A marked shift in realising this moral decay on screen is apparent from
Aranyer Din Ratri to his Calcutta trilogy
Pratidwandi,
Jana Aranya. In
Pratidwandi, Dhritiman Chatterjee’s Siddhartha declares that he doesn’t want to leave Kolkata, no matter that he is unemployed, with his mind unable to find an ideological footing. The film coincided with the Naxalite movement that began in Bengal, with the caste system and land rights at its root.
Still from ‘Pratidwandi’.
It’s no coincidence that the trilogy charted the course of Indira Gandhi’s India as it inched towards Emergency, creating a swelling anger at the state. Ray’s films still focused on capturing the Bengali Brahmin’s, or more importantly, India’s ruling class’s frustration with itself and the country. The trilogy’s protagonists Siddhartha in
Follow us on
FROM TOI PRINT EDITION
‘People outside Bengal know Satyajit Ray only for his cinema … We will highlight other sides of him with touring exhibits’ May 5, 2021, 7:33 AM IST
Filmmaker
Sandip Ray was an apprentice to his father even before he knew it. Satyajit Ray made sure his little boy was around when he shot his films starting from the first masterpiece Pather Panchali, to the last one, Agantuk. Sandip spoke to
Mohua Chatterjee on the grand plans to celebrate the master’s 100th birthday on May 2 that have now been delayed:
What were the Satyajit Ray centenary celebration plans and what do you do now?
I Once upon a time – actually nobody no longer remembers when – Ramshundar Deb was born in Chakdah village in today's Nadia district in West Bengal. His birthplace was not too far away from Darshana, in today's Bangladesh. One day, Ramshundar decided to leave Chakdah in search of fortune. He travelled to the East and settled in Jashodal, which was a part of the then Mymensingh
Crisp tales: The beauty of Satyajit Ray’s prose lay in its lucidity×
On his 100th birth anniversary, a diehard fan and translator of Satyajit Ray’s stories recalls the man and his work So, I grew up worshipping Satyajit Ray; my friends teased me mercilessly about what they called my Rayomania We arrived at his doorstep one morning without an appointment, shaking like leaves in autumn In 2008 I received a call from the then editor-in-chief of Penguin India office, suggesting that I translate Ray’s wife Bijoya’s memoirs
Amader kotha (Manik & I)
“If you had different parents, you would have been different, too,” the author Lila Majumdar told her nephew, Satyajit Ray, while dedicating to him the biography she had written about his father a much-loved author of humorous verse and books for children. These words, penned almost 50 years ago, are telling. Because, for me at least, it all started with Ray’s father and grandfather.
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.