Movie & Music Director: Satyajit Ray - Page 3

His Films

Pather Panchali

The story revolves around a poor Brahmin family in early years of the century in Bengal. The father, Harihara, is a priest who is unable to make ends meet to keep his family together. The mother, Sarbajaya, has the chief responsibility for raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for her elderly aunt Indir, who is a distant relative and who's independent spirit sometimes irritates her. With the arrival of Apu in the family, scenes of happiness and play enrich their daily life.
Life, however, is a struggle so Harihara has to find a new job and departs, leaving Sarbojaya alone to deal with the stress of this family's survival, Durga's illness and the turbulence of the monsoon. The final disaster, Durga's death causes the family to leave their village in search of a new life in Benares.
Inspite of poverty and death the film leaves one not depressed but moved, filled with the beauty, and subtle radiance of life. The film suggests an intimate relationship between loss and growth or destruction and creation.
Ray's comment on this film: "It is true. For one year I was trying to sell the scenario, to peddle it...since nobody would buy it, I decided to start anyway, because we wanted some footage to prove that we were not incapable of making films. So I got some money against my insurance policies. We started shooting, and the fund ran out very soon. Then I sold some art books, some records and some of my wife's jewelry. Little trickles of money came, and part of the salary I was earning as art director. All we had to spend on was raw stock, hire of a camera and our conveniences, transport and so on......I had nothing more to pawn". The original negative of this film was lost in a film fire.

APARAJITO

This film dramatizes the death of Apu's father and mother and Apu's own growth into manhood and independence. Set in 1920, the family is living in Benares, where the father reads the scriptures to an audience of widows. They live in a small house in the city. Afflicted with old age and illness , he dies while on the ghats of Benaras. Sabajaya, is left alone to fend for herself and Apu. She decides to return to live in the country and becomes a cook in a 'zamindar's' house. She wants Apu to become a priest, but he wants to go to school. She makes sacrifices so that he might pursue his studies. Apu, having won a scholarship, departs for Calcutta, leaving her alone. When he returns to the country to see her, he is bored and can't wait to leave again. Sabajaya falls ill and Apu, delayed by his exams, arrives too late. He departs again for Calcutta, sad but free.
Ray said about this film:" I was not able to achieve more than 60 percent of what the script demanded..(one of the reasons) being a peculiarly technical one. A camera had just come...and it jammed frequently during the shooting in Benaras. It became impossible to do more than one take of of a scene... And then we had to rush through the editing stage..because the date of release was getting near. Another problem was that Ravi Shankar should have composed half as much music than he did. There are blank moments as a result. But I find the psychological aspect--the relationship between a growing Apu and his mother--very successful."

PARAS PATHAR

In this satirical film, Paresh, an unimportant clerk at a bank, sees his life transformed one day when a neighbor child shows him a stone which he claims is capable of instantly changing any piece of metal into gold. Incredulous at first, Paresh becomes convinced by a demonstration of the stone's power and manages to make off with it. Soon he is wealthy and takes pains to preserve the secret of his riches until, drunkenly loquacious, he reveals it during a party at the home of an industrial magnate. The industrialist covets the stone and demands to be let in on its magic formula. This causes a series of calamities that make Paresh regret his acquisition.

JALSAGHAR

The action occurs in a palace in Nimitia, in Bengal, at the beginning of the century. On his terrace, smoking a hookah, the zamindar has his memory stirred by the sound of some music from the coming of age ceremony of his neighbor's son. He recalls his own son's initiation and the recitals in his salon to which he invited the finest musicians, the most beautiful singers, the greatest dancers. Now his wife and his son are dead and his status as an important landowner has declined. Goaded by his neighbor, an arrogant pretender who boasts of his taste in music, the zamindar opens his salon once again and ruins himself with a final recital. He savors the music. He savors his victory and toasts his ancestors. At dawn, he departs on his horse and leaves this elegant world behind. The original negative of this film was lost in a film fire. This film has been, often, called the most tender love story ever produced. The film describes Apu's marriage, the loss of his beloved wife, his descent into deep depression and his eventual regeneration through the love of his son and Pulu. the love of his son and Pulu. Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago

