'Samapti' is among the many marvelous short stories told by Rabindranath Tagore and it cannot be retold better than it has already been written. It has been adapted as the last part of a movie called 'Teen Kanya' by Satyajit Ray, another legendary personality where both Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen have done an exceptional job portraying the leads. 'Samapti' means 'the conclusion' which is a befitting title for the last story of the trio 'Teen Kanya' or 'Three Daughters' . All the three stories are about the feelings of women at different circumstances which relate to the social structure prevalent at that time. But here I wanted to highlight Samapti adapted as part of a television series by Anurag Basu telecasted on EPIC channel called 'Stories by Rabindranath Tagore'. Although the tale itself has its magic which keeps the viewers glued to it while its running and also leads into the beautiful dreaminess of love long after it has ended. However, this version is a very romantic replay of the plot and gives a new perspective to love.
It is the story of a simple tomboyish girl Mrinmayi, who enjoys playing with the village boys and doesn't have any liking for household chores. Unlike the girls in the village she has no desire to get married and is a child at heart. She wants her freedom and has a strong mind of her own often bordering on to stubbornness. Her naughty playful activites catches the attention of Amulya who is mesmerized by her and proposes to marry her. The family of Mrinmayi or Meenu is overjoyed to hear this and as it used to be at that time, nobody cares to ask about what Meenu wanted. Her father is unable to attend the marriage due to job obligations and a disheartened Meenu is married off to Amulya within a short notice. Initially she is not able to adjust to the new circumstances and hates the rules binding her to the in-laws' house. She shows her disappointment to Amulya and confesses that the marriage was against her wishes and that she has no feelings for him. On receiving a letter from her father, Meenu becomes very emotional and asks her mother-in-law permission to visit her father. Amulya's mother already displeased with her daughter-in-law for running away at the day of the wedding, disagrees to Meenu's visit to her father. However, later Amulya takes Meenu to visit her father without asking his mother. On seeing her father Meenu is overjoyed and becomes friendly with Amulya. When they return, Amulya's mother is furious for obvious reasons and denies to listen to Amulya's plea about Meenu's innocence in the whole matter. Meenu on the contrary is quite unaffected by the feelings of her mother-in-law and is not at all bothered to seek her forgiveness or reconciliation.
Meenu and Amulya have a good time together but soon Amulya realizes that Meenu does not love him like a wife loves a husband. Amulya being a sensitive man takes Meenu to her mother's house so that she has time to think about their relationship and tells her that he would return to take her only when she decides to live with him by her own will. Hereafter starts the self realization of Meenu where she finds herself getting bored in the company of the little boys she loved to play with before and she often becomes absent-minded and feels no happiness in the childhood playful activities. A letter from her father about how good their son-in-law is and how Meenu has changed after her marriage makes her more aware of the fact that she has grown out of her childhood. The rains have a different meaning to her now and the flowing air incites a different feeling in her. She imagines Amulya everywhere and starts taking interest in the household chores. She finds an unprecedented emptiness in her heart and a strange fulfillment at the same time. She longs for the kiss which she had earlier rejected on being offered by Amulya. She starts paying attention to her looks, keeps looking at herself in the mirror longer than usual. The ornaments which had been of no value to her previously starts drawing her interest. The journey of Meenu from her girlhood to womanhood has been portrayed very beautifully and the change of her desires to that of a grown-up woman as if a blossoming flower, has been shown with utmost perfection. She returns back to her mother-in-law who had been unwell due to her son's unhappy marriage. On seeing Meenu come back to her, she becomes ecstatic and starts regaining her health. While getting along with her mother-in-law, Meenu writes several letters to her husband but doesn't put the address correctly, so none of the letters reaches its destination. On the other hand a hopeless and heart-broken Amulya has no idea about the endeavors of his wife to reach out to him. Mrinmayi also feels the pangs of being separated from her husband which is heightened by her incessant and eager wait for his reply to her letters. Finally Amulya's mother takes her to him where they find each other madly in love and like two rivers who are destined to end up in the same sea flow into the ocean of romance and passion.
All the actors have done a fabulous job and the background music has augmented the beauty of transition of Mrinmayi from a teenager to a woman. The romance has been pictured aesthetically and with a sensuality which even the most bold scenes would be incapable of expressing. Abhishek Tewari as Apurva and Chitrangada Chakraborty as Mrinmayee make your heart skip a beat with their brilliant performance.
The dialogues have not lost their meaning during translation from the original story as is usually the case. Conversely, they have been very finely able to capture the feelings of a girl and how society treads upon the sensibilities of women and decides everything for them without their approval. The dialogue after marriage where Mrinmayee accuses her husband for forcing her to marry him and asks in a infuriated yet sad tone, 'Did anybody care to ask me if I wanted to marry or not?', was a question most relevant to Indian society at that time. The way the question was asked and the complete scene actually bombarded the painful social inequality directly into the heart of the viewers.
