What Raja Ram Mohan Roy saw through the polluted minds of the society ruled by beastly men or (supposedly) the strong species seeped into the vision of the pioneer Indian film maker- Satyajit Ray! What lies beneath the tender flesh of a woman is not for me to understand, her corrupt desires, or her burning soul that can turn the blasphemed society into ashes! I am no one to judge! I am just another dust particle (continuously defending the race superior to humans and a follower of Steven Hawkins!) in the dust storm that has caused several minds to clog and many suffocate!
There always have been perpetual arguments between two schools of thought- cinema as an art and cinema as a money minting business. As Ray says, an artist is the one who is least bothered about these arguments. It’s an immense satisfaction for the artist if his art is spoken about even in the small talks of two street hooligans!
An artist is someone who is obsessed with ‘his’ art. For him, he and only he exists, no one else is there or will be there. We are not talking about harsh ego or over confidence here, we are talking about an obsession, a madness, a passion! Satyajit Ray is such a ‘freak’!
Satyajit Ray’s Devi:
As we drive pass the streets of the busy city, in the AC car, the only thing that separates us from the ‘reality’ outside is the transparent glass window! As the radio plays the sizzling hot numbers, the street kids sing “pardesi, pardesi” to earn a penny!
Devi:
Devi was made in the late 1950’s in the context of depicting the believes in God, and what extent can your belief drag you! The film, can be stated as one of the underdogs amongst all his masterpieces; Devi hasn’t been spoken as much about his other works of art!
As Ray speaks, referring to his films, “I believe I am not qualified enough to analyze the films of any other film maker, and that I am the only existing greatest film maker today, thus, I shall only and only speak about the films that I have made!” He has spoken about Devi in fewer places as compared to his massive thesis, essays and talks about Pather Panchali or Charulata. Yet, Devi remains as one of the greatest of his accomplishments. For, an artist (says Ray) is always thirsty of a little appreciation; hence he accomplishes his dreams instead of ‘achieving’ them!
Though such incidences are also depicted by Fellini in Nights of Cabiria and La Dolce Vita, Ray stands unique with his signature! The major reason for me, as a film appreciator, to choose Ray’s Devi lies in his master pieces as for them, India is known to the world. Ray’s style have motivated and intoxicated many film makers! At a personal level, his ‘approach’ to make a film is what appeals to me! That is the essence of his films, and that is what makes film enthusiasts embrace films as an art form!
Let us analyse the magic of ‘Devi.’
Opening sequence of Devi:
Devi begins with a title sequence of a naked face of Maa Durga’s statue. An Indian classical raga is being played in the background. Gradually, the eyes are painted- the third eye most prominent, the face then takes a proper appearance.
There is an urgent need for the viewers to get close to the appearance and the beauty of Maa Durga. This denotes the transformation of a lump of clay into an imagery, so powerful, so spiritual yet so calm – Maa Durga. What is also to be observed is such a transformation is not possible without an agent. The agent or the artist or the Rasika truly can identify the essence of an art and form shapes, images and master pieces, long before it exists. This is the major difference between an artist and a craftsman.
The camera then tracks back to a toppish angle and reveals the ‘sword’ in her hands, gradually her other hands are revealed. This makes the Goddess’s statue a figure that would influence the lives of the characters in the film.
The camera continues to track back to reveal people worshiping the goddess.
It dissolves to people dancing in the foreground, with the Devi’s statue in the background. The camera stays here. Denotes how engrossed are the devotees worshipping the Devi!
Two people prostrate before the Goddess. We know later that these are the characters in the film whose devotion and belief would change the life of Doya forever!
A man lifts his sword and makes a sacrifices, however the sacrifice is not seen and we cut to the crackers bursting in the sky. There is a lot of celebration that is followed by this sacrifice, this is an extremity to which the fait and superstition can take you to! Again, these characters would sacrifice the love of their eye – Khokha later in the story!
The camera then reveals the central characters of the film-
Khokha – Whose death, is the highest point in the scrip- sits at a height- on the shoulders of Uma.
Uma- The husband & the son-a weak rebel against his father’s superstition, an escapist, a logical person. This is the reason why Uma is watching the crackers while his elder brother and father are watching the sacrifice being made. Uma tries to escape from the harsh realities of life by just gazing at the crackers.
Doya- The protagonist. Silent, innocent and calm. She doesn’t possess the qualities of a stereotype Bengali house wife, but yes, she is a bit of Charulata! However, she is devoted to serving his father in law and adoring Khokha. She is excited to being in the company of Uma, unlike Charulata, she is open infront of Uma and expresses her love to him! She worships Durga not with a devotional madness, rather like just another work in her daily chores. These characters are so much reflected in this short sequence, that we would realise later in the film.
This image is cut to Devi’s statue being immersed in water. A beautiful subtext- Doya would face the same (or does she?) in the film!
The opening sequence reveals the story of the protagonist in a way that only a rasika can decode, for the rest, it is just a plain simple opening sequence revealing the characters.
Another beautiful feature that Devi possesses is the transitions between scenes. In particular, I would like to speak about the transition between the scene where Uma and Doya are on the bed, the last night of them together before Uma leaves for his studies and the next morning scene. Uma and Doya after having a small romantic conversation, lie down on the bed, Uma on the right of the screen and Doya to the left. We fade to a morning transition, where Doya is on the right now and Uma is on the left of the bed. Uma just calls out Doya’s name once feebly, and she answers. This indicates that they have made love and haven’t slept throughout the night. Satyajit Ray showed the scene so aesthetically that not even a single element of the story is lost!
Satyajit Ray is not just an auteur; he himself is a film school! Devi, being one of his greatest works remains in the golden archives of this film school’s library!
Like Doya runs into an open field at the end of the film, I feel a sense of salvation after watching Devi!
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