Kapurush (1965)

Maybe it's just me and my "I don't get art movies" self, but I honestly do not understand the hype around this one. Or maybe it's the fact that I saw this right after Ghilli, so it seemed even slower and unexciting. Whatever the reason, it just didn't work for me.Yeah, the cinematography and all was cool, the basic storyline interesting enough, and the last shot pretty cool, but.... yeah, I don't get it. I didn't care about any of the characters enough to be invested in their dilemmas and struggles, the coward being the least appealing of them all. The eccentric husband was alright, but there was no real development of is eccentricity- I couldn't figure out if he was just acting up because they'd had a guest after a long time, or if he actually was like that, every single day. As for the wife, Karuna, she had the least interesting arc of them all. Which is a real shame because Madhabi Mukherjee was easily the best actor out of the lot, and had the story been told from her perspective, I suspect it would have made for a much better movie. She was impeccable in her restraint, and added depth to her character in such a way that I couldn't help but wish that she gets the happy ending she rightly deserves towards the end. That was the most I felt about anything related to the movie, honestly. The power of women is truly unmatched.

In conclusion, I hope my next Manik Da movie matches up to the brilliance of Agantuk. I know it's unfair to compare, but whatever. Appreciating my first Satyajit Ray outing even more now. 

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