Introduction
The representation of cities occupies a special place in cinematography. Film directors can show a reflection of the city life in their works either in an absolutely realistic or a surrealistic way. Architecture, transport, sights, and ordinary people’s everyday life: all of these aspects can be learned from the movies. Frequently, films augment reality and make the native citizens wonder why their cities have been depicted not the way they actually look.
However, there are movies that have become well-known if not for their script or brilliant authors’ play then for the truly spectacular and authentic image of the city. Satyajit Ray’s Mahanagar (1963) and Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani (2012) represent the city of Kolkata, and the directors’ work on these films has been highly esteemed both by critics and the public (Woods 87). It is typical of researchers to emphasize the female identity and sexuality in both films (Bose 36; Woods 86). However, upon careful analysis of both pieces, it becomes evident that the true main character in them is Kolkata itself, male and female roles serving only as secondary ones to the city.
General Differences in Selected Sequences
With the aim of a thorough investigation of the city’s image in both films, the following scenes were selected. The sequence from Mahanagar is the last one, starting with Arati saying, “We live in a very large city”. The sequence from Kahaani is the one where Bob Biswas changes the rickshaw’s direction upon receiving a message with the direction to kill Vidya. The sequence starts with Biswas receiving the message and ends with the man being accidentally killed by a car. While the two sequences depict quite different events, it is still possible to compare and contrast the representation of Kolkata in them.
It is evident that the portrayal of Kolkata in the two sequences under analysis is not similar. Primarily, it is so due to the time difference of almost half a century. Additionally, Mahanagar is a black-and-white movie, whereas Kahaani is a color one. This feature also serves as a major difference in the interpretation of the city. When watching a black-and-white film, one is less distracted by colorful pieces, hence paying more attention to detail. However, it is impossible to say that the presence of colors in Kahaani makes one less observant. The director of Kahaani has employed so many techniques, including sound effects, rapid camera movements, speed, and others, which make the audience be highly concentrated and follow each event and scene carefully.
The Impression of Kolkata in the Two Movie Sequences
The thing that is common for both films is the general impression of the city that they make. As Woods describes it, Kolkata is presented as “antiquated, impoverished, and overwhelmed by political and economic refugees” (89). According to Chakravorty, in the last century, the city experienced “the degradation of aging infrastructure, a scramble for upper-middle-class housing construction, and increasing corruption and inefficiency at all levels of municipal authority” (62).
However, it is quite possible to apply this description to the sequence from Kahaani, as well. The impoverishment in Mahanagar is largely reflected in the large number of people in the street that Arati and her husband are walking. The whole pavement on both sides of the street is filled with people, which allows assuming that they are not employed since it is broad daylight, and those who have a job would naturally be there. People are dressed rather simply, and it seems that even if the director made some close-up shots in this sequence, the viewer would not have been able to notice any expensive adornments.
Dilapidated streets and houses in the sequence selected from Kahaani also signify impoverishment and infrastructure degradation. This sequence offers much more for analysis, showing both full shots of people and long shots of the setting from a distance. In the selected scene, one can notice many details proving the opinion expressed by Bose: “India exists—paradoxically perhaps—in its cities, even as it does, in actuality, ‘live in its villages’” (27). The features of both a city and a rural setting can be noticed in the selected sequence. First of all, Biswas is using a rickshaw as a means of transportation, which is a traditional way of traveling in small streets, as well as a traditional way of earning money among the poor. Secondly, the street life in all its paradoxical combination of expression and impoverishment is depicted.
Vidya is sitting right in the street, and a boy offers her traditional tea with milk. People are doing their usual chores: carrying water in buckets and food in baskets on their heads, cooking, and having their linen dried in the street. Each part of the street depicted by the director is narrow, crowded, and dirty. Houses have lost their color long ago, and some of them have also gotten rid of parts of facing. Poverty is also noticed in the objects kept next to the houses, such as bamboo ladders, primitive carts made of bicycle wheels and some wood and iron, and water pumps that one can typically see in museums.
Windows covered with newspapers, litter and boxes stored in the streets, and graffiti on the walls all confirm the idea that the “old Mother Teresa-enhanced image of teeming poverty is fixed” in Kolkata (Hutnyk 29). The sight of a toilet right next to the narrow piece of a street where people walk is alarmingly unpleasant, although it seems to be usual practice. People sleeping on the ground and trees growing in the walls and on the roofs of the houses do not surprise anyone. Overall, each of these scenes indicates the general state of poverty pervading in Kolkata.
Since the sequence selected from Kahaani is longer, it was possible to describe more details demonstrating the level of impoverishment in this film than in Mahanagar. However, it is necessary to note that both movies show a low level of development. In Mahanagar’s sequence, the atmosphere is more hopeful and promising. Meanwhile, in the scenes from Kahaani, one can see a variety of details demonstrating that the city has not gained any economic success in over five decades.
