Jana Aranya: Satyajit Ray's most cynical, ruthless film resonates with today's world
7 years, 8 months ago

Jana Aranya: Satyajit Ray's most cynical, ruthless film resonates with today's world

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. Jana Aranya is perhaps Ray’s most ruthless film, in which he doesn’t hold back from dealing one blow after another. In another scene, Ray explores the mind of the average Bengali Brahmin young man beautifully when Somnath shows his reluctance towards doing business, to which an experienced well-wisher remarks that as a Brahmin, he would be comfortable standing and begging for alms in the corner of the street, but wouldn’t be comfortable trading. Shot beautifully in black and white, with the use of light to symbolically cover only one half of most faces in the night scenes, juxtaposing the ruthless streets and markets against a loving and caring sister-in-law at home who supports him no matter what, and once again focusing on the human content more than the external glamour, Ray puts Somnath in a world of shocks and surprises, only to make him realise, that beginning right from education, to employment, to entrepreneurship, there is no country for an honest man.

Film Films Man Bengali Ray Somnath Satyajit Ray Satyajit Jana Aranya  ray  man  aranya  world  ruthless  cynical  resonates  business  somnath  young  todays  rays  right  jana  film  satyajit  fails  films

History of this topic

‘I absolutely loved his films’: Hugo Weaving on how Satyajit Ray introduced him to Indian cinema
4 months ago

‘I absolutely loved his films’: Hugo Weaving on how Satyajit Ray introduced him to Indian cinema

Hindustan Times  

Hugo Weaving, renowned for his portrayal of the iconic villain Agent Smith in the 'Matrix' franchise, spoke about his latest film The Rooster and shared how legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray introduced him to Indian cinema. The Matrix star also shared how Satyajit Ray influenced his appreciation for Indian cinema. The Rooster is an Australian comedy-drama directed by Mark Leonard Winter …

Ray-esque | Satyajit Ray's Favourite Shooting Locations
1 year, 3 months ago

Ray-esque | Satyajit Ray's Favourite Shooting Locations

Firstpost  

When world famous film maker Satyajit Ray decided to make Pather Panchali, he would go on location scouting. The village finally ended up turning into Pather Panchali’s pivotal outdoor location The camera zooms into Satyajit Ray’s favourite shooting locations. Of course, the city has seen vast changes ever since father shot there.” After Aparajito, Ray made two films back to …

Ray-esque | A look at Satyajit Ray's fascinating domestic life
1 year, 7 months ago

Ray-esque | A look at Satyajit Ray's fascinating domestic life

Firstpost  

Movie legend Satyajit Ray’s life at home was chock-a-block from early morning to late night. But, if it happened to be important or formal, father would write out a draft and key into the typewriter,” informs Sandip, Ray’s son. In fact, one of the attractions for well-known writers to contribute to Sandesh is that they could use father’s illustrations when …

Satyajit Ray: The script and track of a master storyteller
1 year, 10 months ago

Satyajit Ray: The script and track of a master storyteller

The Hindu  

Satyajit Ray, director, script writer, documentary film-maker, author, illustrator and composer, to name a few, had a flair for sketching from his childhood. Decades later, in an interview with the film critic, Iqbal Masud, on Shatranj Ke Khilari, Ray said, “One can well imagine a treatment of annexation with Wazid painted whiter and General Outram blacker, which would automatically enhance …

Review: The Cinema of Satyajit Ray by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay
2 years, 3 months ago

Review: The Cinema of Satyajit Ray by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

Hindustan Times  

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s The Cinema of Satyajit Ray is divided into two parts - the first analyses all 39 of Ray’s films, including his feature films and the controversial documentaries Sikkim and Bala, that he made over 36 years while the second part comprises in-depth interviews with 17 personalities who have been deeply impressed by the auteur’s cinema. Satyajit Ray Vikramaditya …

Ray-esque | From Pandit Ravi Shankar to the Mahabharata; Satyajit Ray’s unrealised films
2 years, 6 months ago

