Based on two stories by Narendranath Mitra that take place in the 50s, The Big City marked Ray’s first depiction of modern urban life. Within the narrow confines of their apartment, a working-class extended family—housewife Arati, her husband Anil, her young son, her teenage sister and Anil’s conservative parents—lives on the financial edge. When Arati anxiously decides she should help Anil by getting a job, the shift proves difficult for just about everyone except Arati. Played by a pre-Charulata Madhavi Mukherjee, she quietly amazes herself and her husband by not only enjoying her sales work but excelling at it and still managing to run her household as well. The office also provides a space where women conspire, and they teach her about harnessing her feminine powers in the business world. Meanwhile, Anil undergoes a different transformation, alternating between feeling protective, jealous or completely emasculated. As they run up against each other’s expectations, the couple’s unpredictable path remains slightly more upbeat than previous Ray films and the original novel. Though it is not without critique of a capitalistic, westernized Calcutta, The Big City emphasizes potential upsides for women in particular, and eventually, for their open-minded spouses too.

ORDER TICKETS - APR. 18

ORDER TICKETS - MAY 18