APUR SANSAR

The story begins in Calcutta, around 1930. Apu has to give up the pursuit of his studies and looks for work, but without success. He is writing a novel based on his life. His friend Pulu, who is from a well-to-do background, proposes a stay in the country with his family. Obliged to attend a wedding, Apu unexpectedly becomes the groom. Initially his young wife is depressed by his poverty and but accepts her new life and the realities of town-life with dignity and courage. Pregnant, she departs to be with her family, but dies while bringing her child into the world. Apu, who blames the infant for its mother's death, refuses to see it and leaves the child to grow-up in his grandparent's house. At last he gives up his novel and goes to meet his son in an attempts to come to grips with his loss.
Reunited, the two of them leave for Calcutta. The original negative of this film was lost in a film fire. Ray: "I particularly wanted new faces for Apu, his wife Aparna, his five-year-old-son Kajal and his friend Pulu...When I was looking for a character to play the adolescent Apu in Aparajito among the young men who came to see me was Soumitra Chatterjee. Soumitra had the right look, but was too old for adolescent Apu. This time I sent for him and offered him the lead role... Soumitra..went on to become the most sought after actor in Bengal. It was, however, not easy to find Aparna. Sharmila had appeared in a dance recital for the Children's Little Theater.... She was only thirteen years old but now looked about four years older(in a red-striped sari)....Sharmila made an extremely successful career for herself in Bombay [subsequently]."

DEBI

The action takes place in 1860 at Chandipur, in Bengal, in a rural setting. Kalikinkar, the master of the house and local zamindar, has a revelation during a dream: his daughter-in-law Doyamoyee has manifested herself to him as an incarnation of the goddess Kali. Installed in the family temple, she cures the sick child of an itinerant man who seeks her help. Her husband Umaprasad, who has received a western-based education at a Calcutta university, finds himself dispossessed of his wife who has become a "goddess." In a critical scene, Umaprasad attacks tradition and tries to reason with his father, although unsuccessfully. The cure seems a miracle which demonstrates the truth of the traditional beliefs, and a crowd of worshippers comes to venerate her. Doyamoyee's beloved nephew, the child Khoka, falls ill. He is placed in the care of his aunt, but she is unable to save him. His death shatters her and she is overwhelmed by madness.

TEEN KANYA

PostMaster: Newly arrived from Calcutta, Nandalal takes a position as the Postmaster of a tiny rural village in Bengal. He has for his servant Ratan, a young orphan girl. She is illiterate, but he teaches her how to read and write. When Nandalal falls ill, Ratan nurses him back to health. Nonetheless, he dreams of returning to Calcutta. He gets ready to leave, oblivious to how attached to him Ratan has become. The narrative concludes with his departure, in which he is forced to confront his misunderstanding of Ratan's feelings when she snubs him.
Monihara: Near a sumptuous mansion, now abandoned, the village schoolteacher recounts the history of a book he holds in his hand to a man seated on the stairs, concealed under a shawl. It seems that the house was formerly inhabited by a man whose wife had a consuming passion for jewels, which led to their ruin. After having listened to the tale, the man points out some errors in it; his authority comes from the fact that he is the husband's ghost.
Samapti: Returning from Calcutta after passing his exams, Amulya spends a few days with his mother, who has arranged for him to marry the daughter of a respectable family. The son resists and, in order to forestall the marriage, suggests a different bride: Mrinmoyee, a mischievous and contrary adolescent girl whose family has lost their home. The mother finally gives in. After a difficult wedding night, Amulya, instead of facing his new circumstances, hastily goes back to Calcutta. Realizing the nature of the situation, his mother pretends to be sick in order to bring him back for a more responsible reunion.

KANCHENJUNGA

A wealthy family of Calcutta's industrial bourgeoisie is vacationing in Darjeeling, at the foot of Mt. Kanchenjunga, the second highest peak of the Himalayas. The family members are dominated by the figure of the father, Indranath, who expects all of them to obey his will. Several long walks, embellished by long conversations, sow various seeds of crisis into the family's midst: for example, a couple breaks up when the younger daughter rejects the staid, respectable engineer her father wants her to marry. Instead, she seems attracted to Asok, a young student of modest means who has the nerve to refuse the job that the elderly Indranath offers him.

ABHIJAAN

Abhijaan was one of the most popular films (in Bengal) Ray has produced : a 'conscious' effort to communicate with a wider audience. The project was originally one that his friends had conceived. Ray stepped in when his friends panicked at the prospect of directing. It was Ray's mastery that turned this "conventional" plot from a stark to a subtly nuanced story. The theme of the film is the attempt to 'buy' over an honest but impoverished young man by a financially sucessful middle-aged businessman. The action takes place in Bihar (northwest of Bengal), around 1930. Narsingh, a proud and hot tempered rajput (originally from Rajastan), is a taxi driver with a passion for his vehicle. His license is taken away as he races a government official, but Sukhanram, a shady merchant, offers him a handsome fee to transport some merchandise. Narsingh, thus, finds himself drawn against his better judgement into trafficking in opium. The two main female characters Neeli and Gulabi form a contrast. Narasingh has asoft spot for Neeli who is a strong, reserved Catholic schoolmistress, and has no interest in him. The other female character is beautiful Gulabi who has been forced into prostitution by circumstances. Narasingh falls in love with Gulabi for her basic values. In the end he redeems both himself and Gulabi and proves that that every rule has an exception.

