Apu Triology
THE APU TRILOGY
Illustration of Apu and Durga in Pather Panchali
The Apu Trilogy comprises three Bengali films directed by Satyajit Ray: Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar
11 October 1956 -Aparajito
1 May 1959 -Apur Sansar
Satyajit Ray's first film, Pather Panchali, is one among the finest films ever made. The film won about a dozen awards at various film festivals world-over. Pather Panchali, eventually, became the first film of a trilogy.
PATHER PANCHALI:
The time is early twentieth century, a remote village in Bengal. The film deals with a Brahmin family, a priest - Harihar, his wife Sarbajaya, daughter Durga, and his aged cousin Indir Thakrun - struggling to make both ends meet.
Harihar is frequently away from home on work. The wife is raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for elderly cousin Indir, whose independent spirit sometimes irritates her... Apu is born. With the little boy's arrival, happiness, play and exploration uplift the children's daily life.
Durga and Apu share an intimate bond. They follow a candy seller whose wares they can not afford, enjoy the theatre, discover a train and witness a marriage ceremony. They even face the death of their aunt - Indir Thakrun. Durga is accused of theft. She falls ill after a joyous dance in rains of the monsoon. On a stormy day, when Harihar is away on work, Durga dies.
On Harihar's return, the family leaves their village in search of a new life in Benaras. The film closes with an image of Harihar, wife and son - Apu, slowly moving way in an ox cart.
APARAJITO:
1920. Harihar, Sarbajaya and their ten-year-old son Apu, live in the Temple City of Banaras on the banks of the holy river Ganga. Harihar earns a meagre living by reciting religious scriptures. The film opens with Apu wandering and exploring the city. He also encounters their neighbour Nanda Babu, who would soon make a pass at Sarbajaya.
Harihar falls ill with fever and collapses at the riverbank. In the early hours of the next morning, Sarbajaya wakes Apu to fetch holy water from the river to put in his father's mouth as he is dying. Harihar's death leaves mother and son to fend for themselves.
The mother decides to return with Apu to live in a village where an old uncle works as a priest. Apu's mother works to support the family. Apu is initiated into the priesthood and takes over the old man's work. He is unhappy because he wants to go to school. Apu persuades his mother to send him to school. She makes sacrifices so that he might pursue his studies.
Apu, now sixteen, wins a scholarship and departs for Calcutta, leaving her alone. It breaks Sarbajaya's heart, but she relents. Her health is failing, and the loneliness in the village takes its toll.
Engulfed in city life - studying during the day and working in a printing press at night to pay for his expenses - Apu grows away from his mother. His visits get shorter as time passes. This emotional distance unnoticed by the growing Apu, hurts Sarbajaya deeply. She waits silently for her son's visit as her illness accelerates and falls into a depression.
On a night sparkling with dancing fireflies, Sarbajaya dies. Apu comes back to an empty house. He grieves for his mother but soon finds the strength to leaves the village for the last time, to carry on with his new life in the city.
APUR SANSAR:
Apur Sansar is the third and final film of The Apu Trilogy. Apu (Soumitra Chatterjee) is now a graduate and without a job. He lives in a rented room next to a busy railway yard. He finds himself among a large population of the unemployed youth in the city. To pay his rent, he has to sell his books. The job search turns out to be an amusing and tormenting experience.
Unfazed, he is writing a novel based on his life, which he hopes will make him famous. His life takes a turn, however, when he meets his old friend Pulu. He coerces Apu to travel to his ancestral village to attend the wedding of his cousin, Aparna (Sharmila Tagore). On the boat ride to the village, Pulu reads Apu's manuscript and appreciates the work.
On the day of the wedding, the bridegroom turns out to be mentally deranged and the wedding is cancelled. The villagers believe if she is not married before the auspicious hour passes, the ill-fated bride can never be married again. Apu primarily of out sympathy for the bride and some convincing by Pulu, agrees to be the substitute groom. He has not even seen her yet.
The marriage takes place and Apu and his young wife return to his Calcutta apartment. Soon, a warm and caring relationship develops. Apu willingly takes up the clerical job that he has so far avoided. The marital bliss, however, is short-lived.
Pregnant, she goes to her parents' place and dies during the childbirth. Apu's world shatters as he receives the news of Aparna's death. Sunken in grief, he refuses to even see the child whom he holds responsible for his wife's death. He leaves Calcutta to lead the life of a wanderer.
About five years pass, Apu's friend Pulu, who had been abroad, is shocked to find the child growing wild and not cared for. Pulu goes in search of Apu and requests to take responsibility for his son, Kajal.
Reluctantly, Apu comes back to the village. On seeing Kajal, Apu is overwhelmed by affection. Now it is the child who refuses to accept him as his father. Apu wins over the little boy. The child accepts him as a friend, though not as a father yet. United, they leave for Calcutta to make a new beginning.
Despite being rooted deep in Indian culture, these films evoke a universal humanistic response. That is because the trilogy is all about human relationships. In Pather Panchali - Apu and his sister Durga, in Aparajito - Apu and his mother, and in Apur Sansar - Apu, his wife and his son form the core of the films. Death too plays a pivotal role in all the films.
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