The Ghostly Pageant and its Implications in Satyajit Ray’s “Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen”

What does one do when confronted with ghosts, provided that there is no space for doubt
in their existence?
The cinema has mapped out quite a straight forward trajectory for us to follow if we ever
encounter such a crisis- one either screams, swoons, freezes or flees.
Goopy-Bagha react quite differently to the situation. After the initial moment of panic
they resort to making music or rather cacophony in an attempt to discourage a ghostly
attack. The Ghost-King however feels obliged to reciprocate in an answering gesture of
courtesy and thus we are presented with the surrealistic ghost-dance sequence in the
otherwise level-headed narrative.
In a film that is replete with magic, personality altering drugs, mass hypnosis,
teleportation and the like, the sight of a bunch of ghosts shaking a limb should not seem
so striking. Yet the Bhuter-Naach compels the audience in ways different than the film’s
songs. Whereas the songs by the virtue of their literal explicitness lend themselves readily
to interpretation the same is not true for the Ghost-Dance which exploits the non-verbal
realm.
The film on the other hand is deceptively accessible. It manages to resolve the complex
politics behind the figure-head monarch of Halla and his war-monger of a minister and
the amoral magus- Borfi along the lines of fairy-tale logic. War is averted not by
diplomacy or surrender but by a rainfall of sweetmeats! The director successfully distills
the working principle behind the puppet government to its essence in such a way that it
does not alienate its target audience-the children. Complications here as elsewhere are
reduced to their elemental forms.
In a similar vein the song Maharaja Tomare Selam inspired by folkloric music advocates
the unintellectualisation of the arts and promotes the vernacular. Moreover in a light-
hearted manner it breaks the tedium induced by the high-brow music competition that
preceded Goopy-Bagha’s turn on the stage.
In such an ambience of inclusivist and informal enjoyment the Ghost-Dance strikes an
anomalous note. Even Satyait Ray himself had recognized it as a “most abstract, avant-
garde affair” to which the audience-reaction could not be predicted.
The transition of the cinematic register from the realism of Goopy’s village-life to the
hallucinatory world of the ghosts is however not abrupt. The uncanny intrudes into the
naturalistic setting unobtrusively. The scowling visage of the scarecrow that dominates
the foreground marking the limits of Amloki and hence civilization, Goopy’s increasingly
morbid ditty that foreshadows the tiger’s arrival and finally the tiger itself that the
unmusical duo face- all prepare the audience for what’s coming.
The divorce from reality is complete with the sudden onset of nightfall and the advent of
shadowy beings heralded by an ominous background score of stilted night-time noises.
Further adding to the nightmarish quality is the fluid nature of the images that simulated
underwater viewing.
As the pageant begins we are introduced to the four classes of ghosts characterized by
specific percussion instruments-the kings with the mridangam, the sahibs with the
ghattom, the common people with the ganjira and the middle class with the mursring.
The orderly dance progressively degenerates into chaos in keeping with the increasing
tempo as the ghosts slay one another and finally collapse, only to be revived the next
moment, so that the endless cycle of aggression and regeneration may begin anew.
At first glance the Ghost Dance seems to provide the audience with a crash course in
human history. This casual explanation had led critics like ShudhoSheel Basu to dismiss
it as being too blatant in meaning and accused it of striking the sole discordant note in an
otherwise brilliant film.
We can easily add to Basu’s argument against the pageant by saying that it does not
further the plot and thus is superfluous. Satyajit Ray was however a very economical
director. In an interview with Bert Cardullo he had remarked that music when it came to
films was an “extraneous” device that ought to be used sparingly and judiciously. We can
extrapolate from Ray’s remark about music which is generally considered to be
indispensable to movie-making to comment on the Bhuter-Naach itself. It is safe to say
that the 6 and a half minute long sequence would not have been used merely as a
spectacle or to deliver a condensed history lesson if it did not have a vital topical bearing.
