CHAPTER 2

COMPARITIVE STUDY

Kunal Basu’s short story The Japanese Wife and the movie based on it with the

same name by Aparna Sen are indeed beautiful works each complementing the other.

While the general plot, setting, characterization, and such other features are the same,

both the movie and the short story offer some differences between each other. Although

these differences might seem only very little, they can be used to understand the

filmmaker’s independent attitude and creativity being reflected. A film can either be

truly genuine about its presentation of a plot by being completely different from the

‘influence’ which can be a novel, or a short story, as in this case. But there can be films

which prove to be completely faithful to the source material. Aparna Sen’s work is

nearly faithful to the short story by Kunal Basu, yet she flavors it with her beautiful

Bengali touch. This is what is unique about the movie which is a masterpiece in itself.

The movie stars Rahul Bose as the protagonist Snehamoy Chatterjee, Chigasu Takaku

as Miyage, Raima Sen as Sandhya, Moushmi Chatterjee as Maashi, and Rudranil Ghosh

as Fatik. There are several differences in the movie from the short story. In the short

story by Kunal Basu, only Snehamoy and Miyage are given names, the other characters

are just referred to as the Aunt, the Boy, and the Widow. But in the movie Aparna Sen

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provides these characters also with an identity by giving them names. The doing so in

the movie is very refreshing and it provides the audience with a chance to better

understand all the other characters also. In the film these characters are given the names

like Maashi for the Aunt, Sandhya for the widow and Poltu for the boy. This helps us to

have an observation of the features of these characters also. While in the short story

these characters are very important yet they are not given names. By giving names to

these characters Aparna Sen is giving them more importance in the movie.

In the short story by Basu the characters Miyage and Snehamoy never talk with

each other than through letters which can never carry their voices to each other. In the

movie they are seen talking to each other through the telephone. This is not always but

only occasionally. Whenever Snehamoy gets enough money, or has saved enough

money, he will call Miyage in Japan. This is not seen in the short story. In this case the

short story method seems much more romantic as the two lovers are conversing only

through letters. This increases the sense of yearning for each other and this also

increases the suspense element. With the introducing of telephonic conversations

Aparna Sen forsakes this device but helps the audience to better understand the depth of

love between the characters in a short period of time in a telephone conversation.

In the short story Snehamoy only has a portrait of Miyage made for him which

on several occasions is seen made to hang on the wall by the Widow. This is resented

by Snehamoy who believes that only the pictures of dead people are to hang on the

walls. In the movie Miyage sends her photo to Snehamoy together with a Polaroid

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camera, Snehamoy takes his picture and sends it to Miyage. They are seen with the

pictures of the other lover throughout the movie on several occasions. This increases the

romantic effect of the entire movie. But this also reduces the yearning for each other felt

by the lovers which is to be seen in the short story. By seeing the photos they are able to

at lest take some consolation for their state of separation, but in the short story the main

characters are not even provided with this consolation even. But the effect is heightened

and it can be experienced by the readers of the short story.

The film uses a lot of flashbacks to narrate the story, but in the short story

flashbacks are only a few. This also generates in the audience a sense of watching a

movie. While it is easy to read a story which goes from beginning to end without any

flashbacks, in a film we audience can always expect flashbacks. While in the movie

Snehamoy is seen as a much older man than Miyage, in the short story the age

difference is not hinted. This presentation is also a vital difference from the short story.

These are only minor instances which might be missed while comparing the short story

of Basu with the movie of Aparna Sen, yet these help to understand a filmmaker’s

sensibility in making a movie with his/her own identity being reflected.

Some other minor differences include the scenes where Snehamoy buys an

exercise book. In the short story while going to the market he buys an exercise book for

the boy. In the movie he buys a book for himself so that he can exercise and work out at

home. What these subtle changes do is that they completely transform the work by

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Aparna Sen into a work of art which is genuine and is not a blind adaptation of another

work.

The ‘kite scene’ is important in both the movie and the short story. This

important incident is narrated a bit differently by both Kunal Basu and Aparna Sen. In

the short story the boy takes the kites, which have been sent to Snehamoy by Miyage

from Japan as a gift, from the dark corner of Snehamoy’s room. He is not scolded by

anyone, not even Snehamoy. But in the movie we see that when Poltu takes the kites

from the room of Snehamoy his mother Sandhya becomes very upset. We are shown a

scene where she severely beats the boy scolding him for such an act. She is stopped by

Snehamoy who finds this unnecessary. The widow is seen upset because her son took

the things from Snehamoy without permission. This scene and the story in the short

story are very important even if they are shown differently. This incident marks the

beginning of a strong relationship between the boy and Snehamoy. This incident is

indeed vital because Snehamoy begins to notice the boy much more and starts to love

him. The treatment of the incident is different by Kunal Basu and Aparna Sen but the

message is very clear.

In the short story we do not see Snehamoy talking in detail about the widow to

Miyage, but in the movie we see him describing in detail to Miyage about the widow

Sandhya. This also is a scene where we see him talk about the Indian widow in general.

When he talks to Miyage about the widow Sandhya, he also talks about how an Indian

widow dresses up and how she behaves to others. This will prove important as in the

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ending scene we see a head shaven, white sari wearing Miyage coming to Snehamoy’s

house in the right form of an Indian widow. But these things are not given much

consideration in the short story. What the scenes do for the movie is that it helps Aparna

Sen to spread a social message also on the topic of the Indian widow. Even after many

years of independence Indian society has always been cruel towards the widows. In the

short story Basu tells us how the widow had to suffer at the hands of her in laws.

Aparna Sen moves further into the topic and tries to make us realize the real hardships

of a widow in India.

