Table Of Content

Andrew Robinson is the author of some twenty books, including Satyajit Ray: The Inner Eye and Satyajit Ray: A Vision of Cinema (both I.B.Tauris), and is the editor of three screen- plays by Ray. www.andrew-robinson.org RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd ii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4411 PPMM ‘Satyajit Ray has worked with humility and complete dedication; he has gone down on his knees in the dust. And his picture has the quality of intimate, unforgettable experience.’ —Lindsay Anderson on Pather Panchali, 1956 ‘Though he’s very young still, he’s the Father of Indian Cinema.’ —Jean Renoir on Ray, 1967 ‘Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.’ —Akira Kurosawa, 1975 ‘Ray’s magic, the simple poetry of his images and their emotional impact, will always stay with me.’ —Martin Scorsese, 1991 RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd iiii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4422 PPMM The Apu Trilogy Satyajit Ray and the Making of an Epic Andrew Robinson RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd iiiiii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4422 PPMM Published in 2011 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2011 Andrew Robinson The right of Andrew Robinson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanial, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 978 1 84885 515 1 (HB) ISBN 978 1 84885 516 8 (PB) A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd iivv 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4422 PPMM Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgements xi 1 Self-taught Film-maker: Satyajit Ray’s Formative Years 1 2 Apu in Fiction and Film: Adapting the Novels Pather Panchali and Aparajito 27 3 An Epic in Production: Making the Apu Trilogy 43 4 Working with Ravi Shankar: The Music of the Apu Trilogy 81 5 Pather Panchali: Critique 91 6 Aparajito: Critique 109 7 The World of Apu: Critique 127 8 From Calcutta to Cannes: The Reception of the Apu Trilogy 147 9 Apu in the East and West: The Trilogy and Ray Today 161 Epilogue: Ray Talks about the Apu Trilogy 177 Films Directed by Satyajit Ray 185 References 189 Select Bibliography 203 Index 207 RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd vv 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4422 PPMM RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd vvii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4422 PPMM Illustrations 1 Satyajit Ray on location in Calcutta, 1956, while shooting Aparajito, with cameraman Subrata Mitra (Marc Riboud) xii 2 Ray reading a music score, London, 1950 (Norman Clare) 26 3 Pather Panchali: Apu 30 4 Aparajito: Apu 34 5 The World of Apu: Apu 36 6 Sketch by Ray for script of Pather Panchali, 1952, showing Apu and Durga in the fields with the train (Satyajit Ray Society) 44 7 Pather Panchali: Apu and Durga 47 8 Ray rehearsing Chunibala Devi in Pather Panchali (Bansi Chandragupta) 50 9–12 Ray on location in Boral near Calcutta, while shooting Pather Panchali, with actress Karuna Banerji and cameraman Subrata Mitra (Bansi Chandragupta) 54 13 Shooting Pather Panchali in Boral near Calcutta (Bansi Chandragupta) 61 14–15 Pather Panchali: Indir Thakrun; Ray directs Chunibala Devi in the scene of Indir’s death (Bansi Chandragupta) 63 RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd vviiii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4433 PPMM viii The Apu Trilogy 16 Ray on location in Boral near Calcutta, during the making of Pather Panchali (Bansi Chandragupta) 66 17 Ray on location on the ghats of Benares, 1956, while shooting Aparajito with actor Pinaki Sen Gupta (Bansi Chandragupta) 73 18–20 Ray on location at a railway station in Calcutta, 1956, while shooting Aparajito, with actor Smaran Ghosal and cameraman Subrata Mitra (Marc Riboud) 76 21 Sketch by Ray for a documentary film about Ravi Shankar, 1951, which was never made (Satyajit Ray Society) 82 22 Shankar, with Ray, recording music for Aparajito in Calcutta, 1956 (Bansi Chandragupta) 87 23–24 Pather Panchali: little Durga; Indir Thakrun and Durga 94 25–26 Pather Panchali: Apu is made ready for his first day at school by Sarbajaya and Durga; the grocer–schoolmaster Prasanna 98 27–28 Pather Panchali: Durga; Apu dresses up as a prince 101 29–30 Pather Panchali: Sarbajaya rejects Indir 104 31–32 Pather Panchali: Harihar collapses over Sarbajaya; village elders visit Harihar 106 33–34 Aparajito: Apu in Benares 112 35 Aparajito: Harihar collapses at the ghat 115 36 Aparajito: Apu and Nanda Babu 116 37–38 Aparajito: Sarbajaya, Apu and Harihar, just before he dies; Apu plucks grey hairs 118 39–42 Aparajito: Apu and education. Apu with his mother Sarbajaya; and with his headmaster 122 43 Aparajito: Sarbajaya and neighbour, not long before Sarbajaya’s death 125 44 The World of Apu: Apu in his garret 128 RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd vviiiiii 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4433 PPMM Illustrations ix 45–46 The World of Apu: Aparna’s mother and Aparna as a bride; Apu and Aparna on their wedding night 133 47 The World of Apu: Apu and Aparna’s return to Calcutta, ignored by his downstairs neighbour 135 48–49 The World of Apu: Apu and Aparna as husband and wife 137 50–51 The World of Apu: Apu’s renunciation; Pulu and Apu 139 52 The World of Apu: Kajal 141 53–56 The World of Apu: finale. Apu, Kajal and Kajal’s grandfather 142 57 Ray at the editing table, in mid-career 146 58 Ray on location near Calcutta, 1956, during the making of Aparajito (Marc Riboud) 160 RRoobbiinnssoonn__PPrreelliimmss..iinndddd iixx 99//1166//22001100 99::0099::4433 PPMM

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I can never forget the excitement in my mind after seeing Pather Panchali, noted Akira Kurosawa. Satyajit Ray's three films about the boyhood, adolescence and manhood of Apu, Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) - collectively known as The Apu Trilogy - are establishe