Charu Script PDF 2

The opening scene of the film CHARULATA has almost no dialogue, revealing the loneliness of the main character Charu through visuals alone over the course of 7-8 minutes. This scene is considered one of the best openings in world cinema. The film tells the story of a love triangle between Charu, her husband Bhupati, and her cousin Amal. Important themes that Ray explores include trust, faith, and the consequences when that faith is broken. Ray put meticulous effort into historical accuracy by researching the time period of late 19th century Bengal and paying close attention to historical and cultural details in the film's production.

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Charu Script PDF 2

Uploaded by

shibnathdas2022

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5 # The opening scene of the movie, which lasts about seven or eight minutes after the title ends, has
almost no dialogue. It only reveals the loneliness of Charu. In a word, it is one of the best opening
scenes in world cinema.

6# Ray says, “ The loneliness of the first seven or eight minutes of the movie is described in the story
over twenty pages. I realized that the real thing is to be able to make clear Charulata’s loneliness first. ‘’

7# He writes, “ There was an opportunity to test how much information can be served without using
words while composing the screenplay of CHARULATA. In the first scene of the movie, Charu’s upper
middle class environment, her loneliness, how she spends her afternoons, her passion for art literature
and music, her relationship with her husband, even some hints of her husband’s character – all were
possible to express without dialogue”

13# CHARULATA is a love triangle. Good to say, the story of a triangular relationship. The three points of
this triangle are Bhupati. Charulata and Amal.

An interesting thing we can notice. When Rabindranath is naming these three characters in the story
NASTONEER, Amal starts with the English letter A, Bhupati with B and Charulata with C i.e. A,B,C
forming a triangle.

Besides, of course, there is another triangle – Charu, Amal and Manda.

Ray has also used this triangle in various scenes in the making of the movie. Sometimes the railings on
either side of the verandas are forming triangle on the screen, sometimes the position of the characters
in the composition follows this triangle idea.

14 # Ray has used several songs in the melodious poem CHARULATA. Notable among the songs is “ Ami
chinigo chini tomare ogo bideshini.” Using this song , Ray seems to be expressing Amal’s mind for the
first time. The way Charu loved Amal with all her heart, of course nothing much happened from Amal’s
side. But Amal realizes, Charu is not only his friend, not only his sister-in-law but more than that. Who is
she? She is like that MANAS SUNDARI or The Beautiful Woman of Mind of Tagore’s poem. The beauty of
Amal’s mind is filled with that receipt.

15# Rammohon Roy’s song is being sung at the party thay Bhupati arranges at his home as the Liberals
have won in England. “ Mone karo sesher se din bhayonkar.” We wonder what kind of celebration is
starting with this song, but in fact it is because of this inconsistency that the song gets another
dimension in the commentary of the movie.

In the dark side of the song, Umapada secretly steals money from the chest.

Most important words of this song here are SATYERO NIRBHOR or PUT YOUR TRUST IN TRUTH ALONE.
Amal’s sad worried face lying in an easy chair is reflected in the background of the distant sound of
these words of the song.
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Charu has broken this trust. Amal has done it, Umapada has done it. A family as well as a society are
built by adopting truth and faith. But what if the faith is broken?

Wounded by Umapada’s betrayal, Bhupati expresses his pain to Amal. Feeling guilty is observed in the
reactions of Amal and Charu. Ray has skillfully portrayed this scene.

16# The reference of trust and faith has come up again and again in CHARULATA from the beginning.
Ray has repeatedly brought the subject of this trust and faith in order to show the betrayal at the end of
the film more firmly and powerfully.

17# CHARULATA is set in 1879-80 i.e. nineteenth century. Early in the film, when Amal visits Bhupati’s
office, Bhupati shows him the current edition of his newspaper SENTINEL being printed in his printing
house. And then we know the month and the year of the events.

Then in multiple scenes we see the references of British government’s border policy and Bhupati’s
editorial in protest, the general election in Britain in 1880.

18# In CHARULATA, Ray portrayed this period of the nineteenth century in a perfect way . With many
historical scenes,references and comments, CHARULATA seems to be a reliable document of that time.
Ray worked hard to gather information. He spent day after day in the National Library, in the collection
hall of Bourne and Shepherd Studio. Along with Bangshi Chandragupta and other assistants, he toured
and photographed different aristocratic mansions. Many auction houses and familiar-unfamiliar
families were approached to procure required furnitures and props.

19# Everything was shot in the studio except for the garden scenes or a little outdoors. The art director
of the film, Bangshi Chandragupta, skillfully built the houses,walls,furnitures etc of the aristocratic
people of the nineteenth century .

Marie Seton (mari-siton) gave a beautiful description of the construction of the set of the movie.. She
writes, “ Chandragupta had a floor space of 80 feet by 45 feet at his disposal. In relation to Ray’s first
sketch, they built only three verandas, which gave the required camera angle view of the central
quadrangle and a suggestion of rooms. Three additional major sets were constructed.

Firstly, Charu’s bedroom requiring a view of the three verandas and glimpses of two staicases. The room
and its veranda was life-size in scale and built on a 6-foot-high platform. The two other verandas were
constructed on reduced dimensions in order to convey distance and perspective.

Secondly, The drawing room with the suggestion of verandas. For this set the wallpaper was specially
desinged to lend a Victorian flavour and screenprinted in sheets of 30 inches by 40 inches. It took a day
and a night to stick the paper on to plywood finished walls.