Ray’s biggest hit in his native Bengal tells the story of Narsingh (Soumitra Chatterjee, transformed into a menacing hollow-eyed antihero). When his taxi permit is revoked due to aggressive driving, Narsingh finds himself stranded in a small town with his 1930s Chrysler and slowly descends into a life of illicit trafficking. A noirish saga of downfall and redemption, Ray’s film is a surprising, but no less accomplished, stylistic and tonal shift.

Director: Satyajit Ray. Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Waheeda Rehman, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Gyanesh Mukherjee.1962. 150 min. India. B&W. Bengali. 35mm. Restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive. 

All film screenings of Satyajit Ray: 1955-1968 are available here.