User reviews

In the countryside of India, Umaprasad (Soumitra Chattopadhyay) has been happily married with his seventeen year-old wife Doyamoyee (Sharmila Tagore) for three years. They live in the house of Umaprasad´s father Kalikinkar Roy (Chhabi Biswas), who worships the goddess Kali, with Umaprasad´s elder brother Taraprasad (Purnendu Mukhopadhyay), his wife Harasundari (Karuna Bandyopadhyay) and their child Khoka. Umaprasad has a conversation with Doyamoyee and explains that he will move to the big city to study English and she questions why he needs to travel to go to school. Sometime later, Kalikinkar has a dream that Doyamoyee is the reincarnation of Kali and the locals come to Kalikinkar´s house to worship her. Doyamoyee asks Harasundari to write to Umaprasad and soon he returns home. But Doyamoyee has been brainwashed with the situation and begins to believe that she might be the reincarnation of Kali leading the family to a tragedy.

"Devi", a.k.a. "The Goddess", is a little gem with a story of family tradition (and respect), religion, superstition and ignorance in the Nineteenth Century in India. "Devi" is beautifully shot in black-and-white and has magnificent performances and a perfect open conclusion. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Deusa" ("The Goddess")

Satyajit Ray made "Devi" in 1960. It was only his sixth film after completeing his 'Apu Trilogy' and "The Music Room" but it's much less well-known and little seen today. It's also a masterpiece. The great Chhabi Biswas, (he of "The Music Room"), once again plays a rich, lonely old man who comes to believe his daughter-in-law is a reincarnation of the Goddess Kali. If the tale is a fanciful one it's grounded in the harsh realities of the India of the time, (it's set in the mid-nineteenth century), and its heart is a heart of darkness. Goddess or witch, the end result is the same; such superstition can only have a tragic outcome and this is one of Ray's finest tragedies. Working again with what was basically his stock company, Ray draws superb performances from his cast and like so much of his work, this is a great ensemble piece, superbly shot by Subrata Mitra and scored by Ali Akbar Khan. It's a film that cries out for restoration and rediscovery.

'Devi' is so good I went out and bought the whole 'Apu Trilogy.' Which was expensive, and I'm poor. 'Devi' is so good that I've watched it enough times to be able to mouth along to it in Bengali, and I don't speak Bengali. "Khoka khotay?" "Aaaa... cheko ta." (I'm now learning Bengali because I love this movie so much!)

There is such an intricate web of relationships between the characters, that it reminds me of Macbeth. The story is very specifically about the Indian culture (it's revealing investigation into Hinduism could have happened nowhere else) but its tale of strife between generations is something anyone can understand and feel.

If you would like to talk about this film, please email me! "Namoskar." (I'm pretty sure that means 'goodbye!')

This film was made in 1960. This is interesting because it is highly doubtful that the same film could be made in India today, in spite of India's massive film industry. The film does a great depiction of the crisis faced by people struggling to be modern yet encumbered with the traditional systems and the specter of having been colonized.

The younger son is ready to walk away from the bondage of traditional and as he sees, the superstition of the traditional life. Of course, he is reaping the benefit of life as a high caste. His young wife becomes the Devi - the embodiment of the goddess. This film also works well for its psychological content for the way we see the father project his desires onto those around him, and the choices faced by each character. In light of the fundamentalism worldwide - Christian, Muslim & Hindu - it is hard to image that this film could be made today in India since it leans to a skeptical view of Darsan and the goddess.

Devi / The Goddess (1960) : Brief Review -

A Satyajit Ray Classic on Superstition and Religious Dogmatism. Master Ray had to make that one woman oriented film with fictionalized mindset of society and i think this story of blind devotion and incarnation stuff was a perfect fit for it. Devi was Ray's 6th film after Appu Trilogy, Jalsaghar and Parasha Patthar and eventually it was far different with the content. A young woman is deemed as a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali. This leads a devotional rampage in the village and the woman finds herself caught in the crowd which she didn't want and then after the rituals stays very lonely remembering her earlier happy life. Sharmila Tagore in the lead role portrays the character with utter finesse. Those long shots have been framed by her expression without any cuts which shows how dedicated and immersed she was into the character. Soumitra Chatterjee as her husband has sort of supporting role if we go with the screen space but whatever scenes he has, he does it comfortably. Karuna Banerjee came as a complete surprise for me because the role was very sidelined and i didn't expect her to do so well with less potential of the character. I loved her in Pather Panchali so i never doubted her acting skills and she did not disappoint but moreover surpassed my expectations. The supporting cast too does well with everyone having important scenes. Devi has Satyajit Ray marking all over. From framework to storytelling to pauses and scene cutting everything has Ray's artistic touch to it. The climax is more subtle than what it looks and i am sure Satyajit Ray's Fans will understand it. However, the mass audience would never reach to the bottom of it. Overall, another Ray Classic but this time with an Important Subject like Superstition in rural areas.

