Satyajit Ray's film Mahapurush amazed the viewers.

Satyajit Ray’s film Mahapurush amazed the viewers.

Satyajit Ray made the film Mahapurush based on the literature of Raj Shekhar Basu, a renowned writer of Bengal. Previously Raj Shekhar Basu’s literature was used by Satyajit Ray in the film Parash Pathar.

Mahapurush was made along with Kapurush by Ray in the year 1965. While Kapurush did not reach the audience, Mahapurush amazed the viewers. Raj Shekhar Basu’s literature was titled Birinchibaba. Charu Prakash Ghosh played the role Birinchibaba in the film Mahapurush.

According to the story, Charu Prakash Ghosh impressed Prasad Mukherjee, an Advocate of Alipore Court, Kolkata while he was returning in train. Prasad Mukherjee lost his wife at old age, and was depressed. He was returning back with his daughter Mitali Ray.

Charu Prakash Ghosh along with his assistant played by Robi Ghosh convinced Prasad Mukherjee that Charu Prakash Ghosh was God’s messenger. Both resided in Prashad Mukherjee’s house. Satindra Bhattacharya had affair with Mitali Roy. When he saw that Mitali Roy started avoiding her due to the presence of the Sadhu, he communicated about the Sadhu before his friends, Satya Banerjee, and others.

Many God fearing people in Kolkata used to visit Charu Prakash Ghosh and listen to his words. He disclosed a lot of informations about Plato, Gautam Buddha, etc. He mentioned that there is no present. Past and future existed. One of the friends of Satindra Bhattacharya, communicated with Santosh Dutta, a famous scientist in Kolkata, to know the formula for producing smoke in the house.

While Charu Prakash Ghosh was giving his sermons in the room, smoke was produced and all the friends of Satindra Bhattacharya, shouted about smoke. Charu Prakash Ghosh tried to escape and he was threatened to live the place. He left the place with Robi Ghosh. Prasad Mukherjee’s family was saved from the false communications of Charu Prakash Ghosh.

Very significantly the satire and wit of Raj Shekhar Basu, was captured by Satyajit Ray in the film. The film did great business and the message reached the masses. The film should be preserved.

Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjungha could not reach the masses.

Satyajit Ray’s Kanchenjungha could not reach the masses.

Satyajit Ray experimented with an abstract subject in the film Kanchenjungha in 1962. Based on the story of Ray himself, the film was related to the greatness of Himalayas, especially Kanchenjungha. But Ray’s message was reflected through the reactions of the actors and actresses of the film and it was hardly understood by the common mass.

It was the first Bengali coloured film, and the entire shooting was done in Darjeeling, the greatest tourist destination of West Bengal. Chabi Biswas played the role of the Rai Bahadur of that time, who was awarded the title by the British Government. He was the Chairman of 5 Companies in West Bengal. He wanted his daughter Aloknanda Roy to get married to N. Viswanathan, a careerist. Chabi Biswas’s entire family came to visit Darjeeling.

Haridhan, a middle-class person brought Arun Mukherjee to Darjeeling. He introduced Arun Mukherjee, with Chabi Biswas, so that he could give him a job. Arun Mukherjee was jobless in Kolkata and earned livelihood through private tution. When Chabi Biswas discussed the contribution of British Colonial Government in shaping Darjeeling and his own life, Arun Mukherjee was not moved by the materialist outlook of Chabi Biswas.

Arun Mukherjee stood in front of the great Himalayas, and the greatness of the mountain range prevented him from praying for his minor material requirements. He told Chabi Biswas that he did not require any job. He said if he wanted to work in any organization he would qualify for the post through hard work, not by reference of an influential person. At the same time, Aloknanda Roy did not find N. Biswanathan’s materialist talks impressive, and did not consent about marriage due to the effect of the romantic location of the place and influence of Kanchenjungha. Even her elder sister Anubha Gupta disclosed the truth to her husband Subrata Sen Sharma about her affair with another person, and agreed to tear away the letters that were related to the affair. They agreed to strengthen their relationship in the interest of their small daughter.

In the serious level of communication, Pahari Sanyal, the brother of Karuna Banerjee, the wife of Chabi Biswas, and Anil Chatterji, the son of Chabi Biswas, were the two relief characters. Anil Chatterji was interested in maintaining relationship with beautiful women, while Pahari Sanyal searched for beautiful birds in the place.

Chabi Biswas probably provided his most majestic performance of his life in Kanchenjungha, and his dignity, personality and elegance set up the theme of the film. He found that a poor small child singing a son in Darjeeling was happy, and Chabi Biswas’s earthly achievements were overshadowed by the gigantic presence of the evergreen Himalayas. Satyajit Ray brought his philosophy in the film and it won a number of awards in India and abroad, but even then the message did not reach the ordinary common mass due to abstractness of the subject.

Review of Sandip Ray's Baksho Rahasya.

Review of Sandip Ray’s Baksho Rahasya.

Sandip Ray had the huge challenge of satisfying the tastes of readers of Satyajit Ray’s detective stories while making the film Baksho Rahashya based on the epic literature of Satyajit Ray. Satyajit Ray previously made films based on Feluda stories including Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath in the 70s.

Sandip Ray used a different team in the film Baksho Rahasya, with Sabyasachi Chakravarty playing the role of Feluda, Saswata Chatterji playing the role of Topse and Robi Ghosh playing the role of Lalmohan Ganguly (Jatuyu). Previously the roles were played by Soumitra Chatterji, Siddharta Chatterji and Santosh Dutta.