Ray-esque | From Pandit Ravi Shankar to the Mahabharata; Satyajit Ray’s unrealised films

Firstpost  

Movie maestro Satyajit Ray had once contemplated making a short film on virtuosic sitarist Pandit Ravi Shankar. “Interestingly, if one flips through the pages of Ashani Sanket’s script, you will discover the unfinished script of Ekti Jibon,” says Sandip. “In wake of Ashani Sanket’s thumping success, father had mulled making a short film, Drobomoyeer Kashibash, based on a writing by …

Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk to be showcased at Toronto film festival
2 years, 6 months ago

Satyajit Ray’s Agantuk to be showcased at Toronto film festival

Hindustan Times  

TORONTO: Less than a month after staging a retrospective of the legendary Indian filmmaker’s work, the Toronto International Film Festival will be showcasing Satyajit Ray’s final feature, Agantuk or The Stranger, at its main event. A still from Satyajit Ray’s final feature, Agantuk. We hope it will appeal to audiences less familiar with Ray’s body of work and also be …

Barun Chanda’s wonderful memories of Satyajit Ray
2 years, 7 months ago

Barun Chanda’s wonderful memories of Satyajit Ray

Hindustan Times  

Seemabaddha is the only Ray film I’ve watched just once. But Chanda’s book, Satyajit Ray – The Man Who Knew Too Much is very impressive. The cover blurb by Shyam Benegal pronounces, “If you have read this, you don’t need to read any other book on Ray.” The truth of the statement becomes slowly apparent as you read the book, …

Ray-esque | Satyajit Ray’s French Connection
2 years, 7 months ago

Ray-esque | Satyajit Ray’s French Connection

Firstpost  

Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray’s son narrates his father’s relationship with renowned French filmmaker Jean Renoir and how the French equation in Ray’s life took off when he finished making Pather Panchali Renowned French film director Jean Renoir arrives in Calcutta to carve out a new movie creation, his well-known, The River. Thus, he readily embraced the idea of father keeping …

A Ray hero looks back
2 years, 9 months ago

A Ray hero looks back

The Hindu  

Published : Jun 26, 2022 18:00 IST The “Ray Hero” can be perceived as one of the most exclusive clubs in the world of cinema and culture. Dub my voice himself.” Incidentally, Chanda was working in the creative department of Clarion Advertising, the same agency where Ray worked from 1943 to 1956, and while working on the script of Seemabaddha, …

Ray-esque | Sandip Ray on shooting Satyajit Ray’s novel Hatyapuri (The House of Death)
2 years, 9 months ago

Ray-esque | Sandip Ray on shooting Satyajit Ray’s novel Hatyapuri (The House of Death)

Firstpost  

Audiences, please await the cinematic version of maestro Satyajit Ray ’s novel, Hatyapuri. This was simply because the last Feluda movie created by me dates back to 2016.” Hatyapuri, according to Sandip, was not only one his favourite Feluda novels, but his legendary father had expressed “tremendous satisfaction” after penning this detective title. Together with these factors, Sandip’s zeroing in …

Satyajit Ray's Work Inspires Projects From Big Bazaar, Roadshow At Cannes
2 years, 10 months ago

Satyajit Ray's Work Inspires Projects From Big Bazaar, Roadshow At Cannes

ABP News  

New Delhi: A restored version of Indian maestro Satyajit Ray's 1970 film 'Pratidwandi' is playing at Cannes Classics this year and films inspired by his works are being planned. Kolkata-based Indian producer-director Aritra Sen's Roadshow Films and Los Angeles-based British writer-director Alex Harvey's Big Bazaar Films are producing two films this year, which take their inspiration from Ray's life and …

