Schedule

Saturday, October 15, 2022
4 p.m. Film Screening: Charulata
6:30 p.m. Reception with Live Music
7:30 p.m. Film Screening: Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) 

Join the Indian Film Festival of Houston and Asia Society Texas in celebrating the centenary of one of the great masters of world cinema, Satyajit Ray, with screenings of two of his greatest works!

Festival Lineup

4 p.m. Welcoming Remarks

4:10 p.m. Charulata (The Lonely Wife), 1964, India, Black and White
Duration: 117 min | Language: In Bengali with English Subtitles
Satyajit Ray’s exquisite story of a woman’s artistic and romantic yearning takes place in late nineteenth-century, pre-independence India, in the gracious home of a liberal-minded, workaholic newspaper editor and his lonely wife, Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee). When her husband’s poet cousin (Soumitra Chatterjee) comes to stay with them, Charulata finds herself both creatively inspired and dangerously drawn to him. Based on a novella by the great Rabindranath Tagore, Charulata is a work of subtle textures, a delicate tale of a marriage in jeopardy and a woman taking the first steps toward establishing her own voice.

6:30 p.m. Reception with live music (food by Verandah)

7:30 p.m. Shatranj Ke Khilari (The Chess Players), 1977, India, Color
Duration: 113 min. Language: Urdu, Hindi, and English with English Subtitles | Trailer: Available via IMDb
In the kingdom of Awadh, rich landowners Meer (Saeed Jaffrey) and Mirza (Sanjeev Kumar) pour every ounce of passion into a never-ending game of chess. At the same time, an ambitious British General (Richard Attenborough) plots his own moves against Awadh's King (Amjad Khan) and Prime Minister (Victor Banerjee), in the hope of taking the region for Britain. Heedless of their political and family responsibilities, Mirza and Meer keep playing as British soldiers march on their homeland. Adapted from a short story by Munshi Premchand, Shatranj Ke Khilari examines both colonial greed and Indian aristocratic indolence with the same dramatic scrutiny. This is the only full-length Hindi feature film made by Ray.

About the Indian Film Festival of Houston

The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to education in the fields of film and television and in creating a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing quality films that honor entertainment industry performers and film makers while promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora through an annual event.

https://iffhinc.org/

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment, and The Brown Foundation Inc. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Clayton Fund, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and the Wortham Foundation. Additional support provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, United Airlines, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Official Airline Sponsor

Program Sponsors

Presenting Partner

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.