In the movie the character of the widow, Sandhya, is given more focus and

attention. This might be because a movie can have much more freedom than a short

story and it can focus on minor characters as well. The widow is seen with a small

liking towards Snehamoy. This is not told in detail by Kunal Basu in the short story.

Sandhya like Snehamoy but being an Indian widow she never shows it out to

Snehamoy. In the kite flying scene we can see her look of admiration towards

Snehamoy. In the short story also this is narrated but in less detail. The visuals of the

movie give this passing reference by Basu a clearer picture. In the short story we can

never understand if she loves him or not. Her helpless state is focused in the short story.

In both the cases, she is a traditional Indian widow who keeps herself faithful to her

dead husband. The helpless state of a widow who has to lead a lonely life throughout

her life is expertly shown in both the short story and the movie, but the movie seems to

be much more effective with its visuals.

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In the short story the preparing of the thread for the kite flying is done by

Snehamoy’s Aunt. This is done by powdering glass pieces and in the short story we are

given the instance where she gets injured or cut while making it. The movie is different

here and it is Sandhya who prepares the thread for the kites. She is the one who powders

the glass pieces and she gets hurt during the process of preparing it. Aparna Sen focuses

on the fact that the widow has now become an inseparable part of Snehamoy’s

household and now she is more of a caretaker of the house. She is said to have taken

over from Snehamoy’s Aunt and is now the caretaker of the house. The focus is shifted

from Snehamoy’s Aunt to Sandhya by Aparna Sen. This is also a beautiful

representation of a lonely woman who finds a place to stay and to be consoled, who on

getting a bit of love and care and transforms into a new person. This is Aparna Sen’s

attitude towards the Indian widow who can become transformed persons on getting love

and care.

In the movie there is a detailed presentation of the letter writing process between

Snehamoy and Miyage. Their faces are focused and Miyage and Snehamoy are shown

alternatively writing the letters. In the short story only few pages of the letter are shown

to the readers and only passing reference is made on the process of writing letters. But

the story is also beautiful in a way. The movie, with the showing of the changing

expressions on the faces of the characters, makes it a much more interesting experience.

In some of the more minor incidents also we can see the changes brought in by

Aparna Sen from the short story by Basu. In one of the scenes in the market where

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prostitutes try to tempt Snehamoy we can easily understand the difference between the

short story and the movie. In the movie when these women surround Snehamoy at the

market he does not take notice, he is seen as very faithful to Miyage and goes away

without glancing. In the short story he is also surrounded by such women in the market

but he suddenly hears Miyage giggle and he leaves the place. In both the cases the focus

of attention is the faithful husband in Snehamoy, who is very loving and caring towards

a wife whom he has never talked with personally. He is very faithful and loving to

Miyage. This also points towards the Indian marital system which is based upon

chastity of both the women and the men. We can also compare the faithfulness of

Snehamoy to the faithful and chaste attitude of the widow Sandhya.

In the movie we see Snehamoy in a younger age at college and he is seen

writing a letter to his pen friend Miyage in Japan. This is also similar to the incident

narrated in the short story by Basu, but there are some simple differences between them.

In the short story one of his companions steals the letter from Snehamoy and reads it

aloud to the other companions and the news of Snehamoy in love with a Japanese

woman spreads all around. The companions are seen teasing Snehamoy on the topic of

marriage by asking him whether he will marry a ‘Japani’ or a girl whom his Aunt

chooses. In the movie these incidents are not used. When his friends come into the room

he stops writing the letter, hides it, lies down and pretends as if he is reading.

In the movie we can clearly see that Snehamoy is very poor and Miyage is living

a lonely life with her mother in their house in Japan. There are scenes where we can see

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her living all alone in her house when her mother dies. Such incidents are not narrated

in detail by Kunal Basu in the short story. In the movie when Miyage comes in the form

of an Indian widow we see Sandhya directing her to Snehamoy’s room. In the short

story this is not described, only the arrival of Miyage in the form of an Indian widow,

head shaven, white sari wearing, is described by Basu. We are also not described if she

visits Snehamoy’s home but we can read that she is on her journey to her husband’s

home.

In the movie Snehamoy is said to have suffered from malaria multiple times but

he dies of pneumonia. The getting of the disease, falling ill, and the death of Snehamoy

are shown in detail in the movie. There are scenes of the flood and the rain where it is

hard to find a doctor for treating him. It is due to this that Snehamoy dies after two days

of waiting. In the short story Snehamoy is said to have died of malaria and not

pneumonia. He is not described in detail to have caught the disease. In both the cases

we see Snehamoy taking leave from the school where he teaches to find cause of

Miyage’s illness. In the movie we are described that Miyage has cancer, but in the short

story Kunal Basu only refers to the illness as very serious one. In the movie we can see

that when Snehamoy hears about Miyage’s illness he talks to a Homoeopathy doctor

first about her symptoms in detail. He gets to know about the various methods to treat

such an illness and he tells these in detail to Miyage. Later when they understand that

the illness is cancer, the doctor is seen advising him to go to the town where better

treatment methods can be learned. It is while he tries to go to town that he is drenched

by rain and catches pneumonia.

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In the short story and the movie we are presented with the depth of love of both

Snehamoy and Miyage. Snehamoy sacrifices his life itself for a wife whom he scarcely

seen. Yet the deep bond of trust between them never changes in degree. This is Aparna

Sen’s description of Indian marital system which, even though has many flaws is also a

beautiful one where both the husband and wife remain faithful to one another unlike the

European system where there are divorces on minor issues.

These are the various differences between the movie and the short story. These

differences are only minimal. The movie is a bit more elaborate because it can have

more freedom than a short story. Aparna Sen is successful in presenting the short story

by Kunal Basu without loosing any of its beauty. Her work is a wonderful one and does

full justice to Kunal Basu’s wonderful short story.

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