Posts Tagged ‘Satyajit Ray’

POTD : From Photo Exhibition “The Master & I” – Satyajit Ray & Soumitra Chatterjee

Posted: July 6, 2015 by moifightclub in Bengali, cinema, pics, POTD
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The event happened in May. And somehow we missed it. But the pictures are so priceless, we thought it would be good to share with you all. All these pictures were part of the exhibition, “The Master & I”. The event was part of Ray’s 94th birth anniversary celebration. Click here to read more about the event.

Move your cursor on any pic to get the description. And click on any pic to start the slideshow.

Thanks to Debosmita Sarkar for the pics from the exhibition.

PVR Director’s Rare to re-release Satyajit Ray’s ‘Mahanagar’

Posted: April 16, 2014 by moifightclub in cinema, film, News, Posters
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After releasing digitally restored classics like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Salaam Bombay, Chashme Buddoor and Om Dar B Dar, PVR is releasing Satyajit Ray’s timeless classic Mahanagar (The Big City) on 18th April, 2014, under its PVR Director’s Rare banner.

The movie will release with English subtitles across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata Chennai, Bangalore, Pune and Ahmedabad. Mahanagar has been digitally restored by The RDB Organization under the leadership of Mr. Kamal Bansal.

Mahanagar was originally released in 1963 and Satyajit Ray won the Silver Bear at the 14th Berlin International Film Festival for it in 1964.

Whether you’ve seen it before or not, this is one unmissable big-screen event. Here are some good articles to bookmark and read on the this timeless and universal classic:

And finally, here’s the original illustrated poster by Ray himself followed by a fan made poster by Jahan Bakshi:

 

Mahanagar poster (1)

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Satyajit Ray’s “Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne” gets animated

Posted: August 14, 2013 by moifightclub in animation, cinema, film, Film Festival, first look, News, Trailer
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goopiandbagha_01

Thanks to TIFF’s announcement, we got to know about this animation film. Satyajit Ray’s acclaimed and an all time favourite film across the generations, “Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne” has now been animated into “Goopi Gawaiiya Bagha Bajaiiya”. It will have its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

The first trailer of the film is out.

Official synopsis – A captivating animated adaptation of a cherished children’s classic by Satyajit Ray, this timeless fable is the story of Goopi and Bagha, a pair of musicians gifted with magical powers by the King of Ghosts.

Credit and other details

Director: Shilpa Ranade

Country: India

Orig. Work Title Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne

Year: 2013

Language: Hindi

Runtime: 78 minutes

Rating: G

Exec. Producer: Soumitra Ranade

Producer: Shravan Kumar

Production Co.: Children’s Film Society, India

Screenplay: Soumitra Ranade

Source Author: Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury

Animator: Paperboat Animation Studios

Editor: Avinash Walzade

Sound: Narayan Parasuram

Music: Narayan Parasuram

Prod. Designer: Shilpa Ranade

READ : Satyajit Ray’s Patol Babu Filmstar (the story adapted by Dibakar Banerjee)

Posted: May 4, 2013 by moifightclub in Adaptation, Bengali, bollywood, Gods of Cinema, short film, Short story, Story / Plot / Synopsis
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DB StarBombay Talkies has released in the theatres. And so far the unanimous verdict is that Dibakar Banerjee’s short Star is easily the best out of the lot. Click here to read what we thought about the other short films and do vote for your favourites.

Back to Dibakar’s. It’s based on a short story by Satyajit Ray titled Patol Babu Filmstar. Though the basic idea is the same Dibakar has added many new elements to it and given it a new setting too. Do read.

Tip – Pavan Jha

DFF’s Satyajit Ray Retrospective. Entry FREE

Posted: April 21, 2013 by moifightclub in cinema, Film Festival, Gods of Cinema, News
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Satyajit Ray

(from official release)

Satyajit Ray: The 21st Century Man

As part of the centenary year of cinema in India celebrations, the Directorate of Film Festivals, Satyajit Ray Society and Lightcube Film Society are working together to organise a Retrospective of the director responsible for more masterpieces than any other great in Indian cinema; illustrator, painter, visualiser, author, musician, photographer, film society activist and filmmaker, Satyajit Ray.