RATING - 8/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Devi is one of those that reaches out through the screen and smacks you in the face hard. It forces you to question your beliefs on religion and the supernatural, without giving any answers of its own. The premise is simple yet intriguingly complex at the same time - an old devout religious man deems his young daughter-in-law to be an incarnation of a goddess and begins worshiping her. The movie follows by describing the opposing reactions of the various family members including delving into the inner turmoil the protagonist herself goes through. The biggest strength of the movie is that refuses to preach a solution or depict an objective truth. When you are dealing with religious faith and mysticism there is no objective truth...the truth is simply what you believe in...hence the movie forces you to question for yourself what do you believe in? There is no denying that Satyajit Ray is a master at capturing emotions and relations on film without dramatizing the moment, relying on silence and subtlety to convey the message. A dialog in the film by the protagonist epitomizes the essence of the movie - "I don't think I am a goddess...but what if I am?" Watch this movie to answer the question for yourself...not simply for mythical elements but for all answers that we humans have not yet found the answer to..

A film that explores the line between the good aspects of faith (e.g. humility) and the bad (e.g. ignorance) when an elderly man has a dream that his daughter-in-law is the incarnation of the goddess Kali, and immediately begins venerating her. In Hinduism the idea of one of the deities from its pantheon incarnating as a mortal is fairly common and has some interesting and profound philosophical implications, but here we feel a deep sense of falseness and unease. When the young woman's husband returns to find her on a dais surrounded by chanting worshippers he eventually tries to get her out of there, but she begins to wonder whether she might indeed be Kali, and if leaving may cause the gods to inflict their wrath upon him. It all seems a little crazy - a single fleeting moment in an old man's dream, and suddenly streams of people are coming to a trapped young woman, some bearing sick children and expecting her to heal them.

Before the dream, the old man has a somewhat creepy relationship with her - for example, calling her 'mother' and praising her while she waits on him and tenderly washes his feet. Later we find out she's just 17 years old, and has been married for 3 years, causing some uncomfortable internal math even if it is based on the reality of 19th century India (and apparently a true story). Sharmila Tagore plays the conflicted aspects of the part well, and she was only 16 years old. I found that the film was an interesting look into the culture - and director Satyajit Ray's criticism of blind faith - but the pace of the film was a little too slow for what is a pretty simple story. It finishes strong though, and with some powerful images of Tagore.

Being a Bengali, I had the privilege to read the original story by Prabhat Kumar from which the screenplay was adapted, and the story had a concrete conclusion with a deep impact where Ray finished it with surrealism and abstraction. Mostly he avoided the actual ending to bypass the social stigma which prevailed at that time. Also the story provides a very intimate adoration between the lead couple which was also avoided for probably the same reason.

Apart from that it possesses all the characteristics of Ray's direction with thrilling music, cinematography and screenplay. Definitely a must watch.

This is a Bengali film from 1960 directed by Satyajit Ray and starring Sharmila Tagore.

The film is well edited and directed but the script/message has the wrong intent clearly within.

It gives a wrong message that beliefs and traditions are all wrong. If the message was to convey that superstitions and obsessions are to be avoided, that's not how the message came through.

For the believing patriarch, when he pleads to Mother Kali in pain, the scorn thrown at him is that he killed the grandson.

Instead the message could have been in the middle of the film to convey that the patriarch's misconceptions are corrected before it's too late and he learns that it's important to apply balance in one's approach to life.

I rated it 5/10 in IMDB for the wrong way the message was delivered by this film.

"Devi" (Hindi, 1960): Directed by Satyajit Ray, and banned in India until the intercession of Nehru, this is the story of a lovely 17 year old wife, who is suddenly labeled as a "Goddess" (while her husband is absent to complete his final exams in college), due to a dream ("vision") by her father-in-law. What follows is a fascinating, multi-angled look at the transitional Indian culture (and MOST cultures, frankly). Is this any different, any worse, or any more desperate than seeing the face of Jesus in a grilled cheese sandwich or the grain of a wooden door? Is her overnight change in status unique? Are the people who have confused motives, hopelessness, or malleable minds any less vulnerable here and now? The quality of the video copy I viewed was rough – a copy of a copy of a copy – yet even then, the power of Ray's vision shines through. This is a serious, beautiful, insightful, tragic film. (It has something of a "cousins" relationship to the film "Anchoress".)

