Apu in Pather Panchali. Photo: Collected from Satyajitray.org.
The film s memorable six-minute dance sequence by a group of ghosts, Bhooter Nach , made history by using special effects at a time when it was unheard of in Indian cinema. It was shot using a stop-motion effect in combination with a watery reel. As the dance appealed hugely to children, it also represented class dynamics in Bengal. Hirak Rajar Deshe , the sequel to Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne , came out in 1980. It was another hit film filled with coded messages, musical elements, inspirational dialogues and quirky scenes, making it a favourite among both children and adults.
Bhaswati Chakravorty | | Published 01.05.21, 02:54 AM
On a day almost lost now in the mists of time, I started going to college. One of the memories of that first, disorienting day is my startled amusement at a two-syllable word meaning, approximately, ‘useless’, written on the back of a marble bust of a former principal. The bust was placed with its unfortunate back visible when one turned on the first-floor landing; its position left me wondering for the rest of my life about the acrobat with the perfect lettering. (I prefer that to the simpler explanation of the bust having been brought there from somewhere else.) I did not associate it with the years of violence, statue-breaking and tragedy that preceded our entry into college maybe I should have but it gave me a sense of history happening in spite of the cold whiteness of marble.