Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)

India 134m, B&W
Director: Ritwik Ghatak; Cast: Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Niranjan Ray, Gita Ghatak, Bijon Bhattacharya, Gita Dey, Dwiju Bhawal, Gyanesh Mukherjee, Ranen Ray Choudhury

The Cloud-Capped Star is the first part of a trilogy of films that examine the consequences of the partition of Bengal after India’s independence in 1947. Slowly paced and filled with haunting music, this is a tragic story about a self-sacrificing young woman named Neeta, who, as a refugee from Pakistan gives up her education, happiness and even her health to support her family. Exquisitely lighted and beautifully filmed, Meghe Dhaka Tara is a captivating and powerful humanist film that arguably is on par with Satyajit Ray’s finest works (Klaus Ming February 2016).