{"id":996,"date":"2026-06-17T07:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T07:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/?p=996"},"modified":"2026-06-18T08:56:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T08:56:34","slug":"9788197513022-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/9788197513022-05\/","title":{"rendered":"Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trisha Sengupta\u00b9 <\/i><\/span><\/a> <\/i><\/a> & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari\u00b2 <\/i><\/span><\/a> <\/i><\/a><\/span><\/strong>
\n\u00b9,\u00b2 Assistant Professor, English & Literary Studies, Brainware University.<\/p>\n

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022.05<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This paper seeks to navigate the representation of the city in the process of urbanisation and its impact on human relationships in Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar<\/em> (1963) and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro<\/em> (2007). Drawing on Henri Lefebvre\u2019s spatial triad and Doreen Massey\u2019s relational understanding of space, the paper investigates how the city operates not merely as a backdrop but as an active character shaping identity, agency, and emotions. Ray\u2019s Mahanagar<\/em> is set in post-independence Calcutta, where the city is portrayed as a place in transition, torn between tradition and modernity. Ray\u2019s nuanced portrayal critiques urban alienation while highlighting resilience. The film also presents the city as both a liberating and an isolating space, mirroring the tension of a newly independent India negotiating gender roles and economic change. In contrast, Life in a\u2026Metro<\/em> reflects post-liberalisation, globalised Mumbai, characterised by fragmentation, hyper-connectivity, and emotional dislocation. The contemporary Mumbai in the film captures the frenetic pace, emotional isolation, and aspirational conflicts of metropolitan life through interconnected narratives. The film situates the city as a mosaic of lives entangled in ambition, love, and loneliness, revealing the psychic costs of urban anonymity. While Ray captures the tension of a newly urbanising India, Basu\u2019s work mirrors the complexities of globalisation and fractured relationships in a neoliberal city. This paper employs a comparative lens to explore how evolving cinematic urbanisms in Indian films reflect changing social values, economic realities, gendered dynamics of life, and the city as a space of negotiation across decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keywords<\/strong>:<\/em> Cinema, City, Representation, Urbanisation, Gender, Space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Full-Text Chapter PDF<\/a> Full Text Book PDF<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

\"DOI\"10.21659\/9788197513022<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Table of Contents<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Front Matter<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Urban Imaginaries and Indian Cities in Literature: An Introduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Neethu P Antony and Dr. Arpana Venu<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

City as Micro-Narratives of Senses and Everyday Experiences: An Analytical Study of Selected Stories from People Called Kolkata<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Olivia Joseph<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Multilingual Metropolis: The Politics of Language and Belonging in Guwahati Through Sheelabhadra\u2019s Fiction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sangeeta Bhagawati<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Spatial (re)orientations and Epic structures of the urban in Fareeda Mehta\u2019s Kali Salwaar<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Elroy Pinto<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Between Tramline and Traffic Jam: Mapping Indian City through Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar<\/em> and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Trisha Sengupta & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Reimagining Kolkata: Subaltern Narratives and the Colonial Urban Dystopia in Kallol Magazine\u2019s Literature<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nandini Gayen<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Walking, Writing and Resisting the City: Spatial Tactics and Postcolonial Reimaginings in Janice Pariat\u2019s Everything the Light Touches<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Parvin Sultana<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n

Mimesis, Montage and Mapping: A Spatial Analysis of Gangtok City Scapes in the Select Works of Satyajit Ray and Prajwal Parajuly<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Dr. Sudakshina Bhattacharya, Dr. Sulagna Mohanty, and Dr. Ankusha Bandyopadhyay<\/p>\n

Abstract<\/a> Full Text PDF<\/span><\/a>  <\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trisha Sengupta\u00b9   & Dr. Sanghamitra Baladhikari\u00b2 \u00b9,\u00b2 Assistant Professor, English & Literary Studies, Brainware University. 10.21659\/9788197513022.05 Abstract This paper seeks to navigate the representation of the city in the process of urbanisation and its impact on human relationships in Satyajit Ray\u2019s Mahanagar (1963) and Anurag Basu\u2019s Life in a\u2026Metro (2007). Drawing on Henri Lefebvre\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,11,12],"tags":[26,27,30,28,31,29],"class_list":["post-996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-chapter","category-edited-volume","category-urban-imaginaries-and-indian-cities-in-literature","tag-cinema","tag-city","tag-gender","tag-representation","tag-space","tag-urbanisation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1070,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions\/1070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupkatha.com\/books\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}