Intended to screen together as a double bill, these two films underscore Ray’s range from existentialist drama to light-hearted satire. In Kapurush, a young screenwriter (Soumitra Chatterjee) has to lay over on a tea plantation in Hashimara when his car breaks down. Little does he realize, he and the wife of his host (Madhabi Mukherjee) have a personal history together and a noirish whirlpool of agonizing flashbacks is unleashed. Mahapurush returns Ray to the world of religious fanaticism, this time for laughs as a family falls under the sway of the ageless Birinchi Baba (an exuberant Charuprakash Ghosh) and his incredulous claims.

Kapurush (The Coward)
Director: Satyajit Ray. Cast: Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Haradhan Bannerjee, Santi Chatterjee. 1965. 69 minutes. India. B&W. Bengali. 35mm. 

Restored by the Satyajit Ray Preservation Project at the Academy Film Archive. Print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

Mahapurush (The Holy Man)
Director: Satyajit Ray. Cast:  Charuprakash Ghosh, Rabi Ghosh, Prasad Mukherjee, Gitali Roy. 1965. 66 minutes. 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.