For long, Satyajit Ray’s been thought of as being symbolic of the ‘alternative’, or ‘the other’ – the notion that despite the existence of the bludgeoning mainstream industries across the country exercise almost vulgar control over markets and minds alike, there is still the possibility that a figure like Ray may exist and make films that resemble personal visions over forty years. In that, the existence of Satyajit Ray has throughout been of a figure who existed in spite of the system, instead of because of it – this evaluation of him as an artist whose being is carved out primarily through opposition or perversion is, however, terribly reductive and unmindful of the fact that after all, Ray films made not against someone, but in favour of the medium he so loved. To highlight Ray’s status as a cineaste and film-lover over his status as a ‘parallel filmmaker’, the Directorate of Film Festivals, Satyajit Ray Society and Lightcube Film Society are collaborating to organise a three-day long Retrospective of his work at Sirifort Auditorium, this runs from the 26th April to 28th April 2013.

– The Retrospective will feature both Satyajit Ray’s long-form work and his shorts, alongwith Mr. Shyam Benegal’s 1984 documentary on him, entitled Ray (this film opens the Retrospective).

– The vision behind the programming of the festival, where all films will be exhibited on 35mm, is to represent as a whole Ray’s career – both in terms of its various phases (from the autobiographical musings of the first era, to the politically charged films of the middle and his assimilation into the larger culture of the world in the final) and the various ideas contained within it.

– These films will be discussed at length in panel discussions that will feature close associates of Satyajit Ray, colleagues and members of the Ray Society who have worked actively for the past twenty years to preserve Ray’s artistic legacy.

– The screenings at the Retrospective will also be accompanied by an exhaustive exhibition which will have on display a  wide selection from Ray’s numerous artistic work, such as ad-artworks, book jacket designs, posters, booklets, set and costume  designs, sketches from shooting scripts, as also still photographs of people and places.

– The Retrospective runs as part of the Centenary year of Indian Cinema celebrations organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals.

DATE : 26th to 28th April 2013

VENUE : Sirifort Auditorium, New Delhi

ENTRY : Free

SCHEDULE :

Friday, 26 April 2013

2 pm: Satyajit Ray / Shyam Benegal

4:45 pm: Pather Panchali


Saturday, 27 April 2013

11 am: Jalsaghar

1.30 pm: Charulata

4 pm: Pratidwandi

7.30 pm – 8.30 pm: Dhritiman Chaterji, in a Q/A session with members of the audience; moderated by Shantanu Ray Choudhury.


Sunday, 28 April 2013

11 am: Rabindranath Tagore, Sadgati and Pikoo’s Diary

1:30 pm: Sonar Kella

3:45 pm: A multimedia presentation tracing the etymology/origins of Feluda, the character.

4 pm: Ghare Baire

6:25 pm: Panel Discussion: ‘On Ray’s Oeuvre’ featuring Mr. Dhritiman Chatterjee, Mr. Shantanu Ray Choudhury and Ms. Swati Joshi.

– For inquiries, call: 011-7838340196, write to lightcubefilmsociety@gmail.com | satyajitraysociety@gmail.com

Tagore Stories on Film (6 Dvds – 5 Films + 2 rare docus) to be out soon

Posted: May 4, 2011 by moifightclub in cinema, News
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On 7th May, 2011, it’s the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. And to celebrate it, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of I & B in association with NFDC will release a commemorative dvd pack called Tagore Stories on Film.

“Tagore Stories on Film”, is a collection of 6 DVD’s and is a rare compilation of five classic stories written by Tagore and filmed by different talented directors. It also includes  2 documentaries as bonus features based on Tagore’s life. These films, the material for which was acquired from various sources in India and abroad, have undergone both picture and sound restoration.

The five films are…

1. National award winning film from Tagore’s classic story ‘Khudito Pashan’ (Hungry Stones) by Tapan Sinha, 1960 in Bengali.

2. Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) directed by Satyajit Ray, 1961 in Bengali, based on three of Tagore’s stories – The Post Master, Monihara and Samapti.

3. Critically and commercially successful ‘Kabuliwala’ directed by Hemen Gupta in Hindi, 1961 featuring Balraj Sahni.

 4. Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Nominee film, a 1984 classic, Ghare Bhaire (Home and the World) by Satyajit Ray based on women’s empowerment.

 5. A poignant comment on the adverse effects of nationalism and a nuanced interpretation of Tagore’s novella, Char Adhyay (Four Chapters), directed by Kumar Shahani, 1997 in Hindi.

6a) The silent film Natir Puja is a compilation of the footage available of the film that was directed by Rabindranath Tagore. A picturization of the dance-drama Natir Puja, this partial but restored film forms a landmark in Indian Cinema being the only film where Tagore was directly involved in production. Shot over four days on the occasion of Tagore’s 70th Birth Anniversary on 1932, the film also features Rabindranath Tagore in an important role.

6b) The second documentary was made by Satyajit Ray in 1961 to celebrate Tagore’s Birth centenary called ‘Rabindranath Tagore’.