Mahanagar

Subrata Mazumdar, an unassuming employee of a bank in Calcutta, has problems providing for the needs of his family. Against established custom and the reproofs of her father-in-law, a retired professor, his wife Arati looks for a job. She finds work selling sewing machines door-to-door. When she proves successful in her work and gains untraditional self-confidence, her husband is unable to accept the situation and would love for her to quit. As the result of a crisis at the bank, however, he loses his job and his wife's work becomes even more essential. Arati establishes a friendship with a colleague, an Anglo-Indian woman, and takes her side when she is unjustly punished by their boss. On the strength of her convictions, Arati is willing to sacrifice her own job and her family's needs as an expression of solidarity with her friend. The film ends with a more equal re-alignment of the relationship between Arati and her husband.

Charulata

The location is Calcutta, around 1880. Bhupati, who edits and publishes in his home a political newspaper called The Sentinel, is persuaded that his wife Charulata has special gifts as a writer. When his young cousin (the relationship is considered to be equivalent to Charu's brother-in-law) Amal, comes to live with them, Bhupati asks him to encourage her cultural interests, but in such a way that she remains unaware of her husband's intervention in setting up their encounter. An increasingly intimate relationship develops between Charulata and Amal: one based on complicity, friendship, writing, and eventually love. Meanwhile, the bookkeeper of The Sentinel, another family member, embezzles the funds supporting the paper and destroys Bhupati's hopes for his enterprise. All he has left is the trust he has placed in Charulata and Amal, which has been compromised by their feelings for each other.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago

Kapurush O Mahapurush (The Coward and the Holy Man)

Amitabh, a scriptwriter of commercial films, drives in the country, scouting for locations. When his vehicle breaks down, he is taken in by a tea planter whose wife is Karuna, a woman whom he had formerly loved but whom he was unable or unwilling to take care of. In those days he was a poor student, uncomfortable with his involvement with this woman from a well-off family; just as she had made up her mind to accept his situation and bravely confront her family's disapproval, he left her. Now that he has become successful on his own, Amitabh would love for Karuna to leave her husband and live with him. He arranges a rendezvous at the train station.

Nayak

When all the flights are booked, Arindan, a star of Bengali films, is forced to take the train from Calcutta to New Delhi in order to receive an award. Habituated to admiring crowds around him it is a young journalist, Aditi, who engages his attention. Lucidly, and critical of the function of a star, she interrogates him and compels him to re-examine his life. Through the bond that develops between them, the hero reviews his actor's life, his moments of strength and moments of crisis, and is again stricken by doubt. In the end, the journalist chooses to suppress the confidences he has revealed in order to allow him to preserve his public image.

Chiriakhana

Ray made this film, like Abhijaan before this to his assistants who conceived of the initial idea. He had almost no input in the choice of the story and casting. However he agreed to direct the film when the producers insisted on inclusion of Ray himself.
The director of a retirement home calls in a private detective, Byomkesh, to investigate one of his residents, a former film star. While delivering some new information on the phone, the director is assassinated. A witness, a deaf-mute, is a witness. He is killed in turn when he writes down what he has seen.
Ray, though pleased with the final result, was aware that "the vital clue is a matter of semantics which is untranslatable". In addition he thoufg it might be too subtle and introspective for the wider audiences. "Certainly not for Bond-addicts!" he said. Therefore it is not surprising that few have seen this film outside Bengal.

Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

The action occurs in an imaginary land. Goopy the singer and Bagha the drummer are untalented musicians whose playing provokes as much ridicule from the peasants as it does contempt from the king. The only audience they manage to charm is the ghosts. Wearing magic sandals, they arrive in the kingdom of Shundi where, to everyone's amazement, the ruler admires their music. Meanwhile, the king of the neighboring realm of Halla, who is the twin brother of the king of Shundi, wants to declare war. Goopy and Bagha do everything in their power to dissuade him, and finally it is their singing that demobilizes the troops at the last moment. Reconciled, the twin brothers offer to reward Goopy and Bagha with their daughters in marriage.

