'Indian audience is backward': Satyajit Ray's old interview - Page 2

He has right to. They deserve it. He is an Oscar winner and got a doctorate from Oxford for his contribution to cinema.

He won National awards. Phalke award.

He does have credentials to criticise those who do not understand his films or attacked him personally in name of religion if he made a film against religious dogmatism.

His words still hold true.

It says a lot when crap like Ekta Kapoor is queen of Indian TV while good shows do not even get aired. I bet if he was alive today he would bash audience even more.

Originally posted by: atominis

It says a lot when crap like Ekta Kapoor is queen of Indian TV while good shows do not even get aired. I bet if he was alive today he would bash audience even more.

Originally posted by: atominis

Funny that Nargis accused him of selling poverty while she herself did Mother India which is her most iconic film.

Has she not played poor villager or street kid roles? Her Raj Kapoor was also mostly playing poor guy roles.

Anyway, I do agree Indian audience likes mostly commercial drama or fluffy stuff, masala, candy floss and lacks understanding of finer nuances of craft, technical finesse, story telling.

Even likes of Ramanand Sagar and BR Chopra received threat letters from over zealous lot threatening them against showing controversial portions like cheerharan of Draupadi or banishment of Sita and her agnipariksha - way before episodes went on air. So Ray's comments on lack of creative freedom and Indians always ready to take offense are also true.

Yup... I mean "The last temptation of the Christ" was banned in India not in the West

India under Rajiv Gandhi was the first country to ban Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Versus'

Go figure!

Like the ones YRF TV tried with Powder, Mahi Way etc almost a decade ago or so. Or Star One had good concepts like legal thriller named Siddhant, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. But the whole channel shut down due to lack of TRPs and YRF shows also went off air and Sony went back to Ekta serials.

I know right. Amu was banned. Shooting of Water was disrupted and it was banned in India. Fire was banned.

Gadar, Bombay faced protests for showing interfaith marriage.

And Sikhs did not allow release of Nanak Shah Fakir because they did not allow anyone else to act like or dress like Guru Nanak or dub for Guru Nanak.

India is not a conducive environment at all for academics or writers or artists or filmmakers.

When I read even Chopras and Sagars got hatemail for Ramayan and Mahabharat, I thought Indians are beyond help.

Originally posted by: atominis

Like the ones YRF TV tried with Powder, Mahi Way etc almost a decade ago or so. Or Star One had good concepts like legal thriller named Siddhant, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. But the whole channel shut down due to lack of TRPs and YRF shows also went off air and Sony went back to Ekta serials.

Originally posted by: Maroonporsche

they should make teen dramas in India

Why? You think Indian TV viewers like teen shows?

Originally posted by: BettyA1

Why? You think Indian TV viewers like teen shows?

Nargis criticizing Ray's films is laughable

Her films and Raj Kapoor's films GLAMORIZED poverty. Which is worse? Depicting reality as harsh? Or selling it as romance to make a buck?

Gimme a break. People objecting to portrayal of poverty should perhaps do something about it instead of whining about movies they weren't asked to be part of.

Opinion: Nargis had a case of the sour grapes on behalf of her lover. Raj Kapoor's movies never won the same acclaim Ray's did despite Raj clearly considering himself some kind of genius.

Originally posted by: Maroonporsche

perhaps they would. They have the best content

Don't remember ever hearing teen shows and good content mentioned in the same sentence together 🤷‍♀️