The actors playing the role of Meenu's mother, mother-in-law and father have also done an incredible job. It is true that the protagonist of the story receives all the attention, the supporting actors infuse life into the drama. In making this story so interesting a lot of credit goes to the supporting actors.
Lastly, I would say that Samapti is an amazing story which bundles up a range of emotions and human characteristics which Anurag Basu could do justice by his creative and faithful representation and I would emphasize everybody to watch it at least once.
It is the story of a simple tomboyish girl Mrinmayi, who enjoys playing with the village boys and doesn't have any liking for household chores. Unlike the girls in the village she has no desire to get married and is a child at heart. She wants her freedom and has a strong mind of her own often bordering on to stubbornness. Her naughty playful activites catches the attention of Amulya who is mesmerized by her and proposes to marry her. The family of Mrinmayi or Meenu is overjoyed to hear this and as it used to be at that time, nobody cares to ask about what Meenu wanted. Her father is unable to attend the marriage due to job obligations and a disheartened Meenu is married off to Amulya within a short notice. Initially she is not able to adjust to the new circumstances and hates the rules binding her to the in-laws' house. She shows her disappointment to Amulya and confesses that the marriage was against her wishes and that she has no feelings for him. On receiving a letter from her father, Meenu becomes very emotional and asks her mother-in-law permission to visit her father. Amulya's mother already displeased with her daughter-in-law for running away at the day of the wedding, disagrees to Meenu's visit to her father. However, later Amulya takes Meenu to visit her father without asking his mother. On seeing her father Meenu is overjoyed and becomes friendly with Amulya. When they return, Amulya's mother is furious for obvious reasons and denies to listen to Amulya's plea about Meenu's innocence in the whole matter. Meenu on the contrary is quite unaffected by the feelings of her mother-in-law and is not at all bothered to seek her forgiveness or reconciliation.
Meenu and Amulya have a good time together but soon Amulya realizes that Meenu does not love him like a wife loves a husband. Amulya being a sensitive man takes Meenu to her mother's house so that she has time to think about their relationship and tells her that he would return to take her only when she decides to live with him by her own will. Hereafter starts the self realization of Meenu where she finds herself getting bored in the company of the little boys she loved to play with before and she often becomes absent-minded and feels no happiness in the childhood playful activities. A letter from her father about how good their son-in-law is and how Meenu has changed after her marriage makes her more aware of the fact that she has grown out of her childhood. The rains have a different meaning to her now and the flowing air incites a different feeling in her. She imagines Amulya everywhere and starts taking interest in the household chores. She finds an unprecedented emptiness in her heart and a strange fulfillment at the same time. She longs for the kiss which she had earlier rejected on being offered by Amulya. She starts paying attention to her looks, keeps looking at herself in the mirror longer than usual. The ornaments which had been of no value to her previously starts drawing her interest. The journey of Meenu from her girlhood to womanhood has been portrayed very beautifully and the change of her desires to that of a grown-up woman as if a blossoming flower, has been shown with utmost perfection. She returns back to her mother-in-law who had been unwell due to her son's unhappy marriage. On seeing Meenu come back to her, she becomes ecstatic and starts regaining her health. While getting along with her mother-in-law, Meenu writes several letters to her husband but doesn't put the address correctly, so none of the letters reaches its destination. On the other hand a hopeless and heart-broken Amulya has no idea about the endeavors of his wife to reach out to him. Mrinmayi also feels the pangs of being separated from her husband which is heightened by her incessant and eager wait for his reply to her letters. Finally Amulya's mother takes her to him where they find each other madly in love and like two rivers who are destined to end up in the same sea flow into the ocean of romance and passion.
All the actors have done a fabulous job and the background music has augmented the beauty of transition of Mrinmayi from a teenager to a woman. The romance has been pictured aesthetically and with a sensuality which even the most bold scenes would be incapable of expressing. Abhishek Tewari as Apurva and Chitrangada Chakraborty as Mrinmayee make your heart skip a beat with their brilliant performance.
The dialogues have not lost their meaning during translation from the original story as is usually the case. Conversely, they have been very finely able to capture the feelings of a girl and how society treads upon the sensibilities of women and decides everything for them without their approval. The dialogue after marriage where Mrinmayee accuses her husband for forcing her to marry him and asks in a infuriated yet sad tone, 'Did anybody care to ask me if I wanted to marry or not?', was a question most relevant to Indian society at that time. The way the question was asked and the complete scene actually bombarded the painful social inequality directly into the heart of the viewers.
The actors playing the role of Meenu's mother, mother-in-law and father have also done an incredible job. It is true that the protagonist of the story receives all the attention, the supporting actors infuse life into the drama. In making this story so interesting a lot of credit goes to the supporting actors.
Lastly, I would say that Samapti is an amazing story which bundles up a range of emotions and human characteristics which Anurag Basu could do justice by his creative and faithful representation and I would emphasize everybody to watch it at least once.
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