If you want to know more about the films, keep on scrolling…

Disc 1. Khudito Pashan (Hungry Stones). Tapan Sinha.  1960. Bengali.  106min. B&W

A classic by every standard, this National Award winning film, originally the story of a tax collector who moves into a haunted mansion in a small town and falls in love with a beautiful ghost, finds a unique, visual interpretation from an ardent Tagore Fan – Tapan Sinha.

Disc 2. Teen Kanya (Three Daughters). Satyajit Ray. 1961. Bengali. 161 min. B&W

Satyajit Ray’s neorealistic style of filmmaking found an ally in Tagore’s stories of ordinary folks. Teen Kanya is based on three of his stories – The Post Master, Monihara and Samapti, and tells the story of a young village girl taught by a city-bred postmaster, a woman’s obsession with her jewels and a tomboyish girls who changes after marriage.

Disc 3. Kabuliwala. Hemen Gupta. 1961.  Hindi. 140 min. B&W

A critical and commercial success, Kabuliwala is the tender story of a widower Afghani Pathan, played evocatively by Balraj Sahni, compelled to leave his daughter in Afghanistan and relocate to India. He misses his daughter and showers his affections on a young girl in this emotional memorable film that tugs at the heart of audiences.

Disc 4. Ghare Baire (The Home and the world). Satyajit Ray. 1984.  Bengali.  138 min.  Color

This Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Nominee film is one of the most telling statements on women’s empowerment. Encouraged by her Bengali Noble husband Nikhil, Bimala takes her first step to emancipation, only to fall for the hypocritical, but charismatic nationalist leader Sandip.

Disc 5. Char Adhyay (Four Chapters). Kumar Shahani. 1997. Hindi. 110 min. Color

A poignant comment on the adverse affects of nationalism and a nuanced interpretation of Tagore’s novella, Char Adhyay is the story of Ela, loved by armed revolutionaries of the Indian freedom movement as a mascot for the country, who questions this blind indoctrination after falling in love with Atin.

Bonus Features:

Disc 6

 1. Natir Puja l Rabindranath Tagore | 1932 | Silent with Commentary in English | 20 min | B&W

Natir Puja is a landmark in Indian cinema being the only film where Tagore was directly involved in production. Shot over four days on the occasion of Tagore’s 70th birth anniversary in 1932, this partial, but restored film written by Tagore also features him in an important role.

 2. Rabindranath Tagore l Satyajit Ray l 1961 l English l 52 min l B&W

Made by Satyajit Ray in 1961 to celebrate Tagore’s birth centenary, this dramatized documentary features some deft cinematic touches of a master filmmaker that sets it apart from most biographical documentaries in the world.

Satyajit Ray, Nayak, SRK, Blasphemy, Bengali, Autograph – Can you connect the dots ?

Posted: August 20, 2010 by moifightclub in Bolly Jokes, bollywood, cinema, first look, pics, songs & videos, Tollywood, Trailer, video, WTF
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If not, read on. Its one of our favourite Ray films starring Uttam Kumar. If you haven’t seen it yet, do watch. BTW, what are you doing till now if you haven’t seen Nayak!

So, its easy to connect Satyajit Ray and Nayak. But Shah Rukh Khan ? Well, courtesy some Pillai who thinks “its screaming to be remade into a film with Shah Rukh Khan”. There comes BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY! Aren’t there better ways to suck up to the stars ? Here’s what he tweeted after watching the film..

But what else can you expect from the editor of the most expensive and glossy toilet paper roll! Well, there are better ways to connect the two. Click here to read a post by Gobbledyspook who connects the Nayak with the superstar!

And now back to bengali cinema. There is more to the Nayak story! Click on the play button to catch the promo of a new Bengali film called Autograph directed by Srijit Mukherjee. It completes the circle and looks interesting. The film stars Prosenjit Chatterjee, Nandana Sen and Indraneil Sengupta.

And here is the official synopsis of the film…

Calcutta , 1966.

An iconic Director collaborated with the greatest Superstar of Bengal … And a Classic was born.

43 years later, the film changed three lives forever.

Arun Chatterjee, the reigning matinee idol of the Bengali Film Industry.

Shubhobroto Mitra, an aspiring director who wants to remake Satyajit Ray’s Nayak with Arun as the lead.

Srinandita Sen, an idealistic theatre actress and Shubho’s live-in partner who gets cast as the journalist in the film.

“ Autograph ” charts the journeys of these three lives, as they bond and  separate through time and space, in two intertwining narratives.

That is…till their final tryst with destiny.

Autograph is about stories. Reel and real.

Autograph is about dreams. Converging and diverging.

Autograph is about ambition. That creates and destroys.