- Directed by: Satyajit Ray
- Main Cast: Utpal Dutt, Mamata Shankar, Dipankar De, Rabi Ghosh, Dhritiman Chatterjee
- Language: Bengali
- Running Time: 120 minutes
The film is based on the short story written by Ray,"Athiti".In 1990s Calcutta, Anila Bose(Mamata Shankar) and her Husband Sudhindra Bose(Dipanakar De) recieves a letter from Anila's long lost Uncle, Manmohan Mitra(Utpal Dutt), who left home 35 years ago to travel around the world. In the letter he expresses his desire to meet and stay with his only relative, niece Anila for a week. Things begin to get complicated when Shudhindra suspects a fraud in the matter.
From the point we are known about the arrival of Anila's long lost Uncle, we are in a way put into their shoes of suspecting the incident. The audience goes along with Anila and her husband to suspect the incident which stirs confussion within the audience about the true identity of the visitor. Anila is confused whether it is her true uncle or not, Sudhindra suspects him being a fraud with some negetive intention. The only exception is their son Satyaki, who is more excited the meeting the visitor. When we are introduced to the visitor Manmohan Mitra, the audience tend to suspect him more because of his unconventional nature.As the story proceeds and we see more of Manmohan's offbeat thinking and experiences. The story goes on and the audience hold back to see a mesmerizing drama.
This was the final film of Satyajit Ray and through this film he again gifted the world with a fascinating work of cinema and unforgettable characters. Through this film Satyajit Ray questions the conventional opinion about civilized and uncivilized. Watching Manmohan we are forced to rethink about how we see and judge other people in the society. We are put in front of a mirror showing the flaws in our idea of social status and practices. Many people try to throw away their traditions and culture and embrace modern practices to hold their so called class. Ray has given a beautiful reply through his film. Ray has hold onto his key plot devices and shown different indian cultures, notably tribal and folks. The viewers also experience the blissful music given by Ray. We also know about different facts about the world through the experiences of Manhohan Mitra. Overall Satyajit Ray's "Agantuk" is a rapturous tale of culture, people and society. The feelings expressed in this film makes it a must watch.
by Aishik Sikdar
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