The Music Room (1958)

• Year: 1958
• Released: 10 Oct 1958
• Country: India
• Adwords: 2 wins & 2 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051792/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_music_room
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Bengali
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Drama, Music
• Runtime: 95 min
• Writer: Tarashankar Banerjee, Satyajit Ray, Santi P. Choudhury
• Director: Satyajit Ray
• Cast: Chhabi Biswas, Sardar Akhtar, Gangapada Basu
• Keywords: loss of loved one, suicide, teacher, country house, servant,

	7.9/10
	100% – Critics
	91% – Audience

The Music Room Storyline

Huzur Biswamghar Roy is a rich landowner who lives in a palace with his wife and son and his many servants. His passion – his wife would call it his addiction – is music and he spends a great deal of his fortune on concerts held for the locals in his magnificent music room. His wealth is in decline however. His lands are being eroded by the local river and he pays for the concert he arranges for his son’s coming of age party by selling some of the family jewels. When his neighbor Ganguli invites him to a party at his house, Roy decides to one up him and organizes a lavish party for the same day – costing him the last of the jewels. After his wife and son are killed in a storm, Roy becomes something of a recluse, closing up the music room. Now, many years later he decides to have one final concert, spending the last of his money to again outdo – and spite – Ganguli.

The Music Room Play trailer

The Music Room Photos

The Music Room Torrents Download

The Music Room Subtitles Download

The Music Room Movie Reviews

Adored the musical performances

Beautifully shot and with a great soundtrack, but a rather dreary story, which is a critique of idle members of the traditional zamindar (aristocrat) class, a celebration of traditional Indian music, and a depiction of the end of an era. In the film, a damn fool of a middle-aged man (Chhabi Biswas) squanders his family fortune as the portraits of four generations of his ancestors look on in his music room, where he hosts large groups of friends to lavish performances despite his dwindling funds. He likes lolling about, smoking a hookah and drinking cognac, and it’s clear he likes the music as well, but what he likes even more is the prestige and status that he has, and lording it over one of his neighbors he views (and treats) as inferior.

I loved seeing and hearing the various musical instruments, the wonderful vocalizations, and the performances – especially that dancer towards the end – they were something special. The rest of it had meaning, but was less compelling for me, despite all the craft and attention to detail director Satyajit Ray put in. It would have been more interesting had we had gotten more depth and insight into some of the other characters. Certainly worth watching though.

Mesmerized, entertained, and provoked

The film is a masterpiece, a definite 10. As with the Apu trilogy, I am mesmerized and absorbed by the pacing and drama of the film. Even though the film uses music, its appreciation, and its status as the vehicle for its themes, there is no (or very little?) background music for the spoken portions of the film. This provides not only realism, but sets off the intense and magnificent performance of the protagonist. There is also a great deal of entertainment in this film: the music performances are excellent. I wonder if Ray found the best musicians of the region and gave them roles as performers in the musical soirees: performers playing performers. I have the sense that there is very little artifice in the cinematography. That is, I feel that the filming techniques were not highly sophisticated. But the eye, the light, the composition are almost perfect. I think that the other commenter (the only other one!) stated the themes quite well for me. I would only one: the obsession and self-destructiveness that come with pride and jealousy of one’s status.

I Actually Sort of Liked This

Depicts the end days of a decadent zamindar (landlord) in Bengal, and his efforts to uphold his family prestige even when faced with economic adversity.

After the box office failure of “Aparajito”, Ray desperately needed a hit film and decided to make a film based on both a popular piece of literature and a film that would incorporate Indian music. It was the first film to extensively incorporate classical Indian music and dancing.

For the life of me, I haven’t found an Indian film — classic or contemporary — that I really liked. The “Apu trilogy” does nothing for me, and Bollywood is a disaster. But “Music Room” may be the first exception… and it is precisely because of the traditional music. The cinematography is really good, but that music!