Through Agnostic Eyes: Representations of Hinduism in the Cinema of Satyajit Ray

Abstract

Examining the filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s engagements with religious questions with reference to his films Devi (The Goddess), Mahapurush (The Holy Man), Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder), Sadgati (Deliverance) and Ganashatru (A Public Enemy), this essay assesses the influence of Ray’s Brahmo inheritance, his personal atheism/agnosticism and his cultural fascination with Hinduism in his representations of women’s status and caste discrimination. It concludes that although Ray’s approach to Hinduism was far from one-dimensional or sectarian, its negative social consequences were emphasized more in his work than any positive role it might play in society and culture.

Keywords

• Ray, Satyajit
• <i>Devi</i>
• <i>Goddess</i>, <i>The</i>
• <i>Mahapurush</i>
• <i>Holy Man</i>, <i>The</i>
• <i>Ashani Sanket</i>