RIFLE RANGE BOY: The dilemma of an educated woman

Charulatha (Bengali, The Lonely Wife: 1964 )
Director: Satyajit Ray

This film is actually based on Rabindranath Tagore's 1901 book by the name of 'Nastaneer' (The Broken Nest). Its storyline is altered here and there by Satyajit Ray. For one, the story in the film happened at a time earlier than is depicted in the book, 1879 vs 1901.

Set at a time of what is referred to as the era of the Bengali Renaissance when scholars and literary people started roaming the streets of Calcutta. At a time when literacy rate in the rest of India was depressingly low, here English education flourished, thanks to the establishment of Calcutta as the capital of the British East India Company. English newspapers were printed, poets were nurtured, people appreciated arts, living room redesigned in the mould of their European masters, pianos were a regular feature of the sitting room, and women started exerting their presence and desires beyond the confines of their kitchen and homes.

To create an atmosphere of loneliness, a good 10 minutes of the beginning of the show had no dialogue, just some street sounds, soliloquy and flapping of birds. Charu, a well-to-do lonely wife, stays alone in the house doing embroidery, reading, humming and people watching as time drags its feet whilst her slightly older husband is deeply immersed in his newspaper printing press.

Her husband, Bhupathy, is actually a nice guy who is trying hard to improve his newspaper. He is a proprietor of an English language political paper. Charu's brother, Umapada, who is not doing so well as a lawyer in his town, is invited to help out in the press. Umapada's wife gives a simple company though they are both of different intellect and interests, Charu being the educated one.

Madhabi Mukherjee

Bhupathy's cousin, Amal, returns from the university after reading Literature. He is encouraged by Bhupathy to get Charu to be interested in writing and poetry again. After spending a lot of time with her, Charu develops feelings for Amal. This is shown in a series of excellent cinematography and minimal, if not no dialogue and done discreetly beyond the obscenity that is hurled right at our faces these days!

Charu starts writing again and in fact, supersedes Amal's authoring ability. Rivalry subtly builds up.

It was the year Gladstone and his Liberal Party won the British Elections. Bengalis are jubilant, hoping that things will improve in India. While Bhupathy and his friends celebrate the victory with a little drink and local music appreciation, Umapada and wife scoot off with the bulk of the office money.
Feeling utterly disappointed his brother in law's foolhardy, Bhupathy confides in Amal that he is the only person he could trust.

The non-verbal expression of feelings

Feeling embarrassed for not living up his cousin's expectations, even though he was oblivious of the content of his heart, Amal decides to leave the Bhupathy household.

Relationship between husband and wife improves as Bhupathy decides to spend more time at home, and Charu starts a Bengali division of her husband's newspaper. Until...

They receive an informal letter from Amal sometime later. That old feeling came back to Charu, and she started crying in the comfort of an empty room talking to herself. Unfortunately, as in all Indian movies/teleserials where eavesdropping is an accepted way of life, Bhupathy hears everything and comes to realise it for the first time. Disappointed, he goes for a ride in a carriage for some soul searching.
He returns home after the turmoil was over to a sympathetic reconciliation with his wife and the movie ends with both parties with extended arms reaching for each other.
The movie deals with the dilemma of a woman at an age where the society expects here to change at the same time expect here to be the same typical Indian lady who always one step behind her man. A+