One of the things I find fascinating about cinema is the ways we choose to interpret what we’ve seen through our own experiences. People use movies both to escape themselves and to gain a greater understanding of their own lives. Thus, movies force us to insert ourselves into alternate times and places, and through narrative ask us to make judgments and decisions about the world that unfolds before us. Though some films ask us to suspend our disbelief more so than others, there are pictures that present a world we know to be real, but have never personally experienced. Good films attract audiences because they do justice to the worlds they present. The best films retain greatness because the happenings within those worlds reflect the human experiences on the other side of the screen. I’ve never been to India, and I know relatively little about its culture. I’ll likely never experience anything specifically similar to the events portrayed within Ritwik Ghatak’s The Cloud-capped Star (1960), but through the magic of cinema I can briefly experience an alternate reality.
The reality in question here is the life of Pakistani immigrants trying desperately to retain middleclass status as refugees in Calcutta. The Cloud-capped Star presents its account through the perspective of one family, over the course of several years, and though the lives of each family member are important to the story, the oldest daughter, Nita, is the focus. She is pretty, but plain; intelligent, but quite. Her parents both love her, but have different ways of showing it. Her father, a teacher, encourages her in her studies and accepts that as such she can only contribute a small bit to the family’s monthly income. Her mother would prefer that she worked fulltime, or be married away as one less mouth to feed. She’s engaged to a former student of her father’s, but is in no hurry to wed. Her mother thinks that the young man is better suited for her second daughter, the beautiful but self-centered Gita, and openly declares as much. There are two sons as well, neither of whom have any interest in school. One dreams of becoming a famous singer, filling concert halls with music and his family’s bellies with the resulting income. The other seems to have no ambition at all. From the outset it’s evident that Nita’s efforts at balancing studies and work and her siblings’ demands for money are what essentially hold the family together. Though she’d hardly complain it’s clear that she’s weighed down by these burdens. A letter from her fiancé declares her a “cloud-capped star”, beauty incarnate obscured by the trappings of life.
One tragedy after another seems to befall Nita. Her engagement falls apart after she decides to continue her studies. Then she is forced to leave school after her father suffers a stroke. One brother is maimed in an industrial accident, while the other continues to drain the family’s income as he waits to be discovered. Through it all, Nita struggles to hold her family together. As a melodrama, The Cloud-capped Star borrows heavily from American cinema of the period. Ghatak, whether directly or through channels, seems to have been influenced by the Douglas Sirk films of the 1950s. Viewers familiar with Sirk’s work will undoubtedly recognize the framing and lighting at work here.
In this respect The Cloud-capped Star stands out from other Indian cinema of the time. Though it’s more stylized, portions of Ghatak’s film feel more authentic than the work of Satyajit Ray. Much of the discussion about the picture that is available on the web centers on this authenticity. As I’ve noted, I’m in no way qualified to make any such judgment, but what I can say is that this picture seems more relatable to a Western audience than, say, Pather Panchali (1955). Does that detract from its authenticity? Perhaps. Does it diminish its quality as a film? Not at all. It does what it does to display its story within this world.
The Cloud-capped Star isn’t an unquestioned masterpiece. It has weak points and overreaches with its melodrama. Still, it does have some beautiful and heartbreaking moments that make it worth viewing. It’s not high on the watchability scale, but those who commit to it are likely to find some value therein. Where it is most valuable is as a comparison to other period cinema of the subcontinent. Contained within this film seem to be the first seeds of the Bollywood style.
Language: Bengali
Runtime: 126 Minutes
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