i must have seen a different film!!

Fresh and Exciting

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

If you are not from India and find the cast system an insult to humanity and if you can tell music from noise or hypnotic sounds, then you will probably, as I, have a more sensible view on this film and its virtues than an inbred Indian of the Brahman cast (the most privileged cast). Actually, you cannot really say that this film is a defense of the cast system but it is also not an attack on it. To attack the music in this film and call it noise is, I admit, to put your chin out. Real music is a mystery not something that you dance to. The mystery is how music can make a better human being of somebody, who, through the music, reaches feelings, so overwhelmed by goodness and humility, that they sweep all that is evil out of a person as far as that person allows it and, indeed, experience the music.For sure (and that is why it is always provoking to attack any noise calling itself music) the mystery is not solved, so that you can tell why this music makes you feel and why this other music does not make you feel. The part that has to do with memories can easily be sorted out and leave the mystery intact. This does not mean that the mystery cannot be solved or, if it is solved, is solved in such a way that it ceases to be a mystery, which is expected by any solution of a mystery. We may understand a lot about why music makes us feel what we feel and still not be able to invent new music after some kind of formula. The kind of music that is done after formula will maybe make us dance but will not make us touch God.When judging music, I judge the feelings awoken by it. People may call themselves music lovers and, for sure, have a music library that in quantity is most impressive but when they talk about music it is obvious that they understand something quite different to what those understand who cry to music because it is so moving. Maybe that is the most evident sign of a music lover, crying to music because being deeply moved, but it is, by no means, a sure sign, because swines can also cry when they are not allowed to be as swinish as they want to be. On the whole though, you can start your investigations with those who cry to music to come closer to understand the mystery of music.The music (noise) presented in this film is not something you cry to unless you have childhood memories connected to the music. It is a music however, that easily puts you in a hypnotic state in which some interesting experiences are possible as, for instance, a deeper understanding of Indian way of life. But, unless this way of life makes you cry per se, you will not cry to this kind of music and only to its lyrics, if these are touching enough.In all honesty, I would now have to name music that has touched me to tears (so that I can be attacked in turn). I will have to choose music without lyrics because that is what all this is about. Therefore it will be classical music.The Unfinished Symphony by Schubert. The Fifth Piano Concerto by Beethoven (not all movements). The Sixth Symphony by Beethoven (not all movements) Interlude from Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascagni Nessun Dorma (I don't know Italian so I put it here in spite of lyrics) … and much more but not more than 20 hours of music at the most through out the history of man. Allowing lyrics to the music, the number of hours is, of course, much larger.Back to the film. Well, it left me rather cold, i'm afraid. I have no sympathy for the rich.

Jalsaghar (aka "The Music Room") is a 1958 drama film directed by master Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Based on a short story of the same name by Bangla writer Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Jalsaghar presents the tale of decline of a feudal lord in the pre-independence India. Jalsaghar stars veteran Bangla actor Chhabi Biswas in the lead role of Huzur Biswambhar Roy. Huzur is the last of Zamindars—a dying breed of landlords who once formed the very basis of the Indian Feudal System. Huzur's glory days are over but his sense of superiority remains intact. He lives in the past neither acknowledging the present nor anticipating the future. He continues to be a servant of his refined tastes even as his coffers are getting empty.Jalsaghar was Ray's fourth film which he made after the commercial failure of Aparijito—the finally film in Ray's much acclaimed "The Apu Trilogy". Ray had initially thought of making a commercial film, based on some popular work of literature, which would incorporate popular Indian music. But, what eventually transpired was something that was totally different. It was more of an art-house work than a commercial movie that Ray had initially intended to make. The movie failed to do well at the Indian box-office. But, it received both critical and financial success in Europe and the US and helped Ray earn international reputation. The music of Jalsaghar was written by the Indian composer and sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Ali Khan who was encouraged by Ray to compose musical pieces that would gel well with the movie's dark and gloomy tone. The movie's melancholic musical composition and sombre art direction—the sublime use of mirrors, chandeliers, etc.—gives it a Gothic feel in the vein of American Film-Noir films of the '40s and '50s.In Jalsaghar, Ray highlights the perpetual conflict of tradition versus modernity while simultaneously examining the Indian caste system. Jalsaghar is a sublime work of cinema that, having stood the test of time for over five decades, continues to inspire the budding filmmakers as well as enthrall the audiences worldwide. Jalsaghar is widely regarded as Satyajit Ray's most evocative film. It serves to be a great means of getting acquainted with Ray's oeuvre. Jalsaghar with its universal motifs is also the most accessible of Ray's films, especially for foreign viewers. Jalsaghar is not a movie that would woo a casual viewer. Restless viewers should best stay away from it. But, a patient viewer would be thoroughly rewarded. The movie owing to its slow pace may pose impediments to the uninitiated viewer. Jalsaghar is a deeply thought-provoking work of cinema that demands multiple viewings. The movie is a must watch for every student of cinema. Jalsaghar.is an essential watch for all Satyajit Ray fans as well as those who understand and appreciate intelligent cinema. 10/10A more in-depth review of the film can be read at:http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/

Glorious filmmaking, a spellbinding morality tale of pride. Elegant cinematography, a perfect location and an elaborate set, and three amazing musical performances, each more electrifying than the last. I could watch that final dance over and over again. And of course, there's Chhabi Biswas dominating in the lead (although the other actors are excellent as well), portraying a man caught between his pride and the changing times, and suffering the consequences. The film isn't perfect -- for one thing, I'd like to see more time devoted to Khoka to help establish the emotional connection, not to mention Roy's wife -- but it is quite magnificent and captivating.

Just to appreciate Roshan Kumari's legendary performance -one of the most mesmerizing dancing sequences ever filmed, this masterpiece deserves a repeated viewing. There is something savage, auto-destructive but also the purest in form about the landlord's passion for music and childish vanity in front of his peers, which made me ponder over the place of music in our society long after the credits end. In the age of MTV and MP3, we are used to the idea of carrying routinely our favorite songs everywhere from streets to bathroom, and it's pity that we hardly experience anymore the authentic ambiance of intimate music gathering such as miraculously acted and filmed in Jalsaghar. Music in other era and other place must have been high point and extra-ordinary moment of community life, source of the spiritual inspiration for civil life as well as its destruction. The decor and lighting of the music room is sumptuous and otherworldly, in perfect contrast with the wearisome monotony of domestic scenes the declining aristocrat is forced to endure.