Satire is a mainstay of Goopy Gayne Bagha Bayne despite its label as a “children’s film”-
a genre that is often dismissed as being “simple”. From malicious Brahmins and
capricious zamindars who mete out punishments at the drop of a hat to ridiculously
vulnerable countries that lack the minimum defense against enemies and kings so weak
that they are easily manipulated by their ministers- the barb of criticism is directed
against all. The Ghost-Dance sequence itself presents a more concentrated version of the
film’s satirical edge.
Ghosts are the quintessential outsiders. Caught in limbo between life and death they
reside beyond the limits of civilization, like the woods in Goopy Gayne Bagha Bayne.
Although they are not seen harassing humans as is their wont, it seems that only a lucky
break had saved Goopy-Bagha from possession or worse.
Considering the role of such problematic entities in the tapestry of human life where they
are banished to the twilight fringes of doubt, fear and superstition, the ghost-dance that so
ostensibly portrays Man’s Story acquires a subversive aura.
The dance begins with the most self-possessed of the lot- the kings. The regality of their
bearing is underlined by the use of the classical instrument-mridangam, yet the implicit
formality of the discipline reveals the irony of the situation when the highnesses descend
into undignified internecine strife.
The common people are also rendered ridiculous as we find that in time with the frenzied
ganjira they also fight amongst themselves. Even the artist is forced to join in wielding
his ektara as a weapon.
The sahibs demonstrate similar behaviour as the clattering of the ghattom complements
their initial formal stance that gives way to casual violence against native servants and
drunken posturing with weapons.
The babus also do not escape comment. Their corpulence pokes fun at the myth of the
cerebral nature of the Bengalees. The comical sounds of the mursring forms the ideal
accompaniment as some engage in juvenile squabbles regarding religious dogma and
bourgeois liberalism while others tremble in fear and indecision.
The dance is essentially court entertainment performed in the guests’ honour. The
costumes and the masks of the dancers belong to a particular historical context. The
Ghost-King’s attire however has no such significant marker and does not resemble the
dancer-kings’ costumes though they are remarkable in their own right.
Thus the social system that is satirised in the dance can be seen as being an artifact of the
temporal world. It is unlikely that the ghosts would demean themselves in their own
territory by criticizing their social institution if they even have one but given their
reputation for mischief they might not refrain from directing a veiled insult against obtuse
mortals.
This inference helps us to conclude that the ghost-dance was not performed for the
edification of human spectators but to present a refined mockery of human society as
seen from the perspective of marginalized outcasts.
The film is dominated by the viewpoint of the insider, although Goopy and Bagha may
not seem to belong to this category as they are nothing but homeless drifters. However
they easily insinuate themselves into the mainstream of society and politics. Besides their
mortal status easily gives them the badge of legitimacy that earthbound spirits lack.
Hence the only segment of the film that the ghosts dominate acquires an aura of
illicitness that seems to reflect on the dance itself. The spectacle thus seems to detach
itself from the main text and seems not to belong with the whole which could be the
reason behind the unease that it inspires.
However echoes of the ghostly pageant resonate within the body of the text.
The war-dance of the King of Halla is a case in point. The King here under the influence
of drugs forces his subordinates and ambassadors to perform. The repetitive drum-beats,
the flickering torchlight, the undercurrent of fear and the chant-like refrain of Halla
Cholechche Judhdhe creates a frenzied hypnotic quality that seems to create a real-world
counterpart to the trippy ghost-dance. The trance breaks appropriately enough when
Goopy sings the sublime Ek Je Chchilo Raja.
The escape from the seemingly endless paradigm of strife here is achieved only through a
deus ex machina which poses problems of replicating the happy outcome in reality. The
ghosts here by implication have undermined the potency of the solution offered.
Thus we see that the Bhuter Naach sequence in the Ray’s Goopy Gayne Bagha Bayen
presents the audience with a lot of food for thought in the guise of irreverence and
amusement.