The Flawed Nayaks of Satyajit Ray
2 years, 10 months ago

The Flawed Nayaks of Satyajit Ray

Firstpost  

Filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s vision of male characters in his movie stemmed from his own cinematic belief of creating realistic characters — in both his short stories, stacked to the brim with lonely men and his cinematic offerings. Much of the filmmaker’s vision of male characters in his movie stemmed from his own cinematic belief of creating realistic characters — in …

Ray-esque | Late actor Tom Alter’s interaction with ‘Manik da’ aka Satyajit Ray who altered his life
2 years, 11 months ago

Ray-esque | Late actor Tom Alter’s interaction with ‘Manik da’ aka Satyajit Ray who altered his life

Firstpost  

I had chanced to meet well-known actor Tom Alter, who left us in 2017, in November of 2012, when he had come across to Calcutta from Mumbai as a delegate at the Kolkata International Film Festival. And, he said, “Now, you will believe Tom that I haven’t forgotten,” Manikda drove home. “Then, he asked, “Who’s this producer.” I said, “Manikda….” …

On Satyajit Ray’s death anniversary, looking at his uncompromisingly strong female protagonists
2 years, 11 months ago

On Satyajit Ray’s death anniversary, looking at his uncompromisingly strong female protagonists

Firstpost  

The Ray heroine is as significant as the hero of any screenplay but never needs to engage in a contest of gender supremacy or undermine his presence in her world At a time when cinema, the world over is learning to look at women with an all-new gaze, Satyajit Ray’s films find relevance for the remarkable grasp of the female …

Satyajit Ray death anniversary: A look at the iconic filmmaker's classics
2 years, 11 months ago

Satyajit Ray death anniversary: A look at the iconic filmmaker's classics

Firstpost  

On Satyajit Ray’s death anniversary, lets go down memory lane and have a look at some of his best works. Nation remembers iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray on the occasion death anniversary today, 23 April. On the occasion of Satyajit Ray’s 30th death anniversary, here’s a look at some of his classics: Pather Panchali - Pather Panchali was Satyajit Ray’s first …

Sandip Ray on working with Shashi Kapoor on Satyajit Ray Presents telefilm: 'He was a thorough perfectionist'
3 years, 1 month ago

Sandip Ray on working with Shashi Kapoor on Satyajit Ray Presents telefilm: 'He was a thorough perfectionist'

Firstpost  

To celebrate the centenary year of Satyajit Ray, arguably the most remarkable filmmaker born on Indian soil, Firstpost will explore the lesser known aspects of his life in our column Ray-esque. * Very few would probably recall today that famed actor Shashi Kapoor, who left us not too many years ago, and well-known director Sandip Ray, maestro Satyajit Ray’s son, …

Exploring a lesser known aspect of Satyajit Ray: The masterful filmmaker was also a science fiction enthusiast
3 years, 2 months ago

Exploring a lesser known aspect of Satyajit Ray: The masterful filmmaker was also a science fiction enthusiast

Firstpost  

From founding the Sci-Fi Cine Club in Kolkata to plans to direct a Hollywood sci-fi film, and developing the character of Professor Shanku, Satyajit Ray enjoyed an almost umbilical connect with the science fiction genre. Satyajit Ray and his friend Adrish Bardhan brought to life the Sci-Fi Cine Club. Significantly, the Sci-Fi Cine Club was born even before movie great …

'Watching Satyajit Ray edit was where I learnt to be ruthless in doing away with flab in a film': son Sandip Ray
3 years, 4 months ago

'Watching Satyajit Ray edit was where I learnt to be ruthless in doing away with flab in a film': son Sandip Ray

Firstpost  

To celebrate the centenary year of Satyajit Ray, arguably the most remarkable filmmaker born on Indian soil, Firstpost will explore the lesser known aspects of his life. Sandip goes on to drive home that editing invariably turned out to be “an interactive session.” “While father was extremely charged during shooting, he was more relaxed while editing. When Dulal Uncle, who …