The Features of Directing in The Two Sequences
Apart from the political and economic situation reflected in the films, it is viable to compare the purely cinematographic elements representing the city. Both directors have employed a variety of camera angles, ranges, and movements. Apart from that, different points of view have been utilized. In Mahanagar, the selected sequence starts with a close-up of Arati’s face and an extreme close-up of her eyes to show that she is crying. This scene implies the disappointment in Kolkata’s limited opportunities and the sadness of a woman whose family is on the verge of poverty because it is difficult to find a job there.
The close-up is soon changed by a long tilt shot of a high building with large windows. This episode symbolizes hope, especially due to being accompanied by Arati’s words, “We live in a very large city.” The woman looks at the building and feels optimistic about her future. The way the camera moves, making windows at the bottom look bigger, and those at the top look smaller, hints at the difficulty of reaching one’s goals. Still, at the same time, one feels confident that it is not impossible.
The next one is a high-angle shot of a street through which Arati and Subrata are walking hand in hand. This shot depicts the city from a bird’s eye view and allows noticing the things one would not commonly see. Large new buildings, street lights, cars moving on the road, people hustling – all of these aspects serve as a reminder that Kolkata is yet to develop. In spite of all the current difficulties, it is a city of promise that will not leave its people in a complicated position. Finally, the camera offers a close-up shot of a street lamp that lasts for about fifteen seconds. The camera zooms in, showing the lamp closer and closer and creating a sense of a bright and promising future.
In Kahaani, there is a much wider variety of shooting techniques, each of which makes it possible to depict Kolkata from different angles and viewpoints. The full shot of Bob Biswas on the rickshaw gives a peaceful view of the city’s street. However, immediately after that, an over-the-shoulder shot of the phone with Vidya’s photograph turns the viewer to think about the fast pace of life in the city. The mercilessness of the murderer who does not care about the age, gender, or position of a person he is ordered to kill is further reflected in other close-ups and medium shots of Biswas, whose manner of movement along the streets while carrying a gun is so casual that one has to accept the fact of sad reality of living in a large city.
The scenes in which Rana runs after Biswas are full of action and movement. The director has managed not only to show the development of events but also to depict many elements of Kolkata. People’s ways of living are shown along with their indifference to those trying to interfere with their simple walking and thinking routine. Whereas the footage of narrow streets and dilapidated houses prevails in the sequence, the director also employs several high-angle shots portraying the city.
In the sequence from Kahaani, one can also see several kinds of transport, unlike in Mahanagar, where only several identical cars were visible. Overall, both directors used a variety of techniques to show Kolkata in general and its peculiarities in detail. Comparing the two sequences from a historical point of view, one can conclude that the city’s development is evident in terms of transportation and clothing. However, in general, the Kahaani sequence portrays Kolkata as a city that has not used the opportunities promised at the end of the Mahanagar sequence.
Sound Effects in the Selected Sequences
It is important to discuss the role of music and other sound effects in the two films. While at the color level, two sequences are at uneven positions, both pieces are accompanied by sounds, which create a specific atmosphere. In the sequence from Mahanagar, the music is at its culminating point since it is the final scene in the movie. Traditional Indian notes, vibrant but, at the same time, a little serious, create an atmosphere of restlessness and uneasiness. At the same time, however, the music is generally positive and makes the viewer feel hopeful about the main characters’ future.
In the sequence from Kahaani, sound effects are much tenser, just as the scenes are. Abrupt and unpleasant sounds are changed by traditional music and ominous noises. Even when Biswas is smiling, the rhythmic sounds prepare the audience to experience something dangerous, which is not a rare occasion in such a big city as Kolkata. Overall, the music in the sequence from Kahaani serves as a perfect accompaniment to the fast-paced life in the city.
Conclusion
The analysis of sequences from Mahanagar and Kahaani allows gaining insights into the directors’ depiction of Kolkata in different periods. Whereas the plot lines in the two movies in general and selected sequences in particular are not similar, both films have successfully reached the goal of portraying the main problems experienced by Kolkata’s people. Poverty, unemployment, low economic development, and other issues are emphasized in both sequences. The events reflected in both chosen pieces largely involve several main characters and many ordinary people living in the places where the former are situated.
However, as it appears, the most important character in both movies is Kolkata itself: with its achievements and drawbacks, its victories and failures, and its endless hopefulness and belief in a better future.
Works Cited
Bose, Brinda. “Modernity, Globality, Sexuality, and the City: A Reading of Indian Cinema.” The Global South, vol. 2, no. 1, 2008, pp. 35-58.
Chakravorty, Sanjoy. “From Colonial City to Globalizing City? The Far-from-Complete Spatial Transformation of Calcutta.” Globalizing Cities: A New Spatial Order?, edited by Peter Marcuse and Ronald van Kempen, Blackwell Publishers, 2000, pp. 56-77.
Hutnyk, John. “The Black Hole?” Strangely Beloved: Writings on Calcutta, edited by Nilanjana Gupta, Rainlight, 2014, pp. 27-36.
Woods, Mary N. “Calcutta and the Modern Woman: Reading the Films Mahanagar and Kahaani.” The Global South, vol. 9, no. 2, 2015, pp. 85-102.