Nayak - The Hero Analysis

Nayak: The Hero (1966)

Written, Directed and Composed by: Satyajit Ray
Cinematography: Subrata Mitra
Starring: Uttam Kumar, Sharmila Tagore
National Award for Best Bengali Feature, Nominated for Golden Bear at Berlin.

It's a very interesting premise - a film star takes a train to take his national award and he looks back at his life and career as he meets different people in the train. I like such premises, where they don't define and specif the film so clearly - they just lead us to somewhere and different filmmakers could make different films out of the same premise. The timespan of the film is just a day, essentially the train journey but we could explore a lifetime through flashbacks. The film talks about the nature of the movie business, and how it is a little away from "art" in the right sense of the word, and how it changes people so much. It also talks about things like what fame and money can do to a person, you feel like they give you more freedom, more choices, more time, but they actually end up taking away all of that from you. After a point, it is too much to lose. 

The film beautifully explores the broken nature of the man, and how he seems so flamboyant on the outside, but inside he is a vulnerable, lonely man. Who would even understand that part of him? No one would even believe it unless you actually sit and listen to him. The film has a very sensitive outlook towards him, irrespective of his fuck ups, and irrespective of him having "everything". The journalist tearing up the interview in the ending is a beautiful way of showing their relationship, and how it evolved over time from a bit of contempt to some empathy and understanding. I love such films where even though there is not much happening, we explore every layer of a character and try to understand life and humanity in a deeper way.