Satyajit Ray seems to lose all his grace and subtlety whenever he strays into “message” territory. This 1964 film, whose original title is
Mahanagar, about a young wife who goes to work (selling knitting machines) over the protests of her husband and his family, isn't an exception. The plot is set up in a thin, simpleminded way to prove that the wife was right—her husband is soon fired from his job as a bank clerk, and she must support the family by herself. This is exactly the kind of screenwriter's trick that proves nothing at all; the real moral and social issues haven't been confronted. With Anil Chatterji and Madhabie Mukherjee.
By
Dave Kehr
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