Ashani Sanket / Distant Blunder (1973) :
Brief Review -
A Stunning Cult Classic on heart-wrenching topic of Bengal Famine. One of Satyajit Ray's best work ever and you know what that means. When i say, it is one of the best work of Satyajit Ray ever then you must realise the high standard I'm taking about. I don't even need to explain anything after that one statement and if you are well known about Satyjit Ray's work then i don't think you can resist yourself from watching this Cult film ASAP. Ashani Sanket is based on true events and believe me those events are horrendous. As food shortages reach catastrophic proportions, Gangacharan attempts to preserve his privileged situation, while his generous wife, Ananga, conversely tries to help and support the community. Alongside, the film also focuses of castism as the protagonist realises that a natural disaster like Hunger don't see Caste before hitting you. All humans are equal, we have to stay equal to live equal and suffer equally. Some scenes in the film are truly mind-shattering and abominable. You have to have strong heart and emotions to see it and understand the actual pain behind and then i guess you'll never ever forget this film in your Life. Bangladeshi Actress Bobita looks drop-dead gorgeous as bengali housewife. She looks so good that i would have had crush on her if i were a teenager in 70s. Performance wise too she looks great whereas in her husband's role Legend Soumitra Chatterjee shows his upper class yet again. Director Satyajit Ray bring cent-percent conviction in his storytelling with utterly realistic presentation and does not compromise with the hard-hitting content. In a nutshell, Ashani Sanket is a Cult Classic moviemaking on tragic tale from the Indian History which is atrocious and ferocious but needs to seen.
RATING - 8.5/10*
By - #samthebestest.
