) : Brief Review -

Satyajit Ray ends 'Calcutta Trilogy' with a Cult Classic by exploring the horrible world of Brokers and PRO. Jana Aranya is the last chapter in Satyajit Ray's famous Calcutta Trilogy and without any doubts it is the Best Film in the trilogy. He saved the best for the last. It's a mind-shattering journey of a gentleman becoming a pimp and losing all the respect even in his own eyes. A bright and idealistic young man steels himself for the dog-eat-dog business world, only to flounder in a job market packed with thousands of other hopefuls. Once a gentleman, who hoped for an honest life loses self respect while making money and this boiling point surely burns your heart. Basically, the film portrays the economic difficulties faced by middle-class, educated, urban youth in 1970s India. Here we only see one of those thousands young fellas who battled tough times despite having capabilities and talent. The other factor is, the film shows a horrible reality of broker's business and PRO (Public Relations) which are still the most easiest trades to make money in India. But how many of us knows that how they actually deal with this, do they enjoy doing this job or were they forced into it? That's where the burning factor comes which left me stunned in the climax when he says, "I got it. The contract. I got it". And the burning silence is followed. Performances wise, Pradip Mukherjee is everything here. He gets a challenging character to play and he plays it like a master. The second best performance comes from Santosh Dutta, who plays a PRO, despite having less screentime. Dialogues, screenplay, cinematography and direction everything is top class. Nothing goes wrong about this film and therefore Jana Aranya is strongly recommended. Easily, in the Top 5 Films of Satyajit Ray. In short, A Cult Classic!

RATING - 8.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.