Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (The Hero) reminded me how cinema can be timeless
Satyajit Ray’s Nayak (The Hero) reminded me how cinema can be timeless
As a cinephile, it is your moral duty to watch this film.
It’s pretty rare for a movie to leave a lasting impression on me. The kind where I go deep into researching about the director’s vision and read up on every interpretation out there. Deconstructing the layers of the story and identifying the metaphors turn into an amusing treasure hunt with every rewatch. Recently, I felt the same when I watched Nayak (The Hero), written and directed by the legendary Satyajit Ray. Lying dormant on my watchlist for a couple of years since I started watching Ray’s classics, I finally took the plunge. At the end, I felt rewarded and it reminded me how powerful cinema can be even after decades. All I have to say is that if you enjoy cinema, you can’t miss this. More about it later.
In other powerful reminders, I had to rethink my sleeping system this week after an extended bout of a painful stiff neck. Having slept all my life on cotton pillows, with the exception of the fluffy ones in hotel rooms, it was time to switch to something more functional and comfortable. I bought a cervical pillow and now I officially feel old. Maybe I can reverse this by gradually upgrading my mattress to ultimately sleep like a baby? Nonetheless, I’m sleeping much better and quicker than before. You will find an informative pillow buying guide below.
We are inching towards Durga Puja which is the biggest festival for Bengali people. I’m not religious but I appreciate the social and community aspect that brings together people for something bigger than themselves. To me it centres around delicious food and hopping around the beautifully crafted idols around the city. This also means an excuse to buy new clothes but for me it’s an opportunity to organise the outfits I already own. I’ll probably need to figure out something so that I don’t mindlessly buy extra clothes. Here’s to a festive week ahead.
🗓️ In this week
▶️ Videos
As I mentioned earlier, I had to do something about my sleeping system. This video covers a lot about the material, sleeping position and configuration of pillows which is an essential part of that system. I went with Sleepsia’s cervical pillow but you will find several options from multiple brands like Frido or My Armor. One thing that stuck with me from the video was not using the same pillow every night. Rather pick a pillow based on your day’s activity ensuring a more comfortable sleep. I’ll probably buy a regular memory foam pillow in the future.
I’m extremely proud of my YouTube binging pattern all because of the lovely recommendations lately. It’s impossible to comprehend the sheer amount of videos available on the platform. When such hard-hitting videos keep making their way over and over again on my home feed, the dopamine hits are phenomenal. Cara’s Way is the latest addition to my binge list. Packed with priceless wisdom, this video resonates with me a little too much and I’ve watched it thrice already.
Capturing life and its moments mean a lot to me. And I’ve been trying to do just that in a more stylised way. Being a noob in video-making, I’ve been highly dependent on the awesome creators on YouTube and it has been helping me a lot. The latest advice comes from Dylan Batista on how to practice cinematography. One takeaway for me is to recreate popular frames from my favourite films and I think I’m going to keep an eye out to make it happen soon.
Do you have any exciting recommendations? Some more interesting tidbits you would like to share from the content mentioned here? Or just simple feedback? I would love to hear from you!
🎬 Films
Nayak is a character study of the life of popular film actor Arindam Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar) who is on his way to receive an award. From the beginning of the film, his charismatic personality is displayed upfront as one would imagine any iconic celebrity to be like. However, as he encounters people through the film there are hints of revelation into his true self. He comes across Aditi Sengupta (Sharmila Tagore) in the train journey who insists on interviewing him. And this is where the film gets more interesting. Their casual conversation gradually turns into an opportunity of introspection for Arindam as he is suddenly haunted by the burden of his conflicting expectations for himself. The story tackles meaningful dialogues about the art of acting, the struggle between making or breaking into cinema and the possibility of turning into a forgotten actor. Without ruining much, there are more themes on cinema that have been addressed in this film that I very much enjoyed. Nayak is one of those films that truly shows the power of cinema that was made way back in 1966. Satyajit Ray masterfully portrays it all while making sincere commentary about cinema itself. It’s quite meta and genius! Please watch this if you’re a cinema lover. Hint: Keep a close watch whenever he wears or removes his sunglasses (thank you Film Companion for this mind-blowing tip).
“Once you overcome the 1-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” - Bong Joon-ho.
📱 Apps
Very few people I know actively track their media consumption using apps. I’m one of those. While all my movies go to Letterboxd and books go to Goodreads, I recently started using Sequel on iOS to track TV shows. A pretty simple app where you can add the shows you’re currently watching or want to watch. Whenever a new episode is out, you will get a notification. You can also track movies, books, audiobooks and video games. It’s a neat way to bring some discipline into your binging habits.
🚀 Looking for more?
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Image courtesy: The Criterion Collection