Excellent film. Captures the essence of religious superstition verses spirituality. Shot in glorious black and white the film is essentially about a 17 year old bride ( played by Sharmila Tagore)whose atheist husband goes away for further studies leaving her with his family in a rural town in Bengal. Her devout father-in-law, who is an ardent worshipper of the goddess Kali, has a vision that his daughter-in-law is actually an incarnation of the goddess. The devoted daughter-in-law, initially, plays along for the fear of hurting his feelings but as the movie progresses she gets caught up in the ritualistic practices and starts to believe that she is actually the goddesses incarnate. I have actually seen things like that happen and I think Ray captured the mass hysteria of an entire town very well. The struggle between the son who is a spiritual man but is not superstious and his father is well portrayed. Over all an excellent film, not on par with the Apu trilogy however.

Hearing about psychological horror too much around?! Watch this movie. This movie will tell about the time of belief and the passive effect of it. This movie might touch upon the subject of rural and ancient themes, but that will burn slowly till the husband gets well and leaves for good. And over all, the poster - designed by the illustrator Ray himself - just reflects exactly what is being told here.

This film by director Satyajit Ray is beautifully photographed, often in night scenes or in candlelit rooms.

The story might take place in 19th century India under the influence of Hinduism, but it has a universal message about the power of religious fervor. When a man asserts his daughter-in-law is a reincarnation of a deity, his message takes on a life of its own and the "faithful" come out of the woodwork to bathe in her presence, seeking grace and favors. This transforms the family. It also victimizes the young girl who feels she must accede to the older man's will.

Ray does not hurry the story, but tells it in an economical manner. In one simple scene, a young child's ball accidentally rolls into the chamber of the deified girl. Once, he and the girl, his aunt, were close confidants and played together. Now, he hesitates to enter the room. Her smile welcomes him to enter, so he quickly and silently retrieves his ball and runs away. When she hears him laugh again outside her room, we see her realize that the new order has destroyed all that is most precious to her.

This is a master storyteller weaving a tale that is always relevant.

Sharmila Tagore has been Soumitra Chatterjee's Wife for three years. While he is gone for college, his father, Chhabi Biswas, have a dream in which he beholds Miss Tagore as the goddess he has worshipped all his life. Soon he has convinced everyone in the neighborhood of this, and miracles are ascribed to her. Chatterjee, however, does not believe this, and she is uncertain of her divinity.

The copy of this movie, which played recently on TCM, is in poor condition, alas. The soundtrack is in particularly poor shape. Nonetheless, Satyajit Ray's of the clash between superstition and rationality, religion and skepticism, is remains clear and powerful. The long lines of pilgrims who come to worship the stoic goddess are testaments of faith in a world in which divinity exists in the mundane.

Miss Tagore was fourteen when she appeared in this movie, her second, during her summer vacation. Now, almost sixty years later and the veteran of more than one hundred features, she remembers the shoot as a mystical experience; is not all creativity participation in the divine?

"Devi" is an exquisite masterpiece that transcends time, culture, and genre. Released in 1960, this Bengali film directed by the legendary Satyajit Ray is a cinematic gem that continues to dazzle audiences with its profound storytelling and breathtaking visuals.

Set against the backdrop of rural Bengal, "Devi" delves into themes of faith, superstition, and the consequences of blind devotion. The narrative unfolds around Doyamoyee, a young woman who is revered as a goddess by her father-in-law after he dreams of her divine incarnation. As the villagers flock to her seeking blessings, Doyamoyee's life becomes a complex web of spirituality and human frailty.

Ray's direction is nothing short of brilliant, capturing the essence of rural India with unparalleled authenticity. The cinematography, characterized by sweeping landscapes and intimate close-ups, transports the audience into the heart of the story, evoking a range of emotions from awe to introspection.

Leading the cast is the incomparable Sharmila Tagore, whose portrayal of Doyamoyee is a revelation. With subtlety and nuance, Tagore brings to life the inner turmoil of a young woman torn between her familial duty and her own sense of self. Her performance is nothing short of mesmerizing, leaving a lasting impression long after the credits roll.

Supporting Tagore is an ensemble cast that delivers performances of unparalleled depth and conviction. From Soumitra Chatterjee's nuanced portrayal of Doyamoyee's husband to Chhabi Biswas's commanding presence as her father-in-law, every actor imbues their character with a complexity that adds layers to the narrative.

What sets "Devi" apart is its ability to provoke thought and spark conversations long after the film has ended. Ray skillfully navigates the delicate balance between tradition and modernity, challenging societal norms and exposing the dangers of unchecked religious fervor. In doing so, he creates a work of art that is not only visually stunning but also intellectually stimulating.

