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Drama

The Big City

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Life at home changes when a housewife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a salesperson. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1996.

Release Date : 1963-09-27

Language :Bengali

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : R.D. Bansal & Co.

Production Country : India

Alternative Titles : MahanagarThe Big City: Mahanagar

Cast

Madhabi Mukherjee

Character Name : Arati Mazumdar

Original Name : Madhabi Mukherjee

Gender : Female

Anil Chatterjee

Character Name : Subrata Mazumdar

Original Name : Anil Chatterjee

Gender : Male

Haren Chatterjee

Character Name : Priyogopal Mazumdar

Original Name : Haren Chatterjee

Gender : Male

Haradhan Bandopadhyay

Character Name : Himangshu Mukherjee

Original Name : Haradhan Bandopadhyay

Gender : Male

Vicky Redwood

Character Name : Edith Simmons

Original Name : Vicky Redwood

Gender : Male

Jaya Bachchan

Character Name : Bani Mazumdar

Original Name : Jaya Bachchan

Gender : Female

Sefalika Devi

Character Name : Sarojini Mazumdar

Original Name : Sefalika Devi

Gender : Female

Prasenjit Sarkar

Character Name : Pintu Mazumdar

Original Name : Prasenjit Sarkar

Gender : Male

Shyamal Ghoshal

Character Name : Anupam

Original Name : Shyamal Ghoshal

Gender : Male

Gitali Roy

Character Name : Anupam's Wife

Original Name : Gitali Roy

Gender : Female

Tapan Chatterjee

Character Name : Subrata's Colleague

Original Name : Tapan Chatterjee

Gender : Male

Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee

Character Name :

Original Name : Bibhuti Bhushan Banerjee

Gender : Male

Manisha Chakraborty

Character Name :

Original Name : Manisha Chakraborty

Gender : Male

Arun Chowdhury

Character Name :

Original Name : Arun Chowdhury

Gender : Male

Pritish Dey

Character Name :

Original Name : Pritish Dey

Gender : Male

Shailen Ganguli

Character Name :

Original Name : Shailen Ganguli

Gender : Male

Anuradha Guha

Character Name :

Original Name : Anuradha Guha

Gender : Male

Jyoti Kripalani

Character Name :

Original Name : Jyoti Kripalani

Gender : Male

Samir Lahiri

Character Name :

Original Name : Samir Lahiri

Gender : Male

Ashok Mitra

Character Name :

Original Name : Ashok Mitra

Gender : Male

Tarak Mitra

Character Name :

Original Name : Tarak Mitra

Gender : Male

Shailen Mukherjee

Character Name :

Original Name : Shailen Mukherjee

Gender : Male

Shailesh Mukherjee

Character Name :

Original Name : Shailesh Mukherjee

Gender : Male

Shila Pal

Character Name :

Original Name : Shila Pal

Gender : Male

Smita Sinha

Character Name :

Original Name : Smita Sinha

Gender : Male

Reviews

S

Sayantan Chatterjee

@thisissayantan

2021-06-23

Rating: 9.5 / 10

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

— Milton Berle
Owing to a banking failure typical of the post-independence India, Subrata(Anil Chatterjee) loses his job and must reconcile with the shortcomings of the situation, his insecurities as his wife Arati(Madhabi Mukherjee) becomes the sole breadwinner of the family. Arati's story feels both intricately real and extremely personal as the narrative flows from the tantrums at home to the politics at the office, and she must learn to be adept at handing either of them as she gets to mingle with other classes and races of the society, breaking through her shyness in both her appearance and her speech. The Big City (মহানগর) leaves us ruminating at the grappling for opportunities at the transience of hope and progress, regardless of race and gender, amongst a myriad of opportunities and the humdrum of the bustling citizens. This work from Ray gains its mammoth significance as he makes the viewers truly manages to care for this simple family with a simple narrative, with a true sense of depth and detail, yet somehow remaining weightless and effortless in depicting the social evolution. A true masterpiece.