Aranyer Din Ratri

Four friends from Calcutta who have very different personalities make a holiday excursion into the country, to a tiny village in the state of Bihar where they set themselves up in a bungalow. A series of minor events, all connected to their respective reactions to their new environment, reveals their characters more deeply. Displaced from their customary sense of social rules, they engage Lakha as a servant until the day when Hari, having lost his wallet, accuses him of stealing it, strikes him, and sends him away. They meet a beautiful local woman, Duli. When Hari uses for some fast sex, Lakha ambushes him in revenge. The others become very friendly with two young women from the neighborhood who live on a comfortable estate. The inhibited Sanjoy does not dare to respond to Jaya's interest while Aparna leaves Asim after giving him her address on a five-rupee note. The friends depart again for the city, pretending to be unaffected by their experiences.
Referred to as 'Ray's Mozartian masterpeice' for its emotional complexity and delicate balancing of responses, this film proves, definitively, Ray's affinity with Mozart. The original negative of this film was lost in a film fire.

Pratidwandi (The Adversary)

Sidhartha, a medical student, feels he must discontinue his studies following the death of his father. He looks for a job and has to submit to a formal interviews requiring that the candidate be examined by a committee on questions of general culture. He realizes that he lacks the all important element of backing. Somewhat mentally disoriented, wandering in a Calcutta shocked by intense political upheaval and revolutionary violence, he ends by accepting a medical sales position, away from the city and the girl he loves.

Seema Baddha

Syamal, sales director of an English firm in Calcutta which manufactures ventilators, aspires to win the job of company director but must compete with a colleague who is manoeuvering to get the position for himself. His sister-in-law Sudarsana arrives to spend a few days with them. She remembers having been jealous of her sister's marriage, something Syamal appears not to have forgotten. In order to cover up his company's problems meeting a production deadline, Syamal resorts to provoking a strike at the factory and, in the end, obtains the coveted directorship. His machinations are observed by Sudarsana who, unlike her sister, gains clear insight into the personality of her brother-in-law.

Ashani Sanket

The action, which occurs in a tiny village in 1943, during World War II, is based on the man-made famine that caused the deaths of five million inhabitants of Colonial Bengal.
Gangacharan, a Brahmin recently settled in the village with his wife Ananga, decides to start a school in exchange for being supported by the villagers. Airplanes disturb the peaceful sky, a metaphor for the disruption of traditional life of the villagers by War in Europe. It causes the price of rice to increase rapidly. This causes hardship for and rioting by the villagers and hording of grain by merchants. Gangacharan, shrewd, manages to initially, keep himself supplied with food in exchange for his services. However conditions begin to deteriorate rapidly. Anaga is molested while hunting for edible roots in the lush forest, highlighting the irony of the situation : there is no drought and the fields have produced a good harvest that season. The film ends with Anaga telling Ganga about her pregnency as a deluge of starving humanity approaches toward them.

Sonar Kella

A parapsychologist discovers that the drawings of the child Mukul represent scenes from a former life. It emerges that everything had taken place in a fortress, where the boy's father had worked as a gem cutter. The child is led to places in Rajastan where such an environment might be found. Alerted to this strange phenomenon by newspaper reports, some bandits kidnap the boy. The detective Feluda is engaged, along with his assistant Tapesh, to recover the child.

Jana Aranya

Somnath, a student, ends up absurdly failing his exams when the grader, without his glasses, is unable to decipher his miniscule writing. He gives up his studies, looks for a job, and decides to launch himself on a career in business. He becomes an independent salesman, paid on commission, to the great despair of his father, a descendant of a noble caste who considers engaging in commerce to be supremely disgraceful to the family reputation. As part of his business dealings, Somnath discovers the expedient value of corrupt practices. After lengthy hesitation, he agrees to provide a prostitute who is none other than the sister of his best friend from school in order to obtain a contract. He says nothing about all this to his father, who may to some extent only be pretending to be ignorant of what is being concealed from him.

