''Mahapurush'' () is a 1965 Indian film 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 ...
, based on a short story ''Birinchibaba'' by
Rajshekhar Basu
Rajshekhar Basu (; better known by the pen name Parashuram; 16 March 1880 – 27 April 1960) was a Bengali chemist, author and lexicographer. He was chiefly known for his comic and satirical short stories, and is considered the greatest ...
.
Plot
After the death of his wife, Gurupada Mitra (Prasad Mukherjee), an advocate, has not been at peace. He and his daughter Buchki (Gitali Roy), meet Birinchi (Charuprakash Ghosh). Birinchi Baba claims to be ageless. He tells stories from the past; about his arguments with
Plato
Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
about time, how he taught
E=mc2 to
Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
, and was on first-name terms with
Jesu (Christ) and
Gautam (Buddha). Birinchi Baba has a growing band of rich devotees.
Gurupada decides to patronize the holy man and become his disciple. Daughter Buchki is disappointed with her lover Satya. To teach him a lesson, she tells Satya that she is going to leave him and become a disciple of Birinchi Baba.
Satya turns to his friend Nibaran for his help. It does not take Nibaran long to realize that Birinchi Baba is a fraud. Nibaran and friends expose Birinchi Baba. The devotees feel foolish and perhaps have learnt a lesson.
Cast
*
Charuprakash Ghosh as Birinchi Baba, the self-proclaimed Godman and the con-artist
*
Rabi Ghosh
Robi Ghosh (; 24 November 1931 – 4 February 1997) was an Indian actor known for his work in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali cinema. He is known for his comic appeal, though his versatile acting talent brought him success in various kinds ...
as Birinchi Baba's assistant, his disciple/(originally) his nephew Kyabla
*
Somen Bose as Nibaran da
*
Satya Bandopadhyay as Nitai da
*
Haridhan Mukherjee as Ganesh Mama
* Satindra Bhattacharya as Satya
*
as Professor Nani
*
Geetali Roy as Buchki/Neelima, Gurupada's younger daughter
* Prasad Mukherjee as Gurupada Mittir
* Renuka Roy as Nani's wife/Gurupada's elder daughter
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 ''Mahapurush'' in 2005.
References
External links
Mahapurush (SatyajitRay.org)*
*
1965 films
Films directed by Satyajit Ray
Bengali-language Indian films
Films about religion
Films with screenplays by Satyajit Ray
1960s Bengali-language films
Films based on short fiction
Films about con artists
{{1960s-Bengali-film-stub