Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest)

Four friends from Calcutta city venture out to the forests of Palmau for a holiday excursion in car. They arrive at a little village in the state of Bihar. Not having made any arrangements for their stay, they come across a rest house. As they have not made reservations, they bribe the caretaker, who risks his job, as he needs the money for his wife’s illness.

The four young men are full of the over-confidence of the big city and scant respect for the rural villagers. The group is led by Asim (Soumitra Chatterjee), the richest of the four. Sanjoy (Subhendu Chatterjee) is a timid person who always plays it safe. The sportsman, non-intellectual Hari (Samit Bhanja) wants to forget a girl who recently rejected him. Sekhar (Robi Ghosh) is self-confident and comical. The journey into the forest turns out to be a journey of self-discovery.

They spend their first night getting drunk at a local liquor shop. Hari is drawn towards one of tribal women, Duli (Simi Garewal), whose untamed quality enhances her appeal.

The following morning, while debating whether to shave or not, they spot some other women from Calcutta, they locate the women’s cottage and introduce themselves to the family. Asim is interested in Aparna (Sharmila Tagore), a cool, self-confident young woman whose widowed father jokes that he never knows what she is thinking. Sanjoy is attracted to her widowed sister-in-law, Jaya (Kaveri Bose).

A series of episodes reveal the characters. Drunken sprees, social embarrassments, adventures with servants, officials, romance. The four friends’ youthful arrogance gets them into a series of disastrous and often hilarious adventures.

Hari makes love with Duli, the servant Lakha ambushes him in revenge. The inhibited Sanjoy does not dare to respond to Jaya’s bold seduction while Aparna leaves Asim after giving him her address – perhaps a promise of love. The friends depart again for the city, each with a better appreciation of life.

It is a familiar premise – men in unfamiliar situation discover themselves as they interact with others – but what makes it compelling is the volatility of the narrative and characters, masterly juxtaposition of urban and tribal, and brilliant performances. Look out for the picnic scene, a complex and engrossing interplay of the characters – pure cinema. On surface they play a simple game, but it explores psychological probing through use of acting, dialogue and editing.

Ray described the film to Marie Seton in a letter, “The first half has the appearance of a light comedy but there’s a steady modulation to a serious key.” It starts as a spree and ends up changing lives of three of the men.