Satyajit RAy's SADGATI (DELIVERANCE, 1981), based on the Premchand story, does contain one of Smita Patil's best performances, as well as equally fine ones by Om Puri and Mohan Agashe. Om, a poor serf, must chop a log in two for Brahmin landlord Mohan, while the illiterate Smita must strive to remember her grocery list in her head. Starved, Om dies, and Mohan must dispose of his body without touching it. Ray adds so many details (a many- headed idol in the Brahmin's courtyard, the grocery list) that Mohan's dilemma finally takes up very little screen time. Made for TV, this 45- minute film also is now faded in the National Film Archives' copy, and has no subtitles.
Review of Deliverance
