Satyajit Ray, an Intimate Master

350 Pages·1998·27.621 MB·English

by  Santi Das (editor)

SATYAJIT RAY
an
intimate master
Edited by
Santi oas
~
AWED PU9USHERS
New Otfhi Mumb,,i Cakutu Chtntl1i
lid:now 8a"8a~ Hycltf~ Ahmcdab.ld N.-
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-
Fo,- M>hcndn Ma>t<rmO<hal -
Tc~T of generations of mw:tcna,
a &icnd, a IOYCt of~. a guide,
bearing a rich tradition within himself. in the: mid.st o( penury,
he nurtutt:d me from my birth.
and ycc OCYCt imposed anything on me~
he taught me to dedicate: mysdf
to $Clfka duty
and to loYc mankind,
with meal indilfcl"Cl'ICC ro money or &me.~
a caring •uncl.,r;' and addrc:s:sed u iuch
by me and a generation of bc.nc6cwia -
in
f'CYCt'Cr'l(C
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Contents
1-
Introduction ix ~ •u
Ad:nowkdgcmcnt ni.ii The Graphic Talent of Saryajit Ray
K. G. SutMMANT/\1' 51
---54-55
I■ HU Ti"'" Daip,. ,_;,.,.·.,,.,, ..- ' iU.,,,..riMI
Satyajit'1 Childhood and
The Child in Sarya.jit Pi,__
KAI.YA.NI KAAl.uAa. I
""1 f•..U, ~-,., 1,,,,,.. "'8" 2-J In the beginning there was P•IMr P•flCNli
A lu:miniKcnc<" ADooa. GoPALo\UJSHNAN 57
It P. GUPTA 6 luy : The Cbaract.(;f and His tmagc
Those: lWa Bhawn Da)'I CH.W.E.S TllSSON 59
.u
Df'HICAA lCoUSHIJ: 17 P,w,u,t;.,. Iii/ls 1'ttaitl bn'wtit 1¥S 7~77
The Conaummuc Daigncr Satyajit Ray : True-to-ufc lmagcrnatcr
p Am'Ol'iH SDI 27 G.uroN Rol£1.(;£ 62
Sary.ajit Jby and Advertising
s.. ... RrN-'
30
Su11ATA BANt:aJui.
Portfolio 80
Manit and His Music
AotG.w>AA 36 w,;:.,,.
11, Pint Ti.w- Th< Li1cruy Works of Satya.jit R2y
Storics/Artidc:s/Tnmbtions SA.Wt &xoroPADHYAf 83
Pocms/Con>i< Strip, l 43
~Ab<.D.'K.rio.n~ . t't5 !€ • 44 llolnJf/J ofPatlwz P°Brc1h9a1lrla l from
Pomolio UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGA'/-1
.W. SAnAffT RA, : All bm.MATI MA.Stta
His py,., ~Vodcogr,phy - 198
11.m<w, 107 Di,cography 199
--.,.,,..1:n-1.JJ
(From PATHU. PANCH.W to N1,r.u:J
Finl Fdicitation (lknpli) 205
p11,..,..,,,,
TnmbDOO Uno £ngmh 206
Cluooology of Films 163 Ci1>don of Civic R<ccption (1\cng,li) 207
u.,;,
Mcmbcn of~·• Film 164 T.....t,- int0 E<>gli&h 208
Synopo,, 165 Ci.udon of Otc:ar Awud 209
(l'caNra/l)oauncnwk,/Shcru) -O.d,l,<.r, .A.w.,aArds6 f __ 210
$nil, lt,rw,w 172-l 1J (f,om ~ 10
Acwmllt includin1 ahoru and doauncntariCl) MW"' 1"16" 11;.:zJJ
°.,,".'_",',",",,",,",,'-,.'.",,", "" aiM..,,,.,.,
215
•. .,..,..,.,,r,Jil,
His Comribut:iON to Films
INd<byotbas 196
Tckfilm, prucnttd by by 197 ~&mily= 235
Films and lV Documentaries on Ray 197 BK>-d1t1 236
----- ...,__ Orlgjr-al•tftirrr
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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Introduction
1bctt arc tbotc: c:xccpcional individual, who spuk off vibntiom in aomconc clx at a tint meeting -
vibruions bountiful 0t ominous! Even bcfon: one ~ comes to know the exceptional individual, a
fint look at him or her i, enough to find him/her an Intimate acquainu.ncc, or a pf'OYOCation tO
tailtancc:. The very mu time I met Mmit-da ( as Satyajit by WM a.Ucd by a wide range of friends,
acquaint>n<a and mcmbcn o{ Im pn,ductioo an,) I bad the c€ cling of hawig known him for ages,
lnown him in my blood, o.- u put of the cit<=, of my boyhood.
