A Soft Note on a Sharp Scale (Komal Gandhar)

The title refers to the Hindustani equivalent of "E-flat".  It was part of the triology ,  Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960) , Komal Gandhar  and Subarnarekha , all dealing with the aftermath of the partition of India in 1947 and the refugees coping with it, though this was the most optimistic film of his oeuvre.  The film explores three themes juxtaposed in the narrative , the dilemma of Anusuya,  the lead character, divided leadership of IPTA  and the fallout of the partition of India.  

Hero of  this film, Bhrigu is a leader.  And in due course ,   he is challenged  and left alone by other leadership aspirants.  He tells Anasuya why he is so rugged, unemotional today. He tells that on the bank of river Padma, from where he tries to see the other side, his home — another country now, where he can never go back as citizen again. Komal Gandhar is layered with cultural references — urban and folk.  Heroes take names from Indian mythology —- Bhrigu, Anasuya ; the theatre group wants to find its essence in a performance of Shakuntala; Bhrigu compares Shakuntala’s sorrow in leaving behind her forest with an eviction from someone’s own space in Calcutta. Probably people identify him/herself with this movie to a great extent that it brings back the tune of nostalgia and responsibility.