The Big City Backdrop Blur
The Big City Poster
7.8 2h 16m

The Big City

Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Top Cast

  • Madhabi Mukherjee

    Madhabi Mukherjee

    Arati Mazumdar

  • Anil Chatterjee

    Anil Chatterjee

    Subrata Mazumdar

  • Haren Chatterjee

    Haren Chatterjee

    Priyogopal Mazumdar

  • Haradhan Bandyopadhyay

    Haradhan Bandyopadhyay

    Himangshu Mukherjee

  • Vicky Redwood

    Vicky Redwood

    Edith Simmons

  • Jaya Bachchan

    Jaya Bachchan

    Bani Mazumdar

  • Sefalika Devi

    Sefalika Devi

    Sarojini Mazumdar

  • Prasenjit Sarkar

    Prasenjit Sarkar

    Pintu Mazumdar

  • Shyamal Ghoshal

    Shyamal Ghoshal

    Anupam

Overview

Arati takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman in Calcutta's wealthy neighbourhoods, in defiance of her traditionally-minded husband, Subrata, and his live-in parents. Emulating her Anglo-Indian friend Edith, who speaks equal to the men she encounters on the job, Arati quickly becomes her firm's top salesperson. When Subrata loses his job, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Rating

7.8 / 10
102 Reviews
0 Popular

1 Reviews

  • Sayantan Chatterjee
    Sayantan Chatterjee
    10 Jul 9, 2018

    Rating: 9.5 / 10

    "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

    — Milton Berle
    Owing to a banking failure typical of the post-independence India, Subrata(Anil Chatterjee) loses his job and must reconcile with the shortcomings of the situation, his insecurities as his wife Arati(Madhabi Mukherjee) becomes the sole breadwinner of the family. Arati's story feels both intricately real and extremely personal as the narrative flows from the tantrums at home to the politics at the office, and she must learn to be adept at handing either of them as she gets to mingle with other classes and races of the society, breaking through her shyness in both her appearance and her speech. The Big City (মহানগর) leaves us ruminating at the grappling for opportunities at the transience of hope and progress, regardless of race and gender, amongst a myriad of opportunities and the humdrum of the bustling citizens. This work from Ray gains its mammoth significance as he makes the viewers truly manages to care for this simple family with a simple narrative, with a true sense of depth and detail, yet somehow remaining weightless and effortless in depicting the social evolution. A true masterpiece.

Trailers & Clips

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