In conclusion, "Devi" is a timeless classic that deserves to be celebrated for generations to come. Its universal themes, coupled with masterful direction and stellar performances, ensure that it will continue to captivate audiences around the world. Whether you're a cinephile or simply someone who appreciates great storytelling, "Devi" is an experience not to be missed.

(1960) Devi/ The Goddess (In Bengali with English subtitles) DRAMA

Adapted from the short story by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay produced, written and directed by Satyajit Ray that has just married husband, Umaprasad (Soumitra Chattopadhyay) leaving his young wife, Doyamoyee (Sharmila Tagore) with his senile dad, Kalikinkar Roy (Chhabi Biswas), Umaprasad's brother and his family, so that he can go away and continue his studies in Calcutta. After a few days of Umaprasad's wife Doyamoyee living with them is when Umaprasad's dad Kalikinkar gets an epiphany in the form of a dream of his daughter-in-law is the reincarnation of the "Devi" or "The Goddess". This is the second of six films actor Soumitra Chatterjee collaborated with director Satyajit Ray.

Because this movie was on at night, I thought the first half hour or so kind of drags, and that it was not interesting until Umaprasad's sister writes him a letter to get him to come back home and witness how delusional his dad had turned out. This movie may be the first serious Bengali movie that delves into placing too much faith onto something that may or may not be true, another movie that consist of a similar theme is "Elmer Gantry". Because i don't know what the health system is like in India, it just appears that Umaprasad's family can afford the treatment to his dad or to anyone else in the household, unlike some of the villagers.

I'm seeing the M word tossed around by many of my esteemed IMDB colleagues. I wish to dissent. Far from being a masterpiece I found this early Ray work, at least when it deals with the conflict between science and religion, to be on the crude, polemical side. Uma, the university attending rationalist, is presented as a wholly admirable figure, almost Muni-like in his being The Lone Skeptical Man in a sea of superstitious ignorance, while his ultra religious father is portrayed as, at best, an amiable fanatic and, at worst, a malevolent force that must not only be defeated but humiliated, as well. That the father could be anything other than a malign, backward dope or the son be anything less than a paragon of Truth is a question not worth exploring by the director.

Where Ray's film is on more interesting and compelling ground, in my opinion, is in its examination of the third major figure, Uma's wife, Doya. I agree with what I take to be Ray's point that Doya is driven to believe that she is a goddess because that status is preferable to her non identity as a loyal, submissive wife. This, of course, is a powerful indictment of the subjugation of women, all the more so for being non message-y and done via the wife's character and not through ad hominem, anti male attacks.

Bottom line: Come for Uma and Dad. Stay for Doya. B minus.

PS...Did I fail to mention that the pace of this film is as slow as a paralyzed sloth?

After watching Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959), which are now my favourite films of all time, I was looking forward to watching Devi, the next film Ray directed after The Apu Trilogy. Although I couldn't feel the same kind of emotional connection with the characters in Devi that I felt in The Apu Trilogy, this film was thought-provoking and very intriguing to watch.

Devi dealt with a serious issue in Bengali society at the time in a mature manner and Ray's direction and cinematography for this film was just as superb as The Apu Trilogy. It starred Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore once again as a married couple, like in Apur Sansar (the final part of The Apu Trilogy). However, whereas it was Soumitra who played the lead role in Apur Sansar, this time it's Sharmila who plays the lead role in Devi. Her performance was very subtle for the first half but her delusional performance towards the end was very convincing. Overall, I'd highly recommend this movie to any Satyajit Ray fan.

8/10

Examining the dangers of blind faith & superstitious beliefs through the adversity of a young woman who finds herself deified by her father-in-law following a vivid dream, Devi captures the absurdity of religious delusion and the oppressive role a patriarchal society plays by not giving women their own voice even when they are held to a divine status.

Written & directed by Satyajit Ray (The Apu Trilogy & The Music Room), the story aptly introduces us to all the characters before the main plot surfaces but once it kicks into action, things only get more tragic & heartbreaking from there on. Ray makes sure his critique doesn't mock the Hindu religion, and is mainly concerned with the grave consequences of such blind conviction.

The religious fervour that erupts from one man's idiotic interpretation of a dream is depicted with both honesty & understanding. The splendid camerawork, steady pace & skilful editing do their part but what makes the ride so gripping, involving & interesting is the strong & sincere performances from the committed cast, with Sharmila Tagore impressing the most in the designated titular role.

Overall, Devi (The Goddess) is yet another socially relevant film from Satyajit Ray that tackles a sensitive subject matter with elegance & composure, and delivers a rich, evocative & thought-provoking experience. As is the case with most films of this esteemed auteur, the story brims with a timeless quality, the social themes it addresses have a universal appeal, and the sensible storytelling makes it worth a shot.