Satyajit Ray's documentaries: A mixed bag
3 years, 5 months ago

Satyajit Ray's documentaries: A mixed bag

The Hindu  

Between 1961 and 1987, Satyajit Ray directed five documentaries and six short films. In 1961, Ray observed the birth centenary of Rabindranath Tagore by making a documentary on the poet for the Films Division of the Government of India, and an omnibus feature film called Teen Kanya, which brought together three short films adapted from well-known Tagore short stories— Monihara, …

Satyajit Ray: Master adapter
3 years, 5 months ago

Satyajit Ray: Master adapter

The Hindu  

Satyajit Ray needs no introduction as a film-maker and a writer. The glorious abandoning of sense in Sukumar Ray’s Abol Tabol, the posthumous collection of his nonsense poems generally believed to have been inspired by Edward Lear, has delighted and enthralled generations of Bengali children. “Each word spoken in a play is like a fruit in a tree,” says a …

Unlikely colleagues: Satyajit Ray and Gaston Roberge
3 years, 5 months ago

Unlikely colleagues: Satyajit Ray and Gaston Roberge

The Hindu  

IT was a unique friendship that developed between a French-Canadian priest and one of the world’s greatest film directors, and had a singular impact on Bengali films both academically and practically. To Roberge, the greatest mark of Ray’s appreciation for him was that he often addressed the French-speaking priest in Bengali, “in spite of my lack of elegance in that …

‘Films are pre-Satyajit or post-Satyajit’: Shyam Benegal remembers Satyajit Ray
3 years, 5 months ago

‘Films are pre-Satyajit or post-Satyajit’: Shyam Benegal remembers Satyajit Ray

The Hindu  

Often the mostenduring bonds in life are forged on freak incidents. Back in Hyderabad, he formed a film society, and in 1959 organised a screening of Ray’s films, notably the trilogy of Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar. The illustrious film-maker was wrapping up Nayak when Benegal went to the sets of the film and Ray invited him to a …

Sharmila Tagore on working with Satyajit Ray
3 years, 5 months ago

Sharmila Tagore on working with Satyajit Ray

The Hindu  

The fans of Hindi cinemarememberher for Kashmir ki Kali, Aradhana and Amar Prem. Excerpts from an interview with Ziya Us Salam : When you signed up for ‘Apur Sansar’ with Satyajit Ray, you had barely entered teenage. As Ray proceeds to unfold the doom that is now Doya’s fate, Doya is treated in big close-ups, lit beautifully by Subrata Mitra, …

Film time, family time: Sandip Ray on Satyajit Ray
3 years, 5 months ago

Film time, family time: Sandip Ray on Satyajit Ray

The Hindu  

Sandip Ray announcedhis arrival as a film-maker with the release of Phatik Chand in 1983. Excerpts: When you were growing up, Satyajit Ray was publishing one classic story for children after another in ‘Sandesh’. A fairy tale for children You were 13 when Satyajit Ray made ‘Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne’ in 1969, at a time when there were not many …

Cinema, for Satyajit Ray, was all about salvation
3 years, 5 months ago

Cinema, for Satyajit Ray, was all about salvation

The Hindu  

Age and decrepitude failed to dismay him, as did the vicissitudes of the box office. As he recounts in My Adventures with Satyajit Ray: The Making of Shatranj ke Khilari : “My first film, Rajnigandha, based on the story ‘Yehi Sach Hai’ by Mannu Bhandari, turned out to be the sleeper hit of the year. It came with a warning: …

A Century of Satyajit Ray
3 years, 5 months ago

A Century of Satyajit Ray

The Hindu  

In 1987, while researching my biographySatyajit Ray: The Inner Eye, I received a letter from the American film director John Huston. In 1954, on a visit to India in search of film locations, in Calcutta Huston saw some silent rough cut of Ray’s first film, Pather Panchali —including Apu and Durga’s first sight of a steam train—shown to him by …

