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Le Saint

Original title: Mahapurush
  • 1965
  • Tous publics
  • 1h 5m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
Charuprakash Ghosh in Le Saint (1965)
SatireComedy

A devout Hindu family falls victim to a charlatan posing as a holy man.A devout Hindu family falls victim to a charlatan posing as a holy man.A devout Hindu family falls victim to a charlatan posing as a holy man.

  • Director
    • Satyajit Ray
  • Writers
    • Rajshekhar 'Parashuram' Basu
    • Satyajit Ray
  • Stars
    • Charuprakash Ghosh
    • Rabi Ghosh
    • Prasad Mukherjee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    1.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Satyajit Ray
    • Writers
      • Rajshekhar 'Parashuram' Basu
      • Satyajit Ray
    • Stars
      • Charuprakash Ghosh
      • Rabi Ghosh
      • Prasad Mukherjee
    • 13User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos12

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    Top cast24

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    Charuprakash Ghosh
    • Birinchi Baba
    Rabi Ghosh
    Rabi Ghosh
    • Birinchi Baba's assistant
    • (as Robi Ghosh)
    Prasad Mukherjee
    • Gurupada Mitter
    • (as Prasad Mukhopadhyay)
    Gitali Roy
    • Buchki
    Satindra Bhattacharya
    • Satya
    Somen Bose
    • Nibaran
    • (as Somen Basu)
    Santosh Dutta
    • Professor Nani
    Renuka Roy
    • Nani's wife
    Satya Banerjee
    • Nitai
    • (as Satya Bandyopadhyay)
    Haridhan Mukherjee
    • Ganesh
    • (as Haridhan Mukhopadhyay)
    J. Banerjee
    Dilip Bose
      Jagat Chakraborty
      Ila Chatterjee
        Santi Chatterjee
          Shrikanto Chattopadhyay
          Shailen Ganguli
          Nirmal Ghosh
          • Director
            • Satyajit Ray
          • Writers
            • Rajshekhar 'Parashuram' Basu
            • Satyajit Ray
          • All cast & crew
          • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

          User reviews13

          7.01.8K
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          Featured reviews

          6planktonrules

          Slight but very watchable.

          "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".
          10smkbsws

          "double-features.. con godman in comedy genre"

          We came to know about the concept of double-features from the 'Grindhouse' project made in 2000's. This one, even though having completely different source, was released together with the yin and yang kind of title; even I have seen photos and posters of these getting released in some theatres in Calcutta. Kapurush : story of a coward lover in a dark themed drama; speaking about contemporaneous, do not miss this. Mahapurush : story of a con godman in comedy genre - speaking about relevance, watch this right now. I think this was the first project of Ray with Soumendu Roy as his new DoP
          5boblipton

          Probably Better If You're Indian

          On a railroad trip back home, a retired lawyer meets holy man Charuprakash Ghosh and falls under his spell. So does his daughter, which worries the young man who loves her. He investigates and soon becomes convinced he is a fraud.

          Satyajit Ray's comedy credits an Indian writer as its source, but strikes me as owing a good deal to Moliere's TARTUFFE. Ghosh's babbling line includes being friends with all the great holy man of the past, and urging followers to achieve enlightenment by going onto the roof at noon and staring at the sun while they recite a prayer 972 times. I don't find this one of Ray's more compelling movies; the nonsensical things his con man continually says are arrant nonsense..... but that may be a reaction due to the fact that as a westerner, what he says makes no sense and is offensive. The offensiveness is probably deliberate on Ray's part, but makes the whole thing seem trivial.
          8atlasmb

          Intelligent Comedy

          This may be a short film, but it is packed with clever dialogue. And a comedy that uses words to be funny is worth celebrating.

          Charuprakash Ghosh plays a holy man (Birinchi Baba) who talks a good game of spiritual enlightenment. He travels with his assistant (played by Rabi Ghosh), looking for believers who might be tricked by his "wisdom". Actually, many of the things he says are somewhat meaningful or half-truths, and he is quite intelligent. But he really goes overboard, claiming to have known and educated everyone from Albert Einstein to Jesus and the Buddha.

          The monk-ish mountebank and his attendant meet a grieving man and his daughter on a train, dazzle them with petty witticisms and cheap tricks, and establish a cushy existence in their care. But there are others who are not so easily duped; they seek a way to expose the charlatans.

          It's a funny story that reminds me of O. Henry's humorous tales. Director and co-writer Satyajit Ray deserves credit for this comedy with a cautionary core.

          Watch for the trick with the fingers that must have had viewers trying to replicate it.
          6gbill-74877

          Simple story of a con man

          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.

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          Related interests

          Peter Sellers in Dr. Folamour ou : comment j'ai appris à ne plus m'en faire et à aimer la bombe (1964)
          Satire
          Will Ferrell in Présentateur vedette: La légende de Ron Burgundy (2004)
          Comedy

          Storyline

          Edit

          Did you know

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          • Trivia
            Each session ends with Birinchi swooning into a cataleptic trance, requiring that he be carried unconscious back to his room. It's a gag favored by witch doctors and mediums, even Peter Finch's news anchor Howard Beale in Sidney Lumet's Network : Main basse sur la TV (1976). The dramatic ritual lets Birinchi Baba evade inconvenient questions, but also provides Satya's friends with a clever means to expose him as a fraud.
          • Goofs
            Plato is claimed to have been a Roman astrologer instead of a Greek philosopher.
          • Quotes

            Nitai: If an insurance agent like you can do hatha-yoga, my boy, why can't I find a Baba?

          • Alternate versions
            There is an Italian edition of this film on DVD (Extra Movie in "IL MONDO DI APU"), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.

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          Details

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          • Release date
            • April 13, 1994 (France)
          • Country of origin
            • India
          • Languages
            • Bengali
            • English
          • Also known as
            • The Holy Man
          • Production companies
            • R.D.Banshal & Co.
            • Rajshri Productions
          • See more company credits at IMDbPro

          Tech specs

          Edit
          • Runtime
            • 1h 5m(65 min)
          • Color
            • Black and White
          • Sound mix
            • Mono
          • Aspect ratio
            • 1.37 : 1

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