Thar 6nt time I had gooc to sec him, towa.rd. the bcginoiog of 1960, curying irmwions for him.
on in,auctioo., &om the ocnion of the thcaa-c group ro wluch I then bdoog,:d, for • pcrfomw,ce o{
ow btat play. The ..U man who opened the doo.-oft bc llat at 3 Lw: Temple &oad, alm00t immcdiatdy
at the ring of the calling bc.ll, was a familiar pruencc, though J w» meeting blm MW the 6nt time.
All the way to the place I had palpitabOCU of excitement at the prospect of meeting the: maker of P•Utff'
P•IUIHJi. When I saw him, I wu Iott in thic dc-cp rttcssc:s of his crution. The profoundly itu:imatc
masterpiece that I had Ken on the <by of its rclcuc n an auditoriwn i.n north Calcutta am.c bad
to me. like a tn.rupattncy.
~ sheer warmth that came through from the very Mt W()roS of welcome In his rich ba.u, onc.c
I had introduced m)'IC1f, to the •come ~gain• with which he__, me. off at the door when I wu leaving,
had all the charge of long 6.miliarity. What f.ucicutcd me was the Bcnpli in him, his hospitality, his
convcrsuion, bis patient listening almost lite a young student whenever thctt wu infonnation on
matter, u.ahmil.ia.r, It wu all the more f.ucinating in a n'Wl who was alrudy an Ultcma.tional c;dcbrity,
and to ont who had seen and known quite: a few cc.kbrucd antiw-pc.nons at close proximity. Soon
enough he had pulkd down wlu.tcvw:r barriers there: h.ad been bctwccn us, and I had ~ my
narunl re.Dem«. to open up to him in corrveracion, I found his aDCC:rity aempbry,
My scc.ond cncoWltcrwith him amc K\'leJl ynn later, ill 1967. Moa.t of the non-professional thca.ttt
group, oi Cakutu bad 00fflC teg<1hcr, with• projoct ro act up • model ua coroplo in the city. luy
wu • tlpto,y to thRe;, bc,•pprc•gal ,tfor fund, mucd by the Natnw><ba Pnwhtba s.miti, along with
Anoadulww, Roy, Ud,y Sbaaht, luvi Sbaaht, and Sombhu Mitn. I ..,.. primarily
• o{ thw C. t_j·, • ·1,wty t0 raiac the fuods and pwP!J'r.i~ g (subjca.
~ ,zea (!_'f'°"" UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
X SATYAJIT RA'f : AN INTlMATE M.uru
orcounc, to the approval ormc core group). Evaybody in the C(lC'C group objected to the propouJ
that the lignatorici to the ~peal be uted to raite fund, on pcnonal initiati"c, on the grounds dw:
they lll'Ctc cclebri.tia and busy people. HO'W could om expect someone like Satyljit Ray to tpatt the
time to go fund gathering~ I persuaded the. group co cnO"UJt me with the usponsibility. I wu cort&dcnt,
on the basis of whit I Nd teen of him a.t that first cncounier. that Ray WQu1d coopcntc. Ju a fin(
reaction he regretted his inability, but Ol'Kc I had $Ugmed two or three pcopk who couJd be
approached, he said. •Ob yes, one cowd uk them.• And he did speak to them, and it worud. by
wu one who would not join in, u.nku he wu sincerely committed to a project. Lad. or time docs
noc: become a factor, where there b sinicerity. And R.ty's sincerity wi.s toul.