Celebrating Satyajit Ray
3 years, 5 months ago

Celebrating Satyajit Ray

The Hindu  

About three months ago, when this Special Issue dedicated to Satyajit Ray was just an idea, in an unRayesque coincidence as it were, an email landed in my inbox, offering the first ray of hope. Apart from writing the lead article, he has been of great help in taking the idea forward by sending me the text of his conversations …

Satyajit Ray's son Sandip says he's 'hearing both praises and criticisms' for Netflix series, is yet to watch it
3 years, 9 months ago

Satyajit Ray's son Sandip says he's 'hearing both praises and criticisms' for Netflix series, is yet to watch it

Hindustan Times  

Sandip Ray, the son of writer-director Satyajit Ray, has said that he hasn't yet seen the four-part Netflix anthology based on his father's short stories, but is aware of the mixed reception that it has received. Ray, created by Sayantan Mukherjee, features four films directed by Srijit Mukherji, Abhishek Chaubey, and Vasan Bala. Ray's four chapters include Srijit Mukherji's Bahupriya …

’Ray’ review: Manoj Bajpayee dazzles in this tribute to Satyajit Ray
3 years, 9 months ago

’Ray’ review: Manoj Bajpayee dazzles in this tribute to Satyajit Ray

Live Mint  

Satyajit Ray did everything. Abhishek Chaubey directs Bajpayee in Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, a Ghulam Ali-tinged adaptation of one of my most loved Ray stories, Barin Bhowmick’s Ailment. Much of Ray’s adventure takes place inside the hero’s head, something Chaubey handles brilliantly by letting Bajpayee not only talk to a mirror but to address an imaginary, admiring audience. Bala deviously …

Ray review: Netflix India's attempted love affair with Satyajit Ray is painfully one-note, sans any nuance
3 years, 9 months ago

Ray review: Netflix India's attempted love affair with Satyajit Ray is painfully one-note, sans any nuance

Firstpost  

In an attempt to intellectualise Satyajit Ray through a contemporary lens, Netflix India’s Ray completely alienates his humanism and effortlessness in portraying people’s vulnerabilities “I’ve written all types of stories, but I usually like to write about lonely people and things happening to them.” ~ Satyajit Ray. And thus begins Netflix’s attempted love affair with the auteur’s short stories in …

Srijit Mukherji on Adapting Satyajit Ray's Short Stories for Netflix: Expecting Backlash from Purists
3 years, 9 months ago

Srijit Mukherji on Adapting Satyajit Ray's Short Stories for Netflix: Expecting Backlash from Purists

News 18  

Srijit Mukherji started what can be termed as a new era in Bengali cinema when he debuted as a director with Autograph in 2010. The movie is a tribute to Satyajit Ray’s 1966 film Nayak and yesteryear Bengali actor Uttam Kumar, who portrayed the title role in the film. The new Netflix anthology series, called Ray, is Srijit’s first attempt …

'Went in with reverence, never held back what we wanted to express': Ray directors, cast on adapting Satyajit Ray's works
3 years, 9 months ago

'Went in with reverence, never held back what we wanted to express': Ray directors, cast on adapting Satyajit Ray's works

Firstpost  

Directors Srijit Mukherji and Vasan Bala, and actors Kay Kay Menon, Harshvardhan Kapoor, and Akansha Ranjan Kapoor open up about their fears of adapting well-known texts, humanising their characters, and how they married style and substance. Ray, Netflix India’s upcoming Original anthology series, is filmmaker Srijit Mukherji, Vasan Bala, and Abhishek Chaubey’s ode to the legendary auteur’s short stories. Director …

Ray on Netflix on June 25. Which Satyajit Ray stories inspired the Manoj Bajpayee and Ali Fazal series?
3 years, 9 months ago

Ray on Netflix on June 25. Which Satyajit Ray stories inspired the Manoj Bajpayee and Ali Fazal series?

