Charulata Notebook (Small)

Charulata (Bengali: চারুলতা; also known as The Lonely Wife) is a 1964 Indian drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray. Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novella Nastanirh, it stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, and Shailen Mukherjee. The film is widely regarded as one of Ray’s finest works. Both the opening and closing scenes of the film have received critical acclaim. The first scene, with minimal dialogue, depicts Charu’s loneliness as she observes the outside world through binoculars. In the final scene, as Charu and her husband are about to hold hands, the screen freezes—a technique praised as a masterful use of the freeze frame in cinema. In Calcutta in 1879, at the height of the Bengali Renaissance under British rule, Charulata is the intelligent and artistic wife of Bhupati, an upper-class Bengali intellectual who edits and publishes a small political newspaper. Despite his love for Charu, Bhupati is preoccupied with politics and the freedom movement, leaving her isolated in their well-serviced home. Bhupati tells Charu that he has invited her brother Umapada, a failed lawyer, to come manage the newspaper’s finances. When he notices Charu’s boredom with embroidering handkerchiefs and slippers and watching the world go by out her window, Bhupati also invites Umapada’s wife, Manda, to live with them and keep Charu company. However, Manda is more domestic and traditional than Charu and offers her little intellectual stimulation. When Amal, Bhupati’s younger cousin, comes to visit after finishing college, he just wants to relax and write, but Bhupati enlists him to help proofread the newspaper, as well as investigate and nurture Charu’s literary talents. Amal and Charu bond over conversations and debates about literature and poetry, and their relationship evolves into an intimate, teasing friendship. Charu makes Amal a beautiful notebook, but tells him that whatever he writes in it is only for their eyes, and not to be published. A good offer of marriage arrives for Amal from a wealthy family in Bardhaman, and Bhupati encourages him to take it, especially since the bride’s father has offered to send Amal to study law in England. Amal is momentarily tempted by the idea of seeing Europe, but then tells Bhupati that he does not want to leave India, and to ask the father to give him a month to consider the proposal. Bhupati is confused by Amal’s reticence, but Charu tells him that she is sure Amal will ultimately accept. An essay that Amal wrote in his notebook gets accepted by a magazine, and Charu responds by secretly writing something of her own and getting it published by an even more selective periodical. She shows Amal the magazine with her story in it, and, while he is reading, tells Manda that she will take over making Amal’s paan and gets a pair of beautiful slippers that she has made for Amal. He is very impressed by Charu’s writing and urges her to continue, but she responds by crying on his shoulder and saying she will never write again, before composing herself and leaving the room. During a party that Bhupati throws to celebrate the victory of the Liberals in the English parliamentary elections, Umapada sneaks away. He takes money from Bhupati’s safe and, telling Charu that Manda’s father is sick, he and Manda flee. As the party is breaking up, Bhupati’s friend Nishikanta makes an announcement to celebrate the publication of Charu’s story, embarrassing and confusing Bhupati, as Charu never mentioned it to him. The company from which Bhupati gets his paper contacts him about an overdue payment that Umapada said he made months ago, and, after being shown documentation, Bhupati realizes Umapada stole from him. Shattered, he tells Amal that he plans to shut down the newspaper, not for financial reasons, but because he has lost faith in mankind. Guilty over his growing feelings for Charu, Amal packs his things and departs, leaving behind the slippers Charu made him and a note, in which he says he has heard of a job opportunity and encourages Charu to keep writing. Charu and Bhupati take a trip to the seashore, where she suggests he continue publishing his paper, but broaden its scope, with him and Nishikanta handling politics, and her handling cultural topics. Excited, they rush home, where they find a letter from Amal, who has been staying with a friend in Madras and says he will accept the proposal. Bhupati leaves to talk to Nishikanta, but the weather changes when he is barely out the door, so he turns back. He is shocked to find Charu tearfully crying out Amal’s name and he sneaks away, but Charu hears his footsteps. After wandering aimlessly in his carriage, Bhupati returns home, and Charu invites him in. They tentatively reach out to each other, but the image freezes mid-gesture, leaving their reconciliation unresolved.