Mandakini’s Disregard: The Invisible Woman in Charulata
Satyajit Ray’s 1964 film ‘Charulata’ has been defined by him as the film with the ‘least flaws’. It is an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s novella titled Nastanirh (The Broken Nest), published in 1901. Set in 1879, the movie revolves around the character of Charulata, the young wife of newspaper editor Bhupati. In an upper-middle-class family in colonial Calcutta, Charulata is bored and listless throughout the day, while her much older husband spends his days working for his newspaper. He invites Charu’s brother Umpada and her sister-in-law Mandakini (Manda) to keep her company, but Charu is still dissatisfied. The story shows the slow companionship that develops between Charu and Bhupati’s younger brother Amal, who is closer to her age and interested in the same things as her. Bhupati realizes Charu’s romantic feelings for Amal after he leaves, and their relationship no longer remains the same. Charulata has been praised by Bengali and global film scholars alike for its feminist portrayal of a 19th-century Bengali woman and her desire outside of marriage.