India Today  

Netflix dropped the trailer of Ray, an anthology series which is helmed by Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukherji and Vasan Bala. The drama series is inspired by four of Satyajit Ray’s stories Spotlight, Bahurupi, Barin Bhowmik-er Byaram and Bipin Chowdhury'r Smritibhrom. FORGET ME NOT, INSPIRED BY BIPIN CHOWDHURY'R SMRITIBHROM If you have watched the trailer of Ray, you will be aware …

Ray Trailer OUT: Manoj Bajpayee, Ali Fazal starrer Netflix's anthology is intense and gripping
3 years, 9 months ago

Ray Trailer OUT: Manoj Bajpayee, Ali Fazal starrer Netflix's anthology is intense and gripping

India TV News  

The much-awaited trailer of Netflix's upcoming anthology series 'Ray', based on the stories of the legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray has finally been released. It features a stellar cast in Manoj Bajpayee, Fazal, Kay Kay Menon, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Radhika Madan, Basu Prasad, Anindita Bose, Gajraj Rao, and Bidita Bag, among others. The announcement of the trailer release was done by Ali …

Opinion | The perils of being Sandip Roy in Satyajit Ray’s city
4 years, 10 months ago

Opinion | The perils of being Sandip Roy in Satyajit Ray’s city

Live Mint  

It was Day 1 of the Great Indian Lockdown. Only later did it dawn on me that the poor journalist must have thought he was speaking to the other Sandip Ray, Satyajit Ray’s son. Later, I heard that someone in the audience was asking her companion, “Is that Satyajit Ray’s son?” Her companion, who was looking at me, clearly visible, …

This Satyajit Ray film deeply impacted KV Anand
5 years, 6 months ago

This Satyajit Ray film deeply impacted KV Anand

The Hindu  

KV Anand was a photojournalist before taking the plunge into the world of films. Jalsaghar I am a big fan of Satyajit Ray’s movies. Jalsaghar was one of Ray’s films that kept running in my head even after exiting the cinema hall. At a time when Tamil cinema gave in to a stereotypical portrayal of women, showing them as humble …

Remembering Satyajit Ray: An Incredible Storyteller
5 years, 11 months ago

Remembering Satyajit Ray: An Incredible Storyteller

India TV News  

Born in Calcutta, now Kolkata, Satyajit Ray was an Indian director famous for his perfection in the craft of filmmaking. Recognized as one of the masters of world cinema, Satyajit Ray made films in the Bengali language. Ray's other films like Charulata, Jalsaghar, Teen Kanya, Abhijan and so on introduced the parallel cinema in the 20th century. Apart from writing …

Srijit Mukherjee to direct web series based on Satyajit Ray's short stories
6 years, 10 months ago

Srijit Mukherjee to direct web series based on Satyajit Ray's short stories

India TV News  

National Award-winning director Srijit Mukherjee will helm a web series based on short stories by iconic filmmaker and writer Satyajit Ray. X Ray - Selected Satyajit Shorts, a 12-part web series, will be produced by Viacom 18's digital content arm, Tipping Point, along with Mukherji. Ray, known for his iconic films Pather Panchali and Charulata, also wrote several short stories …

Agantuk: Through Utpal Dutt's character, Satyajit Ray articulated his views on civilisation's illusory nature
7 years ago

Agantuk: Through Utpal Dutt's character, Satyajit Ray articulated his views on civilisation's illusory nature

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. In this column starting 25 June 2017, we discuss and dissect the films of Satyajit Ray, in a bid to understand what really makes him one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century. Utpal Dutt gives one of …

Apur Sansar: Satyajit Ray's famed Apu Trilogy ends with a fascinating study of love and loss
7 years ago

Apur Sansar: Satyajit Ray's famed Apu Trilogy ends with a fascinating study of love and loss

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. Satyajit Ray’s fascination with Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s immortal creation Apu lasted across three films, collectively known in the world of cinema as the Apu trilogy. As the beautiful Aparna — the vermillion dot on her forehead now slightly smudged — …

On Aparajito, Pather Panchali's successor and Satyajit Ray's commentary on new vs old
7 years ago

