This early film by the Great Master, Satyajit Ray (Ray should be pronounced 'rye', by the way, which few people seem to realize), has the original title of NAYAK, and was also released as NAYAK: THE HERO. It has recently been released by Artificial Eye as a Blue-Ray in high definition, clearly made from the negative, and the film is as crisp as new, without any scratches or faults at all. Most of the action of the film, set in the late 1950s or early 60s, takes place in the first class carriages of the Calcutta to Delhi Express train. This film takes its place in the pantheon of great train films, alongside Jerzy Kawalwerowicz's NIGHT TRAIN (POCIAK, 1959, see my review) and Josef von Sternberg's SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932). The first few minutes of the initial scenes in the film do not at all suggest the fascination of what is to come, so impatient people need to rest easy until the real action commences. Once everyone is on the train and the long overnight journey commences, Ray's mastery of pace and style creates another of his masterpieces with seemingly effortless ease. The subtlety and sophistication of the film is truly astonishing. But then, Ray always takes one's breath away. This is one of the few Ray films I had never seen before. It features an exquisite and restrained performance by Sharmila Tagore (distant relative of Rabindranath Tagore), who had made her screen debut with Ray in his masterpiece THE WORLD OF APU (1959) seven years earlier, and appeared in other Ray films later on. The lead role is brilliantly played by Uttam Kumar (1926-1980, dying young at only 53, but after appearing in an astonishing 157 films). As a troubled young movie star of vacuous popular films, he knows that he has betrayed his inner self for money and fame, and he pours his heart out on the train to Sharmila Tagore. His good looks contorted into such earnest, thoughtful expressions reminded me so much of Lawrence Harvey towards the end of his life. Many characters are on the train, and their parallel stories run alongside the main one of Kumar's, who is known as 'the hero' in his films and give this film its title. The casting is superb, as usual, the directorial magic of Ray casts its usual spell upon the viewer, and we are lost in this moving world of the train and its stories, a transcendental caravan making its way across the Indian landscape ('it is harder and dryer now that we have crossed the border of Bengal'; 'you are harder and dryer too') in a kind of dream. Kumar has dreams on the train which are excellently filmed, and the train journey itself becomes one as well. Ray's films were all made in the Bengali language, which is incomprehensible to the inhabitants of other parts of India, so that Ray is surprisingly unknown to India as a whole. Most Indians are wholly lost in the make-believe world of 'Bollywood' musicals and have no interest whatsoever in serious or meaningful films. I have never met any Indian from the west of India who has ever seen a Ray film. They would have to have subtitles, and would find Ray's films too thoughtful and would consider them unentertaining. This is a great pity, because Ray was an artist of international stature, and for some decades his portrayals of Indian life and culture experienced worldwide success and acclaim, and gave India a huge cultural reputation. India should pay more attention to him. But we also must keep reviving and studying his masterpieces, the most famous of which are of course THE APU TRILOGY, though my own personal favourite apart from that wonderful trilogy is THE MUSIC ROOM (1958), a mesmerising film about a man obsessed with music, which is almost forgotten today. This film, THE HERO, has much to say, and it achieves some profound insights into human character and motivations. It is also spell-binding in its quiet peeling away of the layers of conceit and deceit in our human affairs.
Review of The Hero
