‘NAYAK’ (1966)
‘Nayak’ is a deep psychological and profoundly introspective drama by Satyajit Ray is interpreted via the prism of psychoanalytic film theory, especially the frameworks created by Christian Metz, who examines how cinema affects identification, desire, and the unconscious using ideas from Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalysis. Nayak may be considered as a complex film that exposes the structures of the gaze, viewer identification, and cinematic desire in addition to being a story of a star’s personal crises. Moreover, when analyzed through the theoretical lenses of Leo Braudy’s theories on stardom and image, and Marshall Cohen’s writing on narrative structure and cinematic realism, Nayak emerges as a deeply self-reflexive meditation on fame, performance, and identity in the modern age.
The hero is submerged in his thoughts
The film star is not affected by public presence