On Aparajito, Pather Panchali's successor and Satyajit Ray's commentary on new vs old

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. After the unprecedented popularity of his debut film Pather Panchali, the idea of filming a sequel began to emerge in Satyajit Ray’s mind. The fact that Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s novel of the same name had a sequel, and that it …

How Satyajit Ray made one of the greatest documentaries on the life and work of Rabindranath Tagore
7 years, 1 month ago

How Satyajit Ray made one of the greatest documentaries on the life and work of Rabindranath Tagore

Firstpost  

Satyjit Ray made as many as five films based on the short stories, novellas and novels written by Rabindranath Tagore — that’s the most number of times he has ever adapted any one writer’s work | #FirstCulture Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. Ray made …

Nayak: Easily one of Satyajit Ray’s most incisive and detailed studies of human nature
7 years, 2 months ago

Nayak: Easily one of Satyajit Ray’s most incisive and detailed studies of human nature

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. Told in free style, punctuated with the occasional humour and smart wit, running back and forth thanks to flashbacks and dream sequences, and taking its time to denude the protagonist of his external garb of casual indifference, Nayak is …

The Inner Eye: Satyajit Ray's portrait of the great artist Benode Behari Mukherjee
7 years, 3 months ago

The Inner Eye: Satyajit Ray's portrait of the great artist Benode Behari Mukherjee

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. It was at Shantiniketan that Ray met the eminent artist Benode Behari Mukherjee, who was a member of the faculty there. Benode Behari was severely myopic in one eye and blind in the other, but despite his physical handicap, …

Ghare Baire: A rare Satyajit Ray film which is not just weak, but also a tragic loss of opportunity
7 years, 4 months ago

Ghare Baire: A rare Satyajit Ray film which is not just weak, but also a tragic loss of opportunity

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. And finally, there’s Nikhilesh’s friend Sandip Mukherjee — a charismatic revolutionary waging war against British rule in India through the Swadeshi movement. More than anything else, Ghare Baire is perhaps the first film in which Ray seemed to have …

Chiriyakhana: Satyajit Ray's take on detective Byomkesh Bakshi was possibly his worst film
7 years, 4 months ago

Chiriyakhana: Satyajit Ray's take on detective Byomkesh Bakshi was possibly his worst film

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. But those unfamiliar with Ray’s filmography probably may not know that he had also made a film on the other popular sleuth of Bengal — detective Byomkesh Bakshi. While all the ingredients seemed to be in the right place …

My Adventures with Satyajit Ray: The Making of Shatranj Ke Khilari is a must-read for movie lovers
7 years, 4 months ago

My Adventures with Satyajit Ray: The Making of Shatranj Ke Khilari is a must-read for movie lovers

Firstpost  

Amongst other things, filmmaking suffers from a debased tradition where egos of people big or small often stand in the way of something ordinary translating into great art. But his greatest achievement undoubtedly is Shatranj Ke Khilari, which was Satyajit Ray’s only Hindi film. While there have many books about the making of great films such as Casablanca, Citizen Cane …

Sadgati: Based on Premchand’s story, Satyajit Ray took a scathing look at the tragic lives of untouchables
7 years, 5 months ago

Sadgati: Based on Premchand’s story, Satyajit Ray took a scathing look at the tragic lives of untouchables

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. In order to have the almanacs read and an auspicious date and time announced for the marriage, Dukhi goes to the village priest’s house and invites him back to his hut. When the brahmin priest reprimands him for not …

Devi: Satyajit Ray's commentary against blind belief, and the elevation of religion over reason, logic
7 years, 6 months ago

Devi: Satyajit Ray's commentary against blind belief, and the elevation of religion over reason, logic

Firstpost  

Editor’s note: In a prolific career spanning nearly four decades, Satyajit Ray directed 36 films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. But since Tagore himself was a Brahmo, he consciously refrained from making a comment on the subject and instead asked one of his contemporaries, Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay — a Hindu Brahmin, and a free-thinking individual at the same time …

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