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Pratidwandi or Pratidandi (literally Adversary, Opponent or Competitor in Bengali; known...

Pratidwandi or Pratidandi (literally Adversary, Opponent or Competitor in Bengali; known internationally as The Adversary) is a 1972 Indian Bengali film directed by Satyajit Ray based on the novel by Sunil Gangopadhyay. It is the first part of the Calcutta trilogy. Set during the period of the naxalite movement in Bengal, Pratidwandi tells the story of Siddharta, an educated middle-class man caught within the turmoils of social unrest. Corruption and unemployment is rampant, and Siddhartha cannot align himself with either his revolutionary activist brother, or career-oriented sister. The film is stylistically unusual for Ray, featuring techniques inspired by the French New Wave, such as jump-cuts, edgy framing, dream sequences, and sexual metaphors. Some of the experimental techniques which the film pioneered include photo-negative flashbacks and X-ray digressions. The historical background of the film Pratidwandi is set on the decade of a wide range of political turmoil in India. The huge influx of refugees during the partition of India and loss of economic activity in the hinterland of kolkata resulted in the stagnation of the economy of Kolkata. The Naxalbari movement under