I am a great fan of Bengal director Satyajit Ray’s Abu trilogy, with its humanistic visualization of poverty and hope in India. Between the 2nd and 3rd part of that trilogy Ray made “The Music Room”. Rather than dealing in endless poverty, this movie dwells in the life of the Privileged few. The film recalls the last days in the life of a decadent landlord, whose privilege and wealth comes from a lifestyle and system that has faded away. Living through his past savings and without any income coming in, the landlord, Biswambhar Roy (Chhabi Biswas), continuous to ignore his declining economic situation and lives his idle, lazy, comfortable life, seemingly ignorant to the deteriorating state of his castle and past wealth. He is a man who has no idea on what it takes to earn a living, believing that his lifestyle is owed to him by society. This life is contrasted with his rich money lending neighbor who works hard and is ambitious. Biswambhar is high cast and his neighbor, Mahim (Gangapada Bose) is low cast. The Indian Cast system is one of the main themes of the movie. Mahim holds loud parties and has a generator creating constant light. Mahim still outwardly treats Biswambhar with respect, calling him Lord, and bowing in his presence, but we sense his disdain for this pathetic man whom he believes has not earned any real privilege. Biswambhar despises Mahim and is envious of the man’s wealth. The film centers on the inner drive to retain his superiority over his vulgar neighbor. He does this by holding larger and more expensive parties. These parties are held in his most beloved room of the castle. This is the self-titled music room. He hires the most expensive musicians and caters with the best food. Holding these parties becomes his undoing as they result in his spending the last of his remaining wealth. We are also shown flash-backs at two previous large events that helped in finishing his finances. Biswambhar deteriorating life is not just based on economy as his attitude and actions result in personal tragedy as well. This is a sad story, and there is a little bit of resemblance to Shakespeare King Lear within the clueless and hurtful pride that is this decaying Indian Lord. The acting throughout the movie gives very subtle and precise portraits of the characters. Ray’s camera tends to linger on the faces and expressions that reveal what the character truly thinks, as opposed to the actual words spoken. Classic Indian music permeates throughout the film and takes center stage during the parties held in the music room. There is an evocative feel of time long past and I felt I was looking through a window into an actual place that existed years ago. Still, watching this film, I had a very hard time finding or feeling any sympathy with any of the characters, which left me with the just the visuals and music to hold my attention. I found these extremely tedious and difficult to watch. In addition the classic Indian Music while interesting for a while, had a continuously grading feel to it by the end of the film. This was a very difficult watch that failed to hold my interest. It is a well-made, well-acted but ultimately boring film.
1001 Movies before you die 