The Music Room

Huzur Biswambhar Roy (Chhabi Biswas) is a middle-aged aristrocrat in India. His estate is suffering financially, but he continues to engage in the indulgences that he thrives off of. He has a palace that includes an opulent music room, replete with a huge chandelier, mirrored walls and various rugs. He also loves riding his white horse or his domesticated elephant. He is somewhat insulated and basically only interacts with his estate manager (Tulsi Lahiri), his servant (Kali Sarkar) and his beloved wife, Mahamaya (Padmadevi), and young, teenaged son, Khoka (Pinaki Sengupta). The wealthy Mahim Ganguly (Gangapada Basu), the son of a neighbor who was a debt collector, returns from the West to claim his late father's estate. Ganguly is a shrill social-climber and asks that Roy come to visit the estate. When Ganguly builds his own more modern music room, he plans an opening party. In competition, Roy claims and starts to plan his own music room party. This is despite his financial floundering. Mahamaya and Khoka go to visit friends via boat, while Roy stays behind. Upon their returning boatride, a storm hits and kills nearly everyone on board the boat, including Mahamaya and Khoka. Roy withdrawals into grieving and a long-lasting depression. The anguish he goes through ages him visably. Four years go by with Roy by himself in his palace. On day, Ganguly visits and boasts about a young female dancer who has discovered a new form dancing that is performing at his music room. The younger man's grating manners gives Roy the motivation to have yet another music room party. Roy's servant is estatic, but his estate manager is less than happy, since Roy is even more financially destitute than before. The music room is re-opened for the first time since his family's death and cleaned up. The female dancer is booked and several neighbors attend, including Ganguly. The dancer and the music group give a magnificent performance. Roy lingers in the music room throughout the night, long after the last guests leave. Drunkly, he pays tribute to his ancestors and his own portrait. However, his bliss turns to hysterical despair when the candles in the music room start to go out. Obviously mental unsound, his fear of the darkening room mystifies his faithful servant. The servant is able to open the drapes and Roy is comforted by the rising sun. Roy hears his white horse nay outside and claims that the horse is calling to him to ride him. His servant and estate manager are distressed, since Roy's dilapidated physical state makes horse riding dangerous now. Roy gallops off quickly on his horse with the estate manager and servant in pursuit. When he rides to the beach, he is distressed to see a beaching, broken boat, which reminds him of his departed family. He doesn't change the horse's course and, upon nearly colliding with the boat, the horse flips out and jumps in the air, knocking Roy roughly into the ground. Roy dies where he lays with his servant and estate manager standing over him.