The Big City (1963)

Mahanagar (Bengali: মহানগর, Mahānagar; English: The Big City) is a 1963 Bengali drama film directed by Satyajit Ray and starring Madhabi Mukherjee in the leading role of Arati. Based on a short story, Abataranika by Narendranath Mitra, it narrates the story of a housewife who disconcerts her traditionalist family by getting a job as a saleswoman. It marks the first screen appearance of Jaya Bhaduri (now Jaya Bachchan), who later went on to become one of Bollywood's leading actresses.

Shot in the first half of 1963 in Calcutta, this was also the first film directed by Ray set entirely in his native Calcutta, reflecting contemporary realities of the urban middle-class, where women going to work is no longer merely driven by ideas of emancipation but has become an economic reality. The film examines the effects of the confident working woman on patriarchial attitudes and social dynamics. Besides The Apu Trilogy, the film, according to veteran film critic Philip French is one of Ray's greatest films.

Synopsis

Set in Calcutta during the 1950s Mahanagar explores the evolving independence of middle-class women of the city. Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), a home maker, takes up a job as a door-to-door saleswoman to meet the increasing financial pressure on her very orthodox and conservative family. Despite familial adversity and societal obstacles the initially hesitant and nervous Arati soon begins to prosper in her field and gradually starts to enjoy her new-found financial and psychological independence.

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