Product Details

• Actors: Anil Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Jaya Bhaduri, Haren Chatterjee, Sefalika Devi
• Directors: Satyajit Ray
• Writers: Satyajit Ray, Narendranath Mitra
• Producers: R.D. Bansal
• Format: Color, Subtitled, NTSC
• Subtitles: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: September 2, 1997
• Run Time: 122 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304587414
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,348 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

Subrata Mazumdar (Anil Chatterjee) is struggling to support his extended family in the big city of Calcutta. He has a job as an accountant at a new bank, but he doesn't make enough to make ends meet. Going against the norm, his wife, Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), decides that she must find a job. Condemned by her conservative father-in-law, she begins working as a door-to-door salesgirl, representing a line of knitting machines.

The better she does at her job, the happier and more confident she becomes. But this change makes her husband extremely unhappy. He finally insists that she resign her position. He'll find a part-time job instead. But just before she can do this, there is a run on Subrata's bank and it must close. Jobless, he has to live with the shame of having his wife support him. Like Charulata, this film eventually resolves itself on a more hopeful note than much of director Satyajit Ray's work.

Although made in 1963, this film has a surprisingly modern feel to it. The problems faced by the Mazumdar family in Calcutta do not seem too different from those faced by families in Cincinnati or Cairo today. Ray does a masterful job of visual storytelling, and the performances of the entire cast are both evocative and moving. Ray favorite Madhabi Mukherjee, who also appeared in Charauta, is simply amazing as she transforms herself from an obedient, spoiled wife to a confident, hardworking career woman. --Luanne Brown

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Worrying About Work Makes You Spineless", January 23, 2000

By 

Patricia Spedden (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahanagar (The Big City) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In "Mahanagar" (Big City), a family copes with the changing mores and values of society. A wife, who has devoted herself to caring for her husband, child, and in-laws, takes a job outside the home to ease the economic burden her husband shoulders. As she becomes more successful at work, her husband must deal with the jealousy he feels.

Near the end of the film, a second theme is revealed. Despite the fact that the husband is now out of work, the wife quits her job to protest the unfair treatment of a coworker by her boss. Facing poverty, the husband nonetheless supports his wife's decision and praises her. "Worrying about work makes you spineless," he tells her. "You're not like that yet." He implies that many in the workforce have put their economic security ahead of their ideals and morals.

As in all of Ray's films, the themes are timeless. Although women in the workforce are well accepted today, we are still coping with ever-changing societal values. More importantly, the second theme forces us to question our own actions. Is a steady paycheck more important than taking a stand against injustice? If we keep silent about the unfair treatment or exploitation of another, aren't we a part of that exploitation?

In spite of the seriousness of these themes, the film is not heavy and moralizing. Long after the film has ended, what the viewer will remember is the devotion and love family members have for one another, and their willingness to cast their lots together, for better or for worse.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars timeless, June 4, 2002

By 

Michael J. Toppe (Mineapolis, minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahanagar (The Big City) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Simply one of the best films ever made. A trail blazer even by today's standards. The themes of gender role conflict, classism and work ethics are all played out in the dreamily composed yet closed world that director Ray crafted. The last 3 minutes are real movie magic in the truest sense of the word: you cheer for a moral redemption rarely explored in life (much less on film).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great film, June 2, 2002

By 

Kasey M. Moctezuma "parisgirl" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mahanagar (The Big City) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This film of Ray's is really one of my favorites. The wife of the main character decides to go to work to help support the family, and ultimately discovers new things about herself. She likes her new job and independence and having work gives her a different outlook about her own life and marriage, as well as the world. This is basically an upbeat movie, with a modern feel to it. As always, Ray's direction is impeccable and the cinematography is great. This is really a very enjoyable movie.