Satyapriya grows up on lofty and noble ideals. His blemish-less heart pursues the difficult and rocky path of Truth. His nobility is further accentuated by the presence of his best friend, the good and sincere Naren who adopts an attitude of compromising on Truth when it cannot be accommodated.
The greatness and brilliance of the movie comes from a daring attempt to derive a message from a story of defeats rather than successes and in doing so it succeeds. Satya is defeated on all accounts in life. He is unable to make peace with life and save himself from falling into helplessness against the corrupt society and ultimately turning cynical. On the other hand, Naren though successful in life is defeated as he accepts the compromise of Truth that his profession forces on him. He is defeated when his good intention to support a helpless Ranjhana is challenged by his family. Satya's grandfather Satyasharan who shaped the character of Satya is defeated when he compromises on Truth and lies to save his good name and stature.
The narrative brilliantly unfolds the defeat one faces in both the paths, the one of ardent pursuit of Truth and the other of compromise when Truth conflicts self-interest. It nudges the viewer to delve deeper into the real nature of an Absolute Truth that is beyond the duality of noble Ideals and their compromise. It pleads one to find this path that Satya longed for but never succeeded. Most striking is Hrishikesh Mukherjee's uncompromising narrative and the audacity to tell the story of utter defeat with life of all the main characters. Through this he opens a search for a higher, undiscovered meaning of Truth and the pursuit of such an existence. In the stark story of defeats he brilliantly succeeds in producing an effect exactly as he intends to.
The greatness and brilliance of the movie comes from a daring attempt to derive a message from a story of defeats rather than successes and in doing so it succeeds. Satya is defeated on all accounts in life. He is unable to make peace with life and save himself from falling into helplessness against the corrupt society and ultimately turning cynical. On the other hand, Naren though successful in life is defeated as he accepts the compromise of Truth that his profession forces on him. He is defeated when his good intention to support a helpless Ranjhana is challenged by his family. Satya's grandfather Satyasharan who shaped the character of Satya is defeated when he compromises on Truth and lies to save his good name and stature.
The narrative brilliantly unfolds the defeat one faces in both the paths, the one of ardent pursuit of Truth and the other of compromise when Truth conflicts self-interest. It nudges the viewer to delve deeper into the real nature of an Absolute Truth that is beyond the duality of noble Ideals and their compromise. It pleads one to find this path that Satya longed for but never succeeded. Most striking is Hrishikesh Mukherjee's uncompromising narrative and the audacity to tell the story of utter defeat with life of all the main characters. Through this he opens a search for a higher, undiscovered meaning of Truth and the pursuit of such an existence. In the stark story of defeats he brilliantly succeeds in producing an effect exactly as he intends to.