Drama ticks?

Bharati Dubey

Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali has already offended the sensibilities of Bengalis once with his melodramatic version of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee's quiet classic, Devdas. Now he's planning to remake Satyajit Ray's Charulata, starring Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee. The director registered the title of Charulata in August, 2007, with the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association.

Informs an insider, "Bhansali has a fascination for highly emotional subjects like these and Charulata has a huge potential of being remade in today's time." Only, will he turn Soumitra Chatterjee and Madhabi Mukherjee's quiet romance into a high-pitched drama?

However, there is another contender for the same subject. Amitabh Neil Ray also wants to remake Charulata and has planned to title the film, Charu: Unspoken. Ray, reportedly, wants to make a modern version of the film and wants to set the film in America.

Even as Bhansali and Ray aspire to remake the film, Satyajit Ray who made the film in 1964 had felt that Charulata was his best work and there was no need for him to remake the film. The film won Ray his second Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Fest in 1964. The original Charulata was based on a story written by Rabindranath Tagore and starred Bengali actors like Madhabi Mukherjee and Soumitra Chatterjee.

Despite repeated calls and text messages, Bhansali was unavailable for comment.

What’s Charulata about?

Calcutta 1879. Bhupati Dutta (Sailen Mukherjee), a wealthy intellectual edits and publishes a political weekly in English called The Sentinel. His sensitive and beautiful, young wife Charu (Madhabi Mukherjee) spends her time doing needlework and reading Bengali novels. Sensing her loneliness, Bhupati invites her older brother Umapada and his wife Mandakini to live with them. Bhupati's cousin Amal (Soumitra Chaterjee) arrives to spend his vacation with Bhupati. At Bhupati's suggestion, the literary minded Amal helps Charu with her writing. The two are drawn to each other. Umapada escapes with the funds at his disposal. Bhupati narrates this to Amal, the only one he feels he can trust. Amal feels guilty and not wanting to hurt Bhupati sneaks out the same night, leaving him a note. Charu and Bhupati go on a holiday and it appears her feelings are under control. But on their return to Calcutta, a letter from Amal brings back memories of their times together and she breaks down unaware that her husband is standing behind her. Bhupati, shocked at what had happened behind his back, leaves the house. When he returns, they both make a hesitant effort to reach out to each other. But their extended hands remain frozen in a tentative gesture of compromise that can only confirm their inner separation.
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