Satyajit Ray

  • Satyajit Ray – Kanchenjungha (1962)

    1961-1970AsianClassicsIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Summary
    A wealthy family from Calcutta is on the last day of their vacation in Darjeeling, a hill station at the foot of Mount Kanchenjungha, the second highest peak of the Himalayas. Until now, they have been unable to catch a glimpse of the peak Kanchenjungha.The family members are dominated by the father, Indranath (Chhabi Biswas), an industrialist. He wants his daughter to marry a man of his choice and hopes that the man will propose if they are left together alone for some time.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Agantuk AKA The Stranger (1991)

    Satyajit Ray1991-2000DramaIndia

    Quote:
    Satyajit Ray’s valedictory film is a multifaceted character study that contains both humor and melancholy rumination. Based on the filmmaker’s own story, The Stranger involves a bourgeois couple who are taken off guard when a man claiming to be the wife’s long-lost uncle sends word that he will be coming to stay with them after years of travel. Though they fear he’s an impostor, they tentatively let the man into their home, commencing an eye-opening emotional journey for the family. A humanist exploration of class, faith, and tradition versus progress, The Stranger is a bittersweet good-bye from one of the world’s most important filmmakers.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Pikoor Diary (1980)

    1971-1980IndiaSatyajit RayShort Film

    Quote:
    “Pikoo is a very complex film by Satyajit Ray. It is a poetic statement which cannot be reduced to concrete terms. One statement the film tries to make is that, if a woman is to be unfaithful, if she is to have an extramarital affair, she can’t afford to have soft emotions towards her children, or, in this case, her son. The two just don’t go together. You have to be ruthless. Maybe she’s not ruthless to that extent. She’s being very Bengali. A European in the same circumstances would not behave in the same way.”Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Shatranj Ke Khilari AKA The Chess Players (1977)

    Drama1971-1980ArthouseIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Synopsis:
    Wazed Ali Shah is the ruler of one of the last independent kingdoms of India. The British, intent on controlling this rich country, have sent general Outram on a secret mission to clear the way for an annexation. While pressure is mounting amidst intrigue and political manoeuvres, Ali Shah composes poems and listens to music, secluded in his palace. The court is of no help, as exemplified by nobles Mir and Mirza, who, ignoring the situation of their country and all their duties towards their families, spend their days playing endless parties of chess.
    — IMDb.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Nayak AKA The Hero (1966)

    1961-1970DramaIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Quote:
    In this psychologically rich character study, written and directed by Satyajit Ray, Bengali film star Uttam Kumar draws on his real-world celebrity to play Arindam Mukherjee, a matinee idol on the brink of his first flop. When Mukherjee boards an overnight train to Delhi to accept an award, a journalist (Sharmila Tagore) approaches him seeking an exclusive interview, which initiates a conversation that sends the actor reeling down a path of self-examination. Seamlessly integrating rueful flashbacks and surreal dream sequences with the quietly revelatory stories of the train’s other passengers, The Hero is a graceful meditation on art, fame, and regret from one of world cinema’s most keenly perceptive filmmakers.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Kapurush AKA The Coward (1965)

    Drama1961-1970IndiaRomanceSatyajit Ray

    Quote:
    A relatively short film by Satyajit Ray standards, the director’s 1965 film Kapurush (The Coward) actually forms part of a double-bill with Mahapurush (The Holy Man), also included separately in this collection. The first part of the diptych is in some ways complementary to the films around it, moving on from the themes in the earlier Mahanagar and Charulata, where women are forced suppress their own individuality and desires in favour of the direction laid down by a male-dominated society, but it also anticipates Nayak’s look at the weaknesses in men (that one a “hero”, this one a “coward”), and is also similarly connected in this way with the workings of the movie industry. The combination of the strength of the female characters when confronted with weak male behaviour makes for a particularly interesting situation in Kapurush.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Sukumar Ray (1987)

    1981-1990AsianDocumentaryIndiaSatyajit Ray

    Synopsis
    In 1987, Satyajit Ray made a documentary on a legend of Bengali Literature – Sukumar Ray – incidentally also the father of the filmmaker. Sukumar ray was an extraordinary individual. He was a gifted artist, photographer, activist and a person who gathered the cream of intellectuals in renaissance bengal around him. Yet he is remembered as the greatest humourist Bengal has ever produced, equalling great literateurs like Lewis Carrol and Edward Lear. The documentary tries to give us a glimpse into the mind of this genius and capture for its audience the wonderful poetry and compositions of Sukumar Ray.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Mahanagar AKA The Big City (1963)

    Drama1961-1970IndiaSatyajit Ray

    Life at home changes when a house-wife from a middle-class, conservative family in Calcutta gets a job as a saleswoman.Read More »

  • Satyajit Ray – Bala (1976)

    1971-1980DocumentaryIndiaSatyajit RayTV

    Synopsis
    This is Satyajit Ray’s magnificent documentary on T Balaswaraswati (1918-1984), the legendary Bharatanatyam Dancer. Made in 1976, when Bala was 59, the documentary traces the biography of Bala, but above all concentrates on her dance and gives us a truly unforgettable glimpse into the art of one of the greatest geniuses from India.Read More »

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