Shatranj Ke Khiladi

The action takes place in 1856, in Lucknow, capital of the moslem kingdom of Oudh. The king Wajid Ali Shah, who prefers to devote himself to the pleasures of art instead of submitting to the subterfuges and stakes of politics. He dedicates his time, sequestered in his palace, to poetry and to recitals of music and dance. The English Company of India, which is strengthening its grip on the country (in 1858 the British crown would directly take over control of the government), charges general Outtram with dethroning the king, who eventually abdicates without a fight. Parallel to this, two aristocrats ravenously indulge their passion for chess while neglecting everything else, beginning with their respective wives. We first see them playing chess in their houses, and they end up playing outdoors, without having noticed the historic changes ocurring under their noses.
Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago

Joi Baba Felunath (1978)

The action is set in Benares. The owner of a statuette of Ganesh (the elephant god) is mystified when he receives an offer to purchase the figurine for a price exceeding what would seem to be its reasonable value on the art market. Why should the object be so desirable? Soon afterwards the statuette is stolen, but the detective Feludawith his indispensible companion Tapesh at his side, and with the help of a writer, an author of novels for childrenattempts to unravel the mystery. A reading of Tintin in the Congo, among other things, turns out to be a great help to them.

Hirak Rajar Dese (The Kingdom of Diamonds) 1980

This film is the sequel to The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha. Ten years have passed in the kingdom of Shundi. Our two heroes have married the princesses and each has a child, but they have become bored with their lives. An invitation arrives from the Kingdom of Diamonds, inspiring them to pay a visit to that land. The ruler there behaves despotically, bleeding his people with taxes and exploiting them in his diamond mine; he wants a scientist to build him a brainwashing machine. A professor, Udayan, tries to incite the people to rise up against this tyrant, but the king closes the schools as the machine invented by the scientist begins to work. In the midst of all this, Goopy and Bagha meet the professor and join forces with him in order to liberate the populace from their oppressor.

Pikoo 1980

This film presents a day in the life of a six year old child in Calcutta, who lives shut up in the family home, insulated from the city by a park. The father is away at work. The grandfather is alone in his room, ill and confined to his bed. The mother receives her lover. The child attempts to amuse himself, registers everything in silence before hiding out in the garden where he begins to make drawings of the various flowers. The film ends with his question, addressed to his mother, in the arms of her lover: "Shall I use black crayon to draw a white flower?"

Sadgati (Deliverance) 1981

A peasant, one of the Untouchable caste, carries out some odd jobs for a rich landowner, an influential man who gives advice to the villagers on important matters. The man orders the peasant to chop up a large tree trunk with an axe. Working in full sun, hungry and malnourished, the man dies while doing the job and his corpse remains stretched out on the road used by the villagers. What can be done with this cadaver that no one will touch? Night comes; shielded from view, the landowner sets himself to drag the body by a rope to a public charnel ground.

Ghare Baire (The Home and the World) 1984

The action occurs in 1905, in the period in which Great Britain, represented by Lord Curzon, decided the partition of Bengal in order to separate the Hindus and Moslems. The populace mobilized against this project in the nationalist movement known as swadeshi, which called for a boycott of foreign made goods, and in an insurrection which was subsequently suppressed. In this turbulent context, a bourgeois couple, Nikhil and Bimala, who have remained faithful to the ideals of the Bengal Renaissance, receive in their home a friend, Sandip, a vehement anti-English nationalist. Encouraged by her husband to be a "modern" woman, Bimala is seduced by Sandip, before gradually recognizing the duplicity of his motives and behavior.
In this film, as well as in Devi (The Goddess, 1960) and Charulata (The Lonely Wife, 1964), Ray explores the cultural emergence of the idea of the "modern woman" in the upper class of colonial India, showing with striking sensitivity the pressures this new ideal placed on individual women whose self-identities were also molded by traditional expectations.

Ganashatru (An Enemy of the People) 1989

This film is an adaptation of the play by Henrik Ibsen. The action occurs in Chandipur, in Bengal, in the same place where the events of Devi unfolded. Dr. Gupta, a general practitioner, is personally convinced that the holy water of the temple is the source of the epidemic that is rampant in the region. He warns his brother Nisith, a city official, who refuses to close the temple in order to repair the water mains. Bhargava, the businessman who had the temple built, backs Nisith. Dr. Gupta wants to write an article in order to alert the populace to the dangers of contamination. Fearing adverse public opinion, the editor rejects it. The doctor organizes a meeting, which is sabotaged. He is decreed a heretic and a public enemy.

Shakha Proshakha (Branches of a Tree) 1990

Ananda Majumdar, a wealthy, retired industrialist, is stricken by an illness during a ceremony in honor of his seventieth birthday. Members of his family (his three sons) rush immediately at his bedside. There they find Proshanto, the fourth son, who lives with his father. Proshanto spends his time listening to music and is considered to be the family failure. The two eldest sons, involved in business, live corrupt lives and do not want their father, an uncompromising moralist who believes in work and honesty, to find out. The youngest of the four, weary of office life, would love to become an actor. A family meal and a picnic accentuate the tensions.

