admits his hurt to Amal. He tells Amal that now Amal is the only one he can trust. Amal is overcome with the guilt of betraying his cousin. He is also uncomfortable with Charu's higher intellect that he has helped nurture. He leaves unannounced. He leaves behind a letter to Bhupati and forbids Charu to stop writing. Charu is heartbroken but hides her disappointment. Bhupati accidentally enters her room and finds her crying over Amal. Bhupati realizes Charu's feelings for Amal. He is broken, shocked and bewildered. He rushes out of the house and wanders aimlessly in his carriage. On his return, Charu and Bhupati make a hesitant gesture to reach out, but their extended hands remain frozen in a tentative gesture. Cast Madhabi Mukherjee - Charulata Soumitra Chatterjee - Amal Shailen Mukherjee - Bhupati Dutta Shyamal Ghoshal - Umapada Gitali Roy - Manda Bholanath Koyal - Braja Suku Mukherjee - Nishikanta Dilip Bose - Shashanka Joydeb - Nilotpal Dey Bankim Ghosh - Jagannath Production Charulata is based on the 1901 novella Nastanirh (The Broken Nest) by Bengali author Rabindranath Tagore. Ray later said that he liked the novella because "it has a western quality to it and the film obviously shares that quality. That's why I can speak of Mozart in connection with Charulata quite validly." Ray decided to set the film in 1897 instead of 1901 and spent many months researching the historical background. For the first time in his career he worked without a deadline both during pre-production and during the shooting. Ray worked closely with art director Bansi Chandragupta and no interior scene was shot on location. All sets were either built or remodelled to accurately portray India in the 1880s. Ray once called Charulata his favourite of his films. Reception Charulata holds one of the higher ratings for an Indian film in Rotten Tomatoes, a 96% rating based on 26 reviews with an average rating of 9.2/10. It has been widely regarded as one of the great films made in Indian cinema history and has won wide critical acclaim overseas as well. In Sight and Sound, Penelope Houston praised the film, stating that "the interplay of sophistication and simplicity is extraordinary". A review in The New York Times stated the film "moved like a majestic snail, as do all Ray films". In 1965, The Times of London remarked that the film's depiction of values seemed