Jalsaghar - The Music Room by Chhabi Biswas

Jalsaghar(The Music Room),made in 1958 is a masterpiece of World Cinema. It is must-see for all Ray fans in particualar and all the classic cinelovers in general.The film is about a zamindar(landowning nobleman),played brilliantly by the great Chobi Biswas,whose tremendous passsion for staging very lavish musical arrangements ushers in his decadence.The movie shows in flashback his best days with a happy family and most dignified presence in the sumptuous music and dance arrangements.On the course of time,the nobleman loses money;his wife and son die in a shipwreck.In a last and vein effort to bring back those yesterdays of glory and now-lost dignity the nobleman invests with all the money he had to stage another jalsa( musical arrangement ).And this arrangement turned out to be his last.The movie has got many memorable scenes notably one in the "jalsaghar" where he makes his presence felt by saying that he is the one who deserves (he being the host and organizer)to be the first giver of the token-money(as remuneration) to the artist ;and yet another one was when he gets the news of his kins' death and takes in hands restlessly his son's deadbody.Who can forget the last scene where he becomes restless and takes out his aging stallion out of the stable and rides on it until he falls down.The scene aptly concludes the downfall of the zamindar .Not many people know that Ray found the location of the this zamindar's palace in an awkward place in Nimtita in Bengal-Bangladesh border.The palace in which the film was shot was actually that of the Chowdhurys and coincidentally enough the writer of "Jalsaghar",Tarashankar Banerjee, had one music loving Upendra Narayan Chowdhury (of this Chowdhury family of Nimtita) in his mind which served as the model of the Zamindaar of his story.This is the film which can be seen time and again without getting tired.This is real genuine masterpiece.

One of Satyajit Ray's most popular films. Perhaps not one of his best films--- but that again is by Ray's high standards. Mainly because the lead artist, one of the biggest stars of his time, plays to the gallery: making the lines a bit more theatrical than necessary, dressing a bit garishly. Satyajit Ray also tries to be a bit more symbolic in some scenes, with the result that the symbolism becomes "bookish". Like the insect drowning in the goblet of wine...felt that was over the top!Enough on its demerits.....this is Greek tragedy at its best. its the story of an old man, seeped in feudal tradition,trying to hold onto the glory of the past, out-of-sync with the changing world and throwing away all his money in order to maintain the glory of the past . And when the money to support his life-style goes away, the lights dim in the mansion and he dies in his dream........but not before a last hurray.An universal and always relevant story of what happens when you hold onto the past and negate the present..told in true Ray humanist style. And throw in some of the classical Indian music, rousing performances all around and a mansion with shadows of the past looming everywhere.....and you have a haunting poignant helluva film!

One of about 10 Ray films we saw at The Greenway during a Houston foreign film festival some years ago. I hated the contnet of the film after leaving the theater, but somehow the acting had an effect that I couldn't forget. For one thing, the 'knowing', implicitly arrogant looks that the two men exchange with each other in the music rooms. Nothing like it, one of the best films ever....Four other hard to forget films: both the older and newer versions of The Charge of the Light Brigade, and both (Jack Palance and Stacy Keach) versions of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But while you're at it, don't miss Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Hunters either!

I would love the opportunity to buy this music on CD. It is unlike anything I've heard, and I am a long-time fan of Indian music. A musical journey through time. More, more, more!

One of Ray's classics.... Chhabi Biswas in one of his best all-time performances. The music is fascinating and an added bonus. Sharp screenplay and a tight script make this a 'must-see' for all Ray fans and first-timers alike. The movie presents a fascinating glimpse into life in a different time and place and is therefore a great period film.

See how Ray amazingly exhibits human pride and the emotions that are involved with it in one of Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay's finest works of literature: Jalsaghar. [...]