Thal: is how the n:bhorultlp began. He WU iddttui.ng me with the mott i.ru<,nnaJ ,..; in.stead
of 1,-i fi,o,m the tcc:Ond day i:udf, and I had SWt<d calling him M:wk·da. ThOQgh J was visiting him
initially in COfU'ICction with busindS ttbted to the proje:a. I W2S ,o powerfully imprascd by the Uucpity
of his eluraacr thu soon it was the d«pte2tcd dc:sin: to become a mQtt CQmplete man that drew me
to him. And the mott frequent my Yisiu became. the more e13er I bcamc to know him better. The
more I ta1kcd with him, the more I wondered at the sheer range of his interests and crutivity a.like,
and h.is magoamin.iry, ti.II I sun:ed to adore him as a monurmntal genius, And yet, not to speak of
the common people, very few of the m0tt U\lightencd community knew much about him, though he
wu an in1em.ariollal 6gutt alrudy, and had made sixteen fuU-lcn,gth feature films. one short film and
.a.n outstanding documentaty on Rabindn.nath Tagore. In my travels through the many citi,cs, big and
small, of this country. I h.a:vc found 10 my dismay th.at people know al.mOM nothing about him beyond
the: fact th.at he tMdc films. They know the titles or one or rwo or his fil!'M. Thctc are sn-craJ who
woukl not recall cwn UIO$t. There would h.a"W: hem ,ome CQntOluion co know th:at they at least knnf
tbat Ray wu an eminent film diteaor who Jud brought gloey to his COW'ltty by his worb. People in
Calcutta of <:OW'SC know somewhat more about him, h.avc seen more of his 6Jms, and h.a"W: known Ray
as, a writc:r, th.anb tO the periodical S.uui. But how little all dw amowus ro!
1bc scope and opportunity to pthcr c,omprctu:nsivc information 011 the multif:acctcd genius of Ray
~re: woefully inadequate at the time. One coukt say dw: they wen: just noc thuc! An:idcs on Ray
oc l<Vi<ws of bl, films ,ppcaml in peri<>dlcab published by people .-1.,ed with lhe tilm ,odc,y
ffiO\'Cmenc.. or in the: odd link nug:uioc or other. 'There wa-e of COW1C pcrlodkab: publiabcd abroad
that carried mott mucriaJ on him, but remained imc:ceaiblc to common pcopk. in this country. The
few who could rake the trouble or tracking these periodica b down,, colkcting them or JUdiog them
up at a library, could form an imprcsaiO!' of Ray as film.maker, but even they would kam l:ittk of the
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range o(hil m:ativi.ty, or of the man Satyajit R.ay, or bi, enlightened &mily. For Ray had left NJ mack
in ~ry field of crcatiYC c:nck-.ivour that he tud undcrtw:n. It was a 1en1t of &ustn.tion that drove:
me to tuc upon myself the difficuh: wk of documenting for my contcmponries t.nd posterity alike:
the lite: and ctcativiry of Ray. While the w-g:c: hu been 'with me (o, a Jong ti.me: now, I have had to
wait till I bad tht time to accomplish it. For I could not find anyone who couJd carry out the painsllling
invabgation and rcscuch required for the pwp06C.
The project u a matter of &ct began with the three rcttOtpCCrivc fcstivab of luy's films that 1
orpnucd in the scventk$. The fint. at Bombay, in 1973, a rcuospccb\.'C of dcva1 6.lms, aU of Wm
with English subtitles. wu truuguntcd by I.K. Gujnl, then Ccotnl Minincr for Information and
Broadta.Jtina, M.anik-cb wa.s prc:scnt at the W:u.guration, with hiJ &.mlly. All the tidcu fur the cn.ci.R
ICIAOn were sold out oo the day booting opmcd, The cnthuaia.sm was pcrf«tty lcgidmuc, for tbi,
wu the 6nt cve:r ttpracnw:ivc fcstmJ of the films of Suy.ijit lay, who had mack eighteen feuwt:
film, and two documc:ntuics by thc:n. Thctc had been of COW'IC: pack_,,.. of three or four films by
Ray, organiud by &Im &Ocictic,, like the one by Anandam iD 1966, « ooc by Dr Geo,g l..echnc, of
tbc: Mu MIJdkr Bbavan. The ruponsc to t.bc cwo later kstivals I organized wu no lea ovuwhdming.
In 197S, at the Lighthoutc: Cinema, Cakum., I o&rc.d a pacbgc ofs a-cn 61ms &om lby's first decade
offilmmaling: in 1979, at the Swr Mancha. CaJcuna, I prucnttd am oflC'VCn films from hi$ second
decade. The thrtt l"Ctt'OSf)CCff were fundnising curcitcs for the Naananch:a PratWith.a Samiti, the
Institute of Child Health, and the SNdcnct' Health Home, rcsp«tively. The brochwu published for
all dlc three rcsdvals oont.t.incd Nbst.a.ntial d«umcntatioo on Ray and h.1$ films, On al) three occ:asfoos
Ray wa, rn()M helpful in the sckction and acquisition of lhc films, u ~u u gathering information and
cksigning the brochwu. putkuJ.uty for the event in Bom~y. It wu his coU~bontiOn and urutintcd
c00ptnti0n chat enabled us to bring to common filmgoc:R a &eNC of the sheer range of the master,
md to arou&c i.n them a aaving to KC more films by him.
