''Kapurush'' (), English title ''The Coward'', is a 1965 Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, author, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligraphy, calligrapher, and composer. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influ ...

Plot

Amitabha Ray is a

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

-based scriptwriter who is driving around in the country to collect material for a film. His vehicle breaks down in a small town. A tea planter, Bimal Gupta, offers hospitality for the night, and Amitabha accepts. At Gupta's house, he is introduced to his wife Karuna. Amitabha is shocked to find her to be the girl he once loved and had let down during their student days. Unaware of their past relationship, Gupta entertains Amitabha and gets drunk. Unable to sleep, Amitabha remembers the last time he saw Karuna. Forced to leave town with her uncle who did not approve of the relationship, Karuna came to see Amitabha, offering to sacrifice her comfortable life and educational plans to marry him. Amitabha, however, proved to be a coward, unwilling to make such a commitment. Back in the present, he asks for sleeping pills from Karuna, and asks if she is happy with her husband, to which she gives no definite answer. The next morning, Amitabha decides to take the train instead of waiting for his vehicle to be repaired. Gupta drives him to the train station in his car, accompanied by his wife. After a picnic which the trio has on its way, Gupta falls asleep. Amitabha tells Karuna that he loves her and asks her to leave her husband for him. Karuna, however, does or says little to encourage him. As Gupta is about to wake up, Amitabha writes a note to Karuna, telling her to come to the railway station later if she still cares for him. Gupta drops Amitabha off at the station. Amitabha falls asleep; when he awakens, he is approached by Karuna, thinking that she wants to go with him, but all she asks for is to return the sleeping pills which she gave him.

Cast

Soumitra Chatterjee Soumitra Chatterjee (also spelt as Chattopadhyay; ; 19 January 193515 November 2020) was an Indian film actor, play-director, playwright, writer, thespian and poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential actors in the histor ...

as Amitabha Ray *

Madhabi Mukherjee Madhabi Chakraborty (née Mukherjee) is an Indian actress. Considered to be one of the greatest actresses of Bengali cinema, she has acted in some of the most critically acclaimed films in Bengali cinema. She won the National Film Award for B ...

as Karuna *

Haradhan Bandopadhyay Haradhan Bandopadhyay (6 November 1926 – 5 January 2013) was a Bengali Indian actor of television and films. He made his debut in the 1948 Bengali film ''Devdut'', directed by Atanu Bandopadhyay. He worked with some of the most prominent dir ...

as Bimal Gupta

Preservation

The

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of mot ...

preserved ''Kapurush'' in 2005.

Reception

A retrospective review deems the plot simpler than those of earlier films directed by Ray but praises "its searing humanity", calling it "one of his most poignant films".

References

External links

Kapurush (SatyajitRay.org)
* 1965 films 1965 drama films 1960s Bengali-language films Bengali-language Indian films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Satyajit Ray Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray Films set in Kolkata {{1960s-Bengali-film-stub