REVISITING CLASSICS - 6

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Today we visit the epic from Ray, Nayak (The Hero). Personally, amongst all of Ray's work this is my personal favorite and today I want to talk about why is it so. Nayak premiered in 1966, a tumultuous time for Bengal and for Bengal cinema where the city and the state was going through transition. The politically charged environment where the Left was gradually making for the Right saw this gem releasing. It is touted as Uttam Kumar's (in Bengal he is the Mahanayak - Superstar in English) finest performance in a vast repository of work that he featured in. It is also now in folklore that when Ray had planned and written the film he had Uttam Kumar in mind to play the role and if he (Uttam Kumar) would not have agreed, Ray would have shelved the project. Now, Uttam Kumar has screen presence which is unrivalled till today. So a film comes in the way where practically he has to play the part he lives it was something that came naturally to him. And, Nayak is perhaps the finest performance till date. 

Nayak is one of the few films which was written by Ray and directed. Its a 24 hour sequence of a train ride with multiple back stories that all cross paths in the linear story telling that happens. Much like the train journey where there is a linear path the train follows but with numerous parallel and intersecting tracks cross the path of the train. Nayak is a replica of the same. It took the genius of Ray to work on this theme and the plot. 

Nayak's actor are all heavyweight and each one is amazing in their way. Ray also has this knack of taking out the best from his actors and that's because he has an eclectic mix of newbies and the seasoned ones with whom he creates a balance. Take for instance, the role of Satya Banerjee (Head of WWWW organization). For the major part of the plot he has no dialogue but a whole set of rituals he goes through. At the fag end of the story he gets to introduce himself and also mouths a few lines. But the moment, camera work and the conversation of his with Kamu Mukherjee (Pritish Sarkar) is simply mesmerizing. There are multiple characters who are all taking the train to Delhi and at the end it comes out that no one is any different from the lead Arindam Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar) who inspite of so much success and fame yet suffers the past and his insecurities. 

However, the film truly belongs to the conversations and the moments of Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore. The conversations, the depth of the scenes, the context, all of them are played to so much finesse it has to be seen multiple times. Infact, at the end when Sharmila comes to finally tearing off the pages of interview she gets to say those famous lines, "Mone Acche". This is when the film reaches the crescendo. There are moments to be experienced and there are moments to share and in all it is all about how one defines it. In their conversations there are those highlights where Arindam lets go his guard and his vulnerability is exposed and there are some where his talent and confidence is so well defined. One has to see those scenes to understand those nuances.

This is not the usual Ray film where the visual and the metaphor works (remember Ray remains heavily inspired from Jean Renoir) but relies a lot on conversation. The claustrophobic factor of the dialogues gets so well augmented through the setting of a train and the coupe. It is here that Ray brings in those visual metaphors. The narrow passage of the train coach, the washroom sequence or the coupe where a large part of the conversations takes place. However, to me the dream sequences are riveting and brings in the caliber to which Ray explores (remember the dance of the ghost in Goopi Gayen Baagha Bayen).

Nayak remains unique in its form and structure and is not the usual Ray film one is so used and that is why it remains my favorite. The dialogues, the actors and the context they all make it rich and a film student's delight to watch. 

Nayak is on YouTube. Go Watch.   

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