Agantuk (The Stranger) 1991

A long-lost uncle, a stranger to the family who has almost been given up for dead, signals his existence in a letter expressing his desire to spend a few days in Calcutta with his niece. Driven by the suspicions of the husband, the family thinks he might be an impostor, if not a common thief, who may have come to claim an inheritance. The uncle, a world traveller, is put to the test by various 'bhadralok' friends who try to probe him: is he really the uncle or only pretending to be him? When questioned by a lawyer friend, the uncle shows legal acumen in defending himself. The niece's little boy has accepted the uncle from the start. The niece also gradually comes to accept him, whereas her husband, like everyone else, cannot understand this mysterious visitor. The uncle departs as abruptly as he arrived, leaving some wise observations on the qualities of "civilization" and human nature.
An emotionally charged film, Ray literally, plants his own voice in it. He briefly sings three times in place of the enunciator-protagonist. The film voices his global concerns; against narrowness of all sorts, against boundaries, borders and barriersEdited by Qwest - 17 years ago

N.Y. TIMES REVIEW | Teen Kanya

More On 'Teen Kanya'

Screen: India's Poetry by Satyajit Ray:He Echoes His Trilogy in 'Two Daughters' By BOSLEY CROWTHER Published: May 1, 1963 ANOTHER exquisite motion picture embracing the timeless flow of life in India has rolled from the eloquent camera of the protean Satyajit Ray, and in every respect it tinkles echoes of his classic "Apu" trilogy. "Two Daughters," a pair of vignettes adapted from stories by Rabindranath Tagore, the poet and 1913 Nobel Prize winner, opened yesterday at Cinema II. Like the previous pictures produced and directed by Mr. Ray, it penetrates the surface of Indian culture to touch the universal heart of man. Although the first vignette, called "The Postmaster," is the shorter and is considerably more simple and unassuming in character and plot, it conveys such a wealth of revelation and understanding with its few dramatic strokes that it stands as a thing of full expression, a cinematic gem. It merely recounts the experience of a timid, benign young man who comes from the great city of Calcutta to be the new postmaster in a poor village in the interior. There he inherits as his housekeeper a 10- or 12-year-old orphan girl. More to keep busy than to improve the child, he offers to teach her to read and write. His consideration completely overwhelms the little thing. He is moving along in this routine when a bout with malaria adds to the anxieties that make him want to leave. The child doesn't know his intention until the day he is to depart, and then its significance hits her. The final scene between the two generates such simple but profound emotion that it pierces the heart. Seldom have I felt so regretful at taking leave of a character in a film. Beautiful as the youngster is little Chandana Bannerjee. A wistful, chipmunklike creature, she has the large, expressive eyes of the Indian child and an utterly magical gift for projecting feeling. Anil Chatterjee is soft and genial as the pathetic young man. The second vignette, "The Conclusion," is reminiscent of the discovery of village character and custom in "The World of Apu," the last film of Mr. Ray's trilogy. It tells of a college student who returns to his village on vacation and becomes involved in a matrimonial venture both humorous and sad. Here the authority of the mother, the desire for community respect, the lethargy of the Indian nature and the timidity of the young toward sex are wonderfully, simply illuminated in the remarkably detailed but economical graphic style of Mr. Ray. The psychic experience of the young hero is as pregnant and recognizable as the throb of life itself. Soumitra Chatterjee, who played the young husband and widower in "The World of Apu," is excellent as the young man. As the girl he weds, Aparna Das Gupta is lovely and volatile. The script, the direction and the music, all created by Mr. Ray, make a blend of poetic creation that is almost majestic. As in all of his pictures, the rhythm is slow and serene; the mood and the spirit are quite different from what we ordinarily get in American films. But these are marks of its distinction. They make for a rare experience that should be much enjoyed. worldlings, is now contemporary Japan, where the demented hero circulates among villagers troubled by his eerie candor and selflessness. Some viewers may at first wonder just what is going on (and "first," remember, is the length of one feature film). The very subtitles are as splintery and confusing as the incidents, as Mr. Mori sweetly pries a fallen woman from two enraged suitors and attracts a virtuous young girl. That, at least, is what it looks like as the scenes tumble and scatter pell-mell and, as the strong-faced actors examine one another soulfully. Add a strictly Occidental musical score, complete With "heavenly" voices, Grieg, Mussorgsky and "The Anniversary Waltz." Part 1 also contains, in a torchlighted ice carnival, a suggestion of the brilliance to come, and brilliance is the word. At midpoint Mr. Kurosawa pulls the whole thing together superbly as a "simmering romantic quadrangle, with the doomed hero as the mystical catalyst. In a strong, sure flow of precise images and stately tempos, the picture vibrates and explodes introspectively while the four principals square off. The acting is piercing and in grand style, and one showdown—with Mr. Mori, Setsuko Hara (the courtesan), Toshiro Mifune (as her paramour) and Yoshiko Kuga (as the smitten maiden) — is a model of simmering tension. Mr. Kurosawa does minute wonders with a lurking camera. The film's real fadeout would have been memorable had not someone tacked on a soggy postscript. Japan's "Idiot" is quite a picture, for the patient. Compressed la franaise, it might have been a masterpiece. The Cast TWO DAUGHTERS, screenplay by Satyajit Ray, adapted from two stories of Rabindranath Tagore. Produced and directed by Mr. Ray. At Cinema II, Third Avenue and 59th Street. Running time: 114 minutes. THE POSTMASTER Nandalal . . . . . Anil Chatterjee Ratan . . . . . Chandana Bannejee THE CONCLUSION Mrinmoyee . . . . . Aparna das Gupta Amulya . . . . . Soumitra Chatterjee

