Notes

Apur Sansar

A different time and place, different people, and a different Apu are what we see in this third movie from the Apu Trilogy. Seeing the movie coming back in a full circle with a young boy ending the young girl’s hunt for food in the garden gives the viewer’s the closure that I think we needed. The third movie brought about growth not only in the protagonist and story but also in the director and the cameraman. With the third movie we see an increase in and polishing of the skills of both the cameraman in camera handling and filming and the director in terms of scene construction, framing and in the case of this movie, the scripting. As this movie was one where the director, Satyajit Ray, takes charge of the scripting, we get to see the almost obviously evident involvement in the scene construction and touch of humor throughout the movie.
The theme of life and how it goes on and how we have to keep ‘moving on’ despite whatever life throws at us or takes from us continues in this film as well with the main characters moving out of the place where the main part of the movie was set in. The third movie shows a different time in the aspect of not only the movie’s setting and the characters but also the quality of the movie and the tones of black and white that seemed to be smoother and better to watch. Also continuing the theme of tragedy in the third film, the death of Aparna was, though sudden, was not unexpected. The scene where Aparna is leaving for home gives a sort of feeling to the viewer’s that something might happen as it usually does with Apu. Though I do feel they could have held her character for longer and her death seemed to be forced onto the sequence of the film. One interesting point brought about by Tabitha really made me think where she said that she could only fully connect to Apu’s character when the tragic loss of his wife came into the course of the film. Like I mentioned before that the touch of the director in scripting was almost obviously evident in the sense of the humorous touch he brought to the film and so the character of Apu also seemed different and in a way ‘unusually happy’ in this film and was more relatable when something unfortunate takes place bringing Apu back to his sad and quite self.
Even though Apu is said to be the main character of the films, I do not necessarily feel the same way. I feel that all characters in each of the films are equally, if not more, important than Apu in the film and not only do they help the movie move along but also help the characterization of Apu. In this movie in specific, the character of the friend Pullu is seen to be a huge aid in helping Apu to have new stories unfold. For example when he helps Apu get the new job, he was the one to take him to Aparna’s wedding where he saved the day by marrying her and he was also the one who went to Apu and told him to go back and see his young son Kajal. Also the character of Aparna was another useful addition to the film and it was like Durga was brought back to life. It was like Aparna’s story picked up from where Durga’s story ended. Durga’s story was cut short at about the time she started thinking of, dreaming of and wishing for a good life partner, Aparna’s story picked up when she found the right life partner, Apu. Though her character was ‘killed off’ way too soon, like discussed in class, the time that Apu and her shared was enough for them to form the strong bond that they did form and this was one of the reasons whey her death hit Apu so hard as finally for him something positive had happened after the loss of his family that happened to him at a very young age.
Many incidents in the film are portrayed in a very ‘Indian’ way like we discussed in class. For example the whole part where the people at the wedding say how the bride would be ‘cursed’ if she did not get married the same day and so Apu has to come to the save the day and marry the abandoned Aparna. This movie also seemed like the other Indian movies of that time in the sense of having more dialogues for the characters to express themselves unlike the previous two movies where ‘action spoke louder than words’. Like we talked about in class, this film seemed to be scripted unlike the previous two where the story was constructed from the novel and the time of the film was constructed in a different way. Apu and Aparna’s characters also brought about the typical ‘Indian romanticized’ feel to the film where two characters need not have physical intimacy to have a strong relation but the looks exchanged give a strong feel of the love they share.
This movie I think was in some ways the perfect ending the Apu Trilogy needed and like I said, it gives the audience the closure they needed. The theme of childhood is carried forward in this film by showing the ‘coming of age’ story of our protagonist, Apu. His childlike qualities bring about a sense of childhood in the film and are a good example of showing how a child is not necessarily needed to bring about the feel of childhood. The small and almost easy to miss connections to the previous films and Apu’s childhood make us feel more for the Apu and what all he is going through. The part where he is seen to be standing in the rain and doing sit-ups reminds us of his time in Varanasi when he saw the man exercising near the ‘Ghats’. Also the continued presence of the train reminds me of the song sung by the old grandma in Pather Panchali where the train was connected to the notion of death and someone ‘crossing over’ to the other side. The train, except of course Apu something that is seen throughout the three films and is like the inorganic character, somewhat like an inorganic protagonist maybe. The train helps the story of Apu ‘travel’ from the first film to the second to the last and also continues to show the theme of ‘moving on’ that is common to the three films.
The ending of the movie was refreshing as we got to see the movie end on a comparatively happier note with Apu leaving for Calcutta with his young son Kajal who also in a way reminds us of young Durga especially in the scene where he is seen running around the orchards looking for food just like Durga in the first film. This similar scene gives the movie a sense of completion and in the end comes back to a full circle.