Nagarik "The Citizen"
Directed by	Ritwik Ghatak
Produced by	Film Guild: Pramode Sengupta, Bhupati Nanda, Ritwik Ghatak
Written by	Ritwik Ghatak
Starring	Satindra Bhattacharya, Prova Debi, Kali Banerjee, Sova Sen, Ketaki Dutta, Geeta Shome, Ajit Banerjee, Keshto Mukherjee
Cinematography	Ramananda Sengupta
Release date(s)	1977
Running time	125 minutes
Language	Bangla
IMDb profile

Nagarik (Bengali: নাগরিক),also spelled as Nagorik, The Citizen in English, was the first full length feature-film directed by Bengali Indian director Ritwik Ghatak. Completed in 1953, it preceded Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali as perhaps, the first example of an art film in Bengali, but is deprived of that honor, since it was released twenty-four years later, after Ghatak's death. On September 20, 1977, it finally premiered at the New Empire theatre in Kolkata, India.^[1] Ritwik Ghatak only completed eight feature films, but is generally regarded as one of the few truly original Indian talents in cinema by directors such as Satyajit Ray^[1] and critics such as Derek Malcolm.^[2] Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Ghatak (1925 - 1976) was a Bengali Indian filmmaker. ... // Events In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network. ... This article is about the Bengali language. ... Bangla (বাংলা, IPA: ) or Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language of East South Asia, evolved from Sanskrit and Prakrit. ... The Bengali people are the ethnic community from Bengal (divided between India and Bangladesh) in Indian subcontinent with a history going back more than two millennia. ... Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Ghatak (1925 - 1976) was a Bengali Indian filmmaker. ... See also: 1952 in film 1953 1954 in film 1950s in film years in film film Events September 16 - The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film. ... (Bangla:সত্যজিৎ রায়) (May 2, 1921 - April 23, 1992) was an Indian film director, regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of twentieth century cinema for his subtle, austere and lyrical style of film-making. ... Pather Panchali, released in 1955, is the first film of director Satyajit Rays Apu trilogy. ... The Indian film industry is the largest in the world (877 feature films and 1177 short films made in India were released in the year 2003 alone)(Central Board of Film Certification of India) [1]. Correspondingly, only 473 movies were released in the US in 2003 (MPAA U.S. Theatrical... September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... // Events In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network. ...   (IPA: [] Bengali: কলকাতা) (formerly  ) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. ... (Bangla:সত্যজিৎ রায়) (May 2, 1921 - April 23, 1992) was an Indian film director, regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of twentieth century cinema for his subtle, austere and lyrical style of film-making. ... Derek Malcolm (born 1939) is a British film critic and historian. ...

Credits

Cast

• Satindra Bhattacharya as Ramu
• Prova Debi as his mother
• Kali Banerjee as his father
• Sova Sen as his sister, Seeta
• Ketaki Dutta as Uma
• Geeta Shome as Shephali
• Ajit Banerjee as Sagar
• Keshto Mukherjee as Jatin

Crew

• Direction and Screenplay, Ritwik Ghatak
• Cinematography, Ramananda Sengupta
• Editing, Ramesh Joshi
• Sound, Satyen Chatterjee
• Narration, Ritwik Ghatak
• Music, Hariprasanna Das
• Lyrics, Govinda Moonish
• Art Direction, Bhupen Majumdar
• Production, Film Guild

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Ghatak (1925 - 1976) was a Bengali Indian filmmaker. ...

Synopsis

Uma and Ramu dreaming of times to come in the hope that they will be better

Ramu, a fresh graduate is searching for a job like many others in post-Partition Kolkata. He lives in a lower-middle class neighborhood with his mother, father, and sister. Ramu's sister, Seeta, is dressed up and paraded in front of prospective in-laws who humiliatingly examine her. The mother is yearnful of older times when the family used to live in a better house, but she bears her suffering quietly, for the most part. The father is myopic and full of cynicism for he does not share the idealistic aspirations of his two children that better times will come. The light of Ramu's life is his girlfriend Uma, who lives in an equally precarious situation with her sister Shephali and her mother. Jatin is an even poorer minor character living hear Uma's dwelling who Ramu avoids because he cannot help the former out financially. To make ends meet, Ramu's mother takes in Sagar, a poor chemist, as a paying guest. Ramu does not get a job and cannot pay rent even with the meagre money that he gets from Sagar and is insulted by the landlord. Ultimately the family is evicted. Britains holdings on the Indian subcontinent were granted independence in 1947 and 1948, becoming four new independent states: India, Burma (now Myanmar), Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and Pakistan (including East Pakistan, modern-day Bangladesh). ...

Just before the family has to leave to go stay in slums, Ramu visits Uma and tells him they are moving. Uma offers to help them set up in the new dwelling, an obvious sign of humanism on Ghatak's part. Shephali, her sister, cannot bear to live in poverty any longer, so she leaves home with a shady man. Seeta confesses that she loves Sagar, a love that Sagar reciprocates. However, Sagar, is now rendered homeless and destitute and mentions that he does not have the audacity to expect them to even be united. Ramu overhears parts of Sagar and Uma's conversation and is touched by the moment. He appeals to Sagar for him to come and live with the family. The film ends with the characters walking out in the rain, a symbolic sign of hope and renewal.^[1]

Critical analysis

Nagarik is considered a prototype for Ghatak's subsequent films since all of the main ingredients are present.^[3] The tone is deliberately didactic and the treatment melodramatic, elements which Ghatak in no way considered inferior to realism.^[3] The pain of the Partition is poignant among the protagonists, all refugees from East Bengal, now suffering from the loss of homeland and livelihood. This is a theme that Ghatak helped portray when working on Chinnamul, and one that would permeate most of his later creations. The film is not a study in pessimism but ends on a positive note with a speech by Ramu hoping for a new future. This has been considered overtly Marxist considering Ghatak's involvement with group theatre and the IPTA. The film is thought to be well scripted, acted, and filmed with scenes that show unique visual and aural registers.^[3] However, it is also criticized as being slow and long-drawn.^[3] In the final analysis, Nagarik is one of the first attempts at serious cinema in India, (if not the first) and has, thus, little in the way of precedent to fall back upon.^[3] It is, therefore, a pioneer work in the history of Indian cinema.^[3] East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly included the modern state of Bangladesh. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... IPTA - or Indian Peoples Theatre Association was one of the products of the political ferment of the 40s. ... The Indian film industry is the largest in the world (877 feature films and 1177 short films made in India were released in the year 2003 alone)(Central Board of Film Certification of India) [1]. Correspondingly, only 473 movies were released in the US in 2003 (MPAA U.S. Theatrical...

Notes

References

• Ghatak, Ritwik (2000), Rows and Rows of Fences: Ritwik Ghatak on Cinema, Ritwik Memorial & Trust Seagull Books, ISBN 8170461782.
• Hood, John (2000), The Essential Mystery: The Major Filmmakers of Indian Art Cinema, Orient Longman Limited, ISBN 8125018700.

External links

Nagarik at the Internet Movie Database The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about actors, films, television shows, video games and production crew personnel. ...