Edited by Qwest - 17 years ago

wow satyajit ray i love his movies...especially teen kanya even though all are really great.. Edited by filmi_chick99 - 17 years ago

Never knew about this fact. Thanks barnali di for sharing this article.

Originally posted by: Barnali

Many Indians do not know that Satyajit Ray wanted to make a science fiction movie called The Alien in Hollywood. But he could not deal with Hollywood politics . The story and script were his. After the project failed, Spielberg plagiarised the script and made E.T.

The following is an excerpt from Sunday Times .


It is of significance that Sorungeth Soru was made during a two year period in which was conceived not only the greatest science fiction film ever produced (2001), but also the greatest science film ever produced (Satyajit Ray's "The Alien"). And Mike Wilson and Arthur Clarke were the common factors linking all three film projects - although their roles and contributions varied somewhat. We have seen how neatly the story behind the making of 2001 interweaves with the present narrative. So it is with "The Alien" project.


The history of cinema is punctuated by a number of great 'might-have-beens' - film projects with extraordinary artistic potential that unfortunately were never realised for one reason or another. Probably the best-known of these is Sergei Eisenstein's "Que Viva Mexico!" But there are others just as tantalising. Take, for instance, "The Alien'', which, if it had been made, would have had a profound impact on the genre, as did its contemporary, 2001 - A Space Odyssey.


Indeed The Alien would have thematically and philosophically upstaged more recent films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. It might even have made these blockbusters difficult to produce in their known form, due to plot similarities with 'The Alien' - which is not coincidence but plagiarism according to some, including Ray. In addition Ridley Scott's namesake film and its sequels (with which Ray's project should not be confused) would almost certainly have had to undergo a title change.


The story behind the failure of Ray's remarkable project contains elements that could comprise the plot of a paperback novel concerning a doomed Hollywood film production: machinations over the copyright ownership of the script, the director's mistrust of the producer's motives, contention over the casting, and a demonstration of the ruthless nature of the film industry in general, and Hollywood in particular.Moreover years later the world's most successful film-maker ever creates a science-fiction movie with certain resemblances - and which started out with the same company that was prepared to back the original project.


It was in February 1966, while still involved with the postproduction of his film Nayak, that Satyajit Ray began to develop the story for a film that he was to call "The Alien".


Later that year he met Arthur Clarke on the set of 2001 in England and told him the outline. When Arthur Clarke returned to Ceylon he related the outline to Mike Wilson, who contacted Satyajit Ray in Calcutta and asked whether he could produce the film. Ray expressed interest, so Mike Wilson went to India and sat by while the Maestro wrote the screenplay.


Satyajit Ray considered Peter Sellers (in his Indian persona) to be ideal for the lead role. So Mike Wilson contacted the actor's agent and a meeting was arranged in Paris. Sellers liked the story and told Mike Wilson to keep in touch. After attending to matters pertaining to Sorungeth Soru back in Ceylon, Mike Wilson headed for Hollywood, where he got Marlon Brando interested in the other main role. With Brando and Sellers on board, he was able to convince Columbia of the viability of the project. A contract was signed with the company, and "The Alien" appeared set for take-off.


