Satyajit Ray based this exquisite chamber drama, his favorite of his own films, on Nastanirh (The Broken Nest) by Rabindranath Tagore, whose writings were a frequent source of inspiration for the director (see Teen Kanya). Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee) is married to loving but distant Bhupati (Sailen Mukherjee), who spends his time and family money on his own newspaper, but when his charming cousin Amal (Soumitra Chatterjee) moves in with them, Charulata finds herself inspired but increasingly dissatisfied with her life.

Director: Satyajit Ray. Cast: Madhabi Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee, Sailen Mukherjee, Syamal Ghosal. 1964. 119 minutes. India. B&W. Bengali. 35mm. 

Restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project through a collaboration of the Academy Film Archive, the Merchant-Ivory Foundation, the Film Foundation, and the Packard Humanities Institute. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

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