Synopsis
Arguably
Ghatak's finest work,
The Cloud-Capped Star is a dark melodrama set in late Fifties Calcutta about a refugee family and the struggle of Nita, the oldest daughter, to keep them afloat and together. It is a bitter critique of the family as institution and also of the harsh social and economic conditions arising from Partition – the trauma that defined
Ghatak as an artist. With its sparse script, audacious expressionist soundtrack and a startling cinematic elegance,
The Cloud-Capped Star is undoubtedly a modern masterpiece – infinitely compassionate and humane while remaining resolutely unsentimental.
