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Books versus movies: In ‘Ghare Baire’, questions on nationalism and the nature of freedom
Somewhere towards the end of Satyajit Ray’s Ghare Baire, Soumitra Chatterjee as Sandip makes one of his final remarks, to the effect that in the Ramayana, Ravana had always been his favourite character. It’s a somewhat incongruous remark, given the moment it appears in the film, when his villainy has been well exposed. It follows on another remark Sandip makes, when he refers to the principle of “duty with no attachment” (one enunciated in the Gita).
This statement suggests an interesting entry-point for a comparison with Rabindranath Tagore’s novel – on which Ray based his film of the same name – where Sandip’s statement appears somewhere close to halfway point. It’s a subject Sandip muses about to himself when readers have barely begun to understand his intentions.
“But I have let this moment slip by. I did not, with uncompromising strength, press the almost certain into the absolutely assured. I now see clearly that some hidden elements in my nature have openly ranged themselves as obstacles in my path.
That is exactly how Ravana, whom I look upon as the real hero of the Ramayana, met with his doom. He kept Sita in his Asoka garden, awaiting her pleasure, instead of taking her straight into his harem. This…