Sign In

If you have already registered with us!

Don’t have an account?

Create your account

Sign Up

Already registered?

Encyclopedia

On This Day

24 Dec, 2010

Cinemaazi remembers Nalini Jaywant on her death anniversary

24 Dec, 2005

Cinemaazi remembers P Bhanumathi on her death anniversary

24 Dec, 1956

Cinemaazi wishes Anil Kapoor on his birthday

02 Sep, 2021

Cinemaazi mourns the passing away of Sidharth Shukla

Search Cinemaazi

films

Jana Aranya (1976)

Satyajit Ray

Subscribe to read full article

This article is for paid subscribers only. Our subscription is only $37/- for one full year.
You get unlimited access to all paid articles and features on the website with this subscription.

Subscribe now

Not ready for a full subscription?

You can access this article for $2 + GST, and have it saved to your account for one year.

Pay Now

GenreDrama
FormatB-W
LanguageBengali
Run Time134 min
Gauge35 mm
Shooting LocationIndrapuri Studio

25 views

Based on Mani Shankar Mukherjee’s eponymous novel, Jana Aranya revolves around Somnath, an educated young man in Calcutta looking for a job. Highlighting the economic crisis of the time, Somnath goes desperately from one office to another and fails to land a job despite his qualifications.
After one such unsuccessful interview, he meets Bishu da, who encourages him to start a business. Though Somnath is initially opposed to the idea, he eventually starts working as a self-employed middleman. He soon finds himself making compromises. His friend Sukumar faces the same crisis, and after being unable to land a job, he becomes a taxi driver. Sukumar’s sister, meanwhile, is forced to take up sex work.
Pandering to a client to acquire a big order, Somnath is caught in a dilemma when he has to provide him with a prostitute. He ends up fixing an appointment with Sukumar’s sister. Ashamed and confused, Somnath offers her the money and asks her to leave. She refuses, however, telling him that she prefers to earn her living rather than taking hand-outs. Somnath ultimately bags the deal but is eaten away by his remorse.
Directed by Satyajit Ray, Jana Aranya (1976) is a part of Ray’s ‘Calcutta Trilogy’, which explore the urban crises of the city.