Ghare Baire (1984)

Twenty years after Charulata (1964) Ray returned to Tagore, in colour, adapting a controversial novel that had increased in stature over the years. Set during the terrorist movements following the first communal partition of Bengal (1905), the book tells a triple story, interweaving the diaries of the zamindar Nikhilesh (V. Bannerjee), a critic of nationalism, with the stories of the man’s wife Bimala (Sw. Chatterjee) and of their guest, the fiery activist Sandeep (So. Chatterjee). Sandeep and Bimala become involved with one another, which for her leads to a sense of liberation. In the end Nikhilesh dies, and Bimala is widowed, punished for her transgression (the novel ends differently, with Nikhilesh accepting Bimala back). Ray played down the novel’s political overtones in favour of a straight love triangle enacted in a meticulously researched period setting. The film, which Ray had intended as his debut work, recalls Charulata in some ways. Ray’s son, Sandeep, completed the postproduction after Ray suffered his first heart attack.