Jalsaghar
| Jalsaghar | |
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| Directed by | Satyajit Ray |
| Produced by | Satyajit Ray |
| Screenplay by | Satyajit Ray |
| Based on | Short story Jalsaghar by Tarashankar Bandopadhyay |
| Starring |
Chhabi Biswas Padma Devi Pinaki Sen Gupta Gangapada Bose Tulsi Lahari Kali Sarkar Ustad Waheed Khan Roshan Kumari Begum Akhtar |
| Music by | Vilayat Khan |
| Cinematography | Subrata Mitra |
| Edited by | Dulal Dutta |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Contemporary Films (UK) Edward Harrison (US) |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
Jalsaghar (Bengali: জলসাঘর Jalsāghar, "The Music Room") is a 1958 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Satyajit Ray and starring Chhabi Biswas. It was the fourth feature film directed by Satyajit Ray. The shooting was done at Nimtita Raajbari, in Nimtita village, 10 kilometres from Murshidabad.
Jalsaghar depicts the end days of a decadent zamindar (landlord) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity. The landlord, Biswambhar Roy (Chhabi Biswas), is a just but other-worldly man who loves to spend time listening to music and putting up spectacles rather than managing his properties ravaged by floods and the abolition of the zamindari system by the Indian government. He is challenged by a commoner who has attained riches through business dealings, in putting up spectacles and organising music fests. This is the tale of a zamindar who has nothing left but respect and sacrifices his family and wealth trying to retain it.
Jalsaghar was based on a popular short story written by Bengali writer Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. After the box office failure of Aparajito, Ray desperately needed a hit film and decided to make a film based on both a popular piece of literature and a film that would incorporate Indian music. It was the first film to extensively incorporate classical Indian music and dancing. Ray began shooting in May 1957.
While in pre-production, Ray and his crew had difficulty finding a suitable location for Biswambhar Roy's palace. By chance they met a man who recommended the palace of Roy Chowdhurys in Nimtita, known as the Nimtita Rajbari and Ray decided to scout the location. To his surprise the palace was not only perfect for the film but just so happened to have once belonged to Upendra Narayan, whom Bandopadhyay had based his main character on when first writing the short story. Ray worked closely with composer Ustad Vilayat Khan on the film, although he was initially uncertain about the composer's musical choices and had to convince Khan to make more sombre music pieces for the film.
The indoor shooting for the movie (including the famous Jalsaghar scene) was conducted inside the Aurora Film Corporation studio In Maniktala, Kolkata. The studio has now been demolished.
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