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31/35: Ganashatru (1989): When Satyajit Ray Confronts Religion Head-On

31/35: Ganashatru (1989): When Satyajit Ray Confronts Religion Head-On

31/35: Ganashatru (1989): When Satyajit Ray Confronts Religion Head-On

Satyajit Ray was, at heart, a rational man. This is not something one concludes merely after watching Ganashatru; it becomes evident when one traces the arc of his filmography. Time and again, Ray returned to the idea that religion—when left unquestioned—misleads.

He explored this skepticism obliquely in earlier works such as Devi, Mahapurush, Sonar Kella, and Joi Baba Felunath. In these films, Ray wrapped his rational thinking around characters and situations, letting irony, genre, and humour do the work.

Ganashatru marks a decisive shift. Ray abandons allegory and subtlety. This is a direct confrontation between religion and science, staged openly and without disguise.

Holy Water vs Public Health

The central conflict of Ganashatru is disturbingly specific: should the holy water of a temple be consumed despite the risk of a pandemic?

On one side stands Dr. Ashoke Gupta, representing science, rationality, and ethical responsibility. On the other is “the people”—not as individuals, but as institutions: the press, the government, religious authority, and polite society. Together they form an alliance of belief and profit.

This is not merely religion versus science. It is religion backed by money, faith protected by power.

Why Dr. Gupta Has to Lose

Dr. Gupta loses. He has to.

Even when Ray allows a flicker of last-minute hope, the outcome is inevitable. Rationality does not prevail simply because it is right. The machinery aligned against him is too vast, too entrenched, too profitable.

Ray is brutally honest: in a society where belief is business, science becomes a threat.

Performances That Carry the Argument

Soumitra Chatterjee brings quiet dignity and exhaustion to Dr. Gupta—there is no theatrical rage here, only the loneliness of reason.

Dhritiman Chatterjee, remembered vividly from Pratidwandi, embodies the educated, polished face of complicity.

Ruma Guha Thakurta adds emotional complexity to a world where even personal relationships buckle under ideological pressure.

Ray’s Angriest Film

If Ray’s earlier films questioned godmen and miracles through satire or genre, Ganashatru speaks plainly. It is his angriest film—and perhaps his most necessary.

Author: Sachit Murthy

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