But [ could ta.kc the project up in right CJJ1K$t only in late 1991, liter my retirement from s,crvicc.
I had the: oppommity of placing the: cntitt' pro;cct u I envisaged it before Ray, who pacicntly srudiC'd
it, offcffd suggcacions and invaluable advice, and gave me bis approval.. But when he fell scriousty ill
a few WttU after dw meeting, aod pu,cd away, b-a while I was t00 dctpondfflt ro any on with
the task. I wu almott cnuhcd by doubcs and a roul ION of confidence, u I wondett.d how I could
complete the wt withoor Ray~, direct invotwmcnt. cooperation and CONWtt guicbn«. It t00k ~
ql!itc ,omc; tim0~ l,N"IP")d"'1iYC U>d ncpoiYC though,>. Al~ci,p;J ~!lo of mends
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0
a::ii 5.A.TTAJTT it.AT : AN fN'J'lMATI MAffU.
eocou.ragcd me. And then there wcrc the words of Cardinal Newman :
A man would do n<>thin3
if he waited until
he would do it ,o 'M:0
That no one would 6nd fault
'With what he has done:.
Once I had made up my mind, I would ocvu look ba<:k. There .,.. altudy a gap of r,,,,nty y<,n
~ when I had fint Cc.Lt the urge and when I took the project on. Meanwhile, relatively at least,
with scw:ral boob on Ray LD print, more infonnation wu acccsaibk on llay. There wett: developments
t()W'U'(U what could already be construed u a field of1 1.ay studies. But lhetc wuc too many gaps $till
in f'act\UJ docwncnta.tion, with $Cvcnl lost dues and inadequate hard evidence, swing potential Kholan
or investipton away from any cJfon in the direction. Most of the boob on Ray amount to critical
~nts of his worts in ciru:ma &om the wthors' personal critical positions; with occ:asiorul
comments on his lircnry works or his creativity as l.lhulJ":IIOr or designer. They had hardly anything
to add to the information that we b.ad collected for our duce: brochu:ru i.n the $CYC'nties,
Ewt1 as the prc:scnt project conccnuucs on ptbcring all relevant &ca, cbccking and coun.tcrehccting
them for a.uchcnntation, and ofrain.g them in a systematic suuctu.rc, it also propotcs tO offer a
comprcbensiYC pro6lc of his mul~tcd pcnooaliry and aclucvcmcou i.n. t.bc form of a bunch of
specially commissioocd anidca by pcopk: emincndy quali6ed to comment on and evaluate a:spccu ol
bis lift and worts.. For pcopk: ouuidc Bengal and for b-cigncn in general, Ray rcm:aincd primarily
a 6Jmnukcr, for though he had JWU:d bis pro6:.saonaJ career in a different modiwn, he later sctdcd
down to a full.time carea in lilmmaking which be. made i.nto bis profcaion. He came to writing much
bter, and thar too only co li1l the pages of S.""11,. If he had ch06Cn to make a profcasion of any of
the other tkil1s in whicli he bad shown pro6ei.ency he could have easily accomplished Ule swurc wt
be came to enjoy Ul bis cbotcn 6eld. In the plU(;Ot volwnc we make an dro.t to ~r a persp«:tive
of the entitt r&nl(: o( crcuiviry that luy explored in a lifetime, through a laboriously gatbacd
-w;umubtioo o{ fxu, Wusuabom., and asft#l1lCnu. All Wt had been chatted our ar the sun of the
project has noc: been KComplilhcd. but sieYa'IJ new idea, Of UU'8ftts that c:amc as I punued the: project
hm: led oo frc,h searches and findings alike.
1be .a.uthon ofthc earlier significant worts on Ray Mw: offi:rcd their 'news and ~tions of Ray,
something that I have acrupulowty avoided. AU th.a.t I have done, in a. moR modcsc: cxcrdtc, is to bring
together a 11.tbsw1tial body o( m2tcrial, that should SM readers an opportunity to h.iw: a dc»cr &nd
objective view of Ray the man and his woct.. I had tbt: advanag:c of knowing. &om my u.ociation
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