Jalsaghar

For the unworldly Biswambhar Roy, a financially strapped landowner and member of the old nobility (played by the venerable character actor Chabi Biswas), music is almost everything. It is both a place of sonic longing and an expression of a feudal way of life that belongs to another time. When his neighbor, a nouveau riche upstart, invites him to a concert, he declines. Shortly thereafter, he pawns the remaining family jewels to throw his own—last—grand party, a musical soirée complete with traditional dance performances. JALSAGHAR is a melancholy swan song to the Indian aristocracy that ends spectacularly with a performance of Bengali music and dance. (mg)