Un ennemi du peuple

Poor health dogged Satyajit Ray during his last days. Critics have opined that his last works do not measure up to his earlier films. GANASHATRU, based on a play 'Enemy of the people' by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, is among the final works of the most famous Indian filmmaker ever. The film may be weaker in comparison to some of his best works, but this drama has a Contemporaneity in the Indian context, and in this respect, the film has a greater relevance than his well-appreciated works. The film which showcases the story of an upright doctor (Soumitro Chattopadhyay) facing a hostile municipal chairman his own brother (Dhritiman Chattopadhyay) and a hostile society for suspecting contaminated water from a temple to cause a lethal strain of Hepatitis killing several people in a mofussil town, is in essence a thought-provoking 'science versus religion' essay. Ray is possibly the only reputed Indian filmmaker who has questioned blind religious beliefs in his works (Devi, Mahapurush, Ganashatru).

Even after 63 years of independence India is still in the strong grip of religious superstition and many medieval prejudices. The caste system runs deep in the society and often determines person's identity. Daily newspapers run a dedicated section on astrology, alternate medicines like Homeopathy gets millions of dollars in government funding, the Nation is more opinionated on religious issues than on real issue like poverty and education and all these happens under the active support and promotion from the educated urban middle class contrary to what many would like to believe, the illiterate rural masses. The movie is a slap on the face of such so-called educated and a stark warning what could happen if religious sentiments of the people is misused or abused to achieve personal goals, a fact India would so painfully be facing within just 2 years after the release of the movie. Ray could see what is coming, and like all true artist for whom his work is more than just art and in reality a medium of communication has tried to fulfill his duties to make the people aware of what he saw was coming.

It is not one of "those" art films, in fact there is very little art into it. Ray was very fragile while shooting his last 3 films, so most of the shots are indoor and very archaic and to the point. Despite his illness he attempted this movie to tell his fellow citizen what grave danger the Nation is facing, there one can see the other side of Ray almost as a social reformer.

Unlike many others however, Ray delivered the message in a way that should hurt nobody, even though Ray himself was an atheist. The movie brings forth the eternal conflict between hard scientific fact and the opposing religious doctrine. In the movie the young generation ultimately favors science and this optimism about India that Ray has envisioned is the best part of the movie, indeed the most touching part.

The screenplay is very simple and banal yet appropriate and I can't imagine it can be made any better without tipping off the scale. Dhritiman excels Soumitra but that's my opinion. The advantage of working with known and trusted crew of such stalwarts is that it takes away a lot of hardship from an exhausted director without compromising any on the quality!

Ganashatru / Enemy Of The People (1990) : Brief Review -

Medical Science faces off Mass Religious Beliefs in this Satyajit Ray's Brave Classic. Far better than many of his acclaimed works. I must say, Satyajit Ray during his last days was on different level altogether. He had few underwhelming (for his high standard i mean) flicks getting overhyped in the rush of his top 10 films during 70s and 80s but his late 90s work is highly underrated. Ganashatru was Ray'a second last film and Agantuk was his last one and these two are surely getting place in my top 10 films of Satyajit Ray. In this adaption of the Ibsen stage play, an idealistic physician discovers that the town's temple waters are dangerously contaminated. But with the community relying on the holy attraction for tourist dollars, his warnings go unheeded. His continuous efforts to spread awareness brings him down and how. Like one quote in the says in the film, "Honest is the one who suffers most." Now you get it. I personally think that the adaption factor has kept this underrated for years and if not, then may be the late 90s audience and their taste for mainstream cinema. Anyways, for me Ganashatru is certified Classic and i would be more than happy if this review helps people to watch it and personally experience whatever i am trying to say. Every actor in the film works like he/she knows exactly what should he/she must do in the role Soumitra Chatterjee, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Mamata Shankar, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Bhishma Guhathakurta, Deepankar De and Subhendu Chatterjee all gave terrific performances. Ray's direction is simply amazing. It isn't intricate, rather it's natural yet intense. That feel-good-bad touch is the best working factor. Overall, another Ray Classic which deserves as equal appreciation as his any top 10 works according to your choice.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Such an excellent movie shot in a House of 2 rooms, 1 press room and one shot outside a temple. And such powerful story; a good and powerful story is enough for compensate for any technicalities. So powerful. sometime reminds of Alfred Hitchcock movies which were shots with such minimum resources yet masterly and splendidly excellent results.

A public health hazard threatens the lives of an entire city, but when a doctor discovers the truth about its cause, a politician fears that disclosing it will hurt tourism and the local economy. Moreover, in contradiction to science, religious leaders believe that the town will be protected without taking any action, relying on superstitious beliefs. The health issue thus becomes politicized, the heart of this drama, and the one who is trying to tell people the truth is branded an "enemy of the people" by those not acting in the community's best interest. It's brother against brother, when everyone should be working together to prevent an epidemic. The politician distorts the truth in a fiery speech to a crowd, playing on their anger and ignorance, and manipulates others into speaking against him as well.

Satyajit Ray saw in Ibsen's 1882 play truths that applied to India over a century later, and it's easy to see the parallels to the events in America and other nationalist countries over the past couple years, which are really quite striking. That's something that could have really resonated with me, but the trouble is, the film is too lethargic to really enjoy. Most of its scenes are indoors, dialogue-heavy, and repetitive. There is just not enough meat on the bones of this story, and the characters are flat. It has its heart in the right place, and imagining people in the current public eye as the characters in the film provided some level of enjoyment, so for those things it was worth seeing, even if it did fall a little short.