However, things had already started to go awry.Satyajit Ray was alarmed to find that Mike Wilson had copyrighted the script in both their names. Then the project was shifted to Columbia's London office and Mike Wilson went there for further negotiations. Ray followed, and was appalled to find his producer hosting strange parties for famous rock musicians in his suite at the Hilton. Marlon Brando fell by the wayside and James Coburn loomed briefly on the horizon. Meanwhile Columbia whispered in Ray's ear that Mike Wilson had appropriated his script fee (an accusation always vigorously denied.)


But the damage had been done. Satyajit Ray went back to Calcutta bitterly disappointed and disillusioned by Hollywood mentality and disturbed by Mike Wilson's unconventional ways. Soon afterwards Peter Sellers pulled out of the project. Mike Wilson began the metamorphosis that ended in 1975 with his assumption of Swami-hood. Although Columbia and certain individuals tried to persuade Satyajit Ray to resuscitate the project in the 197Os and early 1980s, nothing transpired. And so "The Alien" joined a small, select band of great film 'might-have-beens'.


Years later, in 1981, when Satyajit Ray wrote of his experiences on the project, in the article, "Ordeals of the Alien," he made a disparaging reference to Mike Wilson "elbowing his way into the film business", and that he had 'written, produced and directed 'Jamis Banda,' blithely translating the Fleming secret service agent in Sri Lanka and rounding up virtually the entire European community of Colombo to play sinister bit roles in the film".

Barnali, thanks . I also had no clue and taken ET rides so may times in Universal studio 😆

Thanks Qwest.but looks like he made more in Bengali, wish they could be translated in hindi 😳

Great Post Qwestji. Satyajit Ray is one of the best Director
of the Golden years.

Ray's films are a moving example of the power and grandeur of films as an aesthetic form, which speaks to diverse audiences, across geographical boundaries. Ray was a prolific writer, and the strength and distinction of his films derive from the screenplays he wrote himself.

Washington Post
Thursday, February 28, 2002; 1:59 PM

Martin Scorsese Pays Tribute to Satyajit Ray
By Lloyd Grove


The redoubtable Martin Scorsese made a quick trip to Washington last night to pay homage to Satyajit Ray, kicking off a retrospective of the late Indian director's 35 films at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery. We grabbed a few minutes with Scorsese when he and his fifth wife, Helen, ducked in to see James McNeill Whistler's "Peacock Room," one of her favorite works of art.


"I was in high school and I happened to see 'Pather Panchali'‚"--the first of Ray's 1955-58 coming-of age trilogy about a boy from a Bengali village--"on television. Dubbed in English. With commercials," the 59-year-old auteur told us rapid-fire, like a fusillade from a gangster's Uzi. "It didn't matter. It didn't matter. The image of the Indian culture we had had before, and I'm talking I was 14 years old or 15 years old, were usually through colonialist eyes. And when Satyajit Ray did his films you suddenly not understood the culture because the culture was so complex but you became attached to the culture through the people, and it didn't matter what they were speaking, what they were wearing, what their customs were. Their customs were very, very interesting and surprising, and you suddenly began to realize there are other cultures in the world."


Scorsese went on: "My family was a working-class family and were uneducated and there were no books in the house. But I would see certain films and the films would drive me to read these books or learn more about the culture. So when I saw 'Pather Panchali,' it was a really a revelation and that's why I think cinema's so important."


Scorsese later explained to the audience of about 200 diplomats, film conservators, and Smithsonian donors that until he attended New York University in the early 1960s, he had never been to the west side of Manhattan.


Ray's 1977 movie "The Chess Players," last night's offering at the Freer, "deals with a major movement in history in India, but it does it through the particular, not through the grand, and it's very powerful that way," Scorsese said, adding that he can't wait to show Ray's films to his 2-year-old daughter Francesca.


Scorsese told us that "Kundun," his biopic on the Dalai Lama, was heavily influenced by Ray's work. "I had to embrace Satyajit Ray's films again to try to get the courage to go and try to do it. But, but remember one thing: It's about the people. They're wearing other things, speaking other languages but it's about being human. Ah, there's a lesson there, there's a lesson for younger people, too. The more they see other cultures, the more accessible, the more you get to learn about the other cultures, the less you fear them, the less hatred."


Scorsese didn't visit India until the early '90s, scouting locations to film "Kundun," and he ended up choosing Morocco. "I don't travel that much."


Since "Kundun," which was a critical success and box-office failure, Scorsese has returned to more familiar territory. "We're just about to finish 'The Gangs of New York,' a film about New York City during the Civil War," he said. "Yeah, it was pretty rough place--not as rough as Washington, but pretty bad."


Edited by Barnali - 17 years ago