- Martin Scorsese ‘‘Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’’ - Akira Kurosawa One is an American master and the maker of timeless Hollywood classics like ‘Taxi Driver’ or ‘Goodfellas,’ the other the Japanese auteur who is regarded as one of the most influential filmmakers of the 20th century. The sense of respect and admiration for Ray, the man who was responsible for taking Indian cinema to the global audience, was one of the few factors they would have had in common. It’s a pity that the Covid-19 pandemic, like so many other things in our lives, have deprived his family and Kolkata - his own city - from celebrating his 100th birth anniversary on Sunday (May 2). The fact that it’s also the day for counting of votes after a volatile, protracted assembly elections in West Bengal over March-April, means the opportunities for his retrospectives, appraisals in TV talk shows and what have you - will have to wait.