Miya Miya Film Club x Neil Kumar present: মহানগর (Mahanagar / The Big City)
Thu, 16th Apr 2026 06:30 pm - 10:30 pm
From $30
On Wednesday 15th April, @mothership.marrickville, Miya Miya Film Club presents: মহানগর (Mahanagar / The Big City, India, 1963) directed by Satyajit Ray. Mahanagar is presented in collaboration with @neil.kumar, whose practice sits at the intersection of typography, memory and cultural inheritance. Neil’s work often draws from vernacular design histories across the subcontinent; reclaiming, reworking and re-seeing visual languages many of us grew up around but rarely paused to notice. It feels right to hold Mahanagar alongside that lens with modernity arriving at the doorstep, tradition reshaping itself in real time. Set in 1960s Calcutta, Mahanagar follows Arati, a middle-class housewife who takes up a job as a saleswoman to support her family, and in doing so, gently unsettles the fragile architecture of patriarchy at home. What unfolds is subtle but seismic. A film about work, dignity, womanhood and the quiet courage it takes to step outside the line drawn for you. As always, this isn’t just a screening. It’s a gathering. On the night, we’ll be sharing food from @__thals and @greeneggsandhamza_. Plates that feel like home, like aunties in the kitchen, like the hum of something familiar and generous. We’ll also be splitting donations between Katha, a Delhi-based organisation working in education, literacy and storytelling with children from underserved communities and The Aunties Fund, a Sydney-based volunteer-led organisation that supports South Asian women escaping domestic violence. Both organisations, in different ways, honour the spirit of Mahanagar: women’s agency, economic independence, and the transformative power of access. As always, your ticket includes a meal, drinks from @gazacola.au, a donation to @kathaindia and The Aunties Fund via @sydneycommunityfoundation, as well as covering venue and projector hire, and film licencing. Mahanagar will be screened in Bengali with English subtitles. Ray made this film over sixty years ago, but it feels startlingly current. The negotiation between care and ambition. The politics of income inside a marriage. The invisible labour that props up the “respectable” household. The way a city can both swallow you and set you free. Come sit with us in the big city. We’ll see you soon ❤️ Agenda: 6:30pm - Doors Open 6:30pm till 8pm - Food served from @__thals and @greeneggsandhamza_ 8pm - Film Starts 10:20pm - Film Ends Please be aware that photography, audio, and video recording may occur at this event. By entering the event premises, you consent to being photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded. You agree that any recorded media—including your likeness, voice, and name; may be used for, but not limited to, promotional, marketing, advertising, and archival purposes, and may be shared on social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok) and websites.
Refund policy
No refunds
About the Host
Miya Miya Film Club is an independent community-led film and arts initiative dedicated to celebrating and elevating the voices of the South West Asian and North African (SWANA) region. At a time when nuanced representations of SWANA cultures are urgently needed, Miya Miya offers a space where film and art become tools for cultural preservation, connection, and resistance.