In this film Feluda had to go to Shimla from Kolkata to bring back the suitcase of Haradhon Banerjee that got interchanged in train. He had to give the suitcase to Mr. Dhameja and take Haradhon Banerjee’s suitcase in turn. Feluda, Topse and Jatayu travelled from Kolkata to New Delhi in flight. From there they boarded Kalka Mail and reached Shimla.

After exchanging the bag in Shimla, Feluda was attacked by Pradip Mukherjee, the relative of Haradhon Banerjee. He kept a diamond in a kodak’s empty filmbox, which he coloured. He attacked Feluda to get it back. Feluda showed his daringness to manage him and get the diamond back. He was assaulted with a boomerang thrown by Jatayu.

The other complication arose out of a manuscript of a Book written by writer Shambhucharan who was famous for writing stories based on travel experiences. The manuscript was stolen by Mr. Pakrasi, who knew its value and who typed most of it in his type writer, as the book was unpublished and Mr. Shambhucharan’s copyright ended. Feluda to the book and the manuscript away and returned it to Haradhan Banerjee.

Feluda was attacked a number of times in the film, one time at Pretoria Street, the other times in hotel in New Delhi. The shooting of Sandip Ray in the hills of Shimla and Kufri was excellent. Although Rabi Ghosh could not match the expectation created by Santosh Dutta in the role of Jatayu, Sabyasachi Chakravarty did a great job in the role of Feluda.

The film should be preserved with English sub-titles to reach Satyajit Ray’s literature the international audience.

Feluda Team in Dadagiri

Feluda Team in Dadagiri

The different teams of Satyajit Ray's immortal creation Feluda series appeared in Sourav Ganguly's program Dadagiri in Zee Bangla. The team included old Feluda team like Soumitra Chatterji (Feluda), Siddharta Chatterji (Topse) and Kushal Chakravarty (Mukul). The new Feluda team included Sabyasachi Chakravarty (Feluda), Saswata Chatterji (Topse) and Bibhu Bhattacharya (Jatayu).

While quiz questions were asked the nostalgia relating to Satyajit Ray's immortal creation Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath reflected across everybody's mind. Soumitra admitted the classic shooting in the romantic landscapes of Rajasthan in Sonar Kella gave a new dimension to the film.

It was mentioned that after the death of Santosh Dutta who had previously played the role of Jatayu, Satyajit Ray declined to make any other film on the Feluda series. Jatayu's daughter was called in the program to share her experience.

Sabyasachi Chakravarty reflected about the fact when Satyajit Ray made the films on Feluda within one year of writing the story the picture of Kolkata did not change. But When Sandip Ray made the same films after 20 years of creation of the literature he had to make alterations in the film considering the change of lifestyle of people in Kolkata. During Ray's time Green Ambassador of Jatayu showed status. During Sandip Ray's time BMW cars are common in Kolkata.

Sourav Ganguly conducted the program with brilliance. The viewers expect Sandip Ray to make more films relating to Feluda Series written by Satyajit Ray.

Happy birthday to Om Puri.

Happy birthday to Om Puri.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Om Puri on 18th October, 2009. Om Puri had been considered to be one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema by critics, eminent directors, international film journalists, etc.

Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray experimented with Om Puri in the film Satgati in the early 80s. Om Puri played the role of a cremator who was employed by the zamindar played by Mohan Agasi to cremate a dead body in a village in North India. Om Puri died at the end of the film as he worked with extreme bad health. Om Puri’s expression relating to pain and misery expressed the exploitation of lower strata of the society in North Indian villages as written by Munshi Premchand.

Om Puri became the automatic choice of renowned directors like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini, Sai Paranchpe, Sudhir Mishra, and many other directors who enriched parallel cinema in India. The range of roles of Om Puri included the role of a villager in the film Aakrosh whose tongues were cut to prevent him from speaking, the role of a poor person who donated his eyes in the film Chokh, the role of a police officer who found corruption at every level of the police force in the film Ardha Satya.

Amongst the different directors Govind Nihalini probably made the best use of Om Puri. The performance of Om Puri in the film Tamas in the role of a victim of partition of 1947 requires special mention. The film created controversy as it was related to hindu-muslim riots and when it was featured in TV, its transmission was stopped for certain period of time.

Om Puri made very valuable contribution in commercial films over the last 20 years. His successful films included Ghayal opposite Sunny Deol, Krishna opposite Sunil Shetty, China Gate opposite Naseeruddin Shah, Gupt opposite Bobby Deol, Malamaal Weekly opposite Paresh Rawal, Raat, etc. It is difficult to mention the national and international awards won by Om Puri in his illustrious career in a small article.

The viewers expect him to continue the great work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shabana Azmi on 18th September, 2009. She had remained an institution by herself. She had been considered to be the greatest performer in bollywood films along with Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri.

She started her journey with Shyam Benegal’s film Ankur in 1974. With her debut, the trend of parallel cinema began in bollywood. She concentrated on the inner emotions of the characters that were played. She was unparallel in the role of a step mother in Shekhar Kapoor’s film Masoom. Her performance was as brilliant as the performance of Naseer in the film.

In Goutam Ghosh’s film Paar, she showed the life of daily wage earner in Kolkata along with Naseeruddin Shah. The scene where Shabana Azmi swam across the Ganges near Bandha Ghat along with a pack of animals which were supposed to be reached the respective destination, body language, physical effort, expressions all get mixed into one.

She was as powerful as Smita Patil in the film Arth. She also played an important role in Oscar Winning Director Satyajit Ray’s film Shatranj Ki Khiladi. The other notable films which ended up being masterpieces include Khandahaar, Dharavi, Sparsh, etc.

Shabana Axmi was equally successful in commercial films. She played a prominent part in hit film Parvarish along with Vinod Khanna and Big B. Her performance in the film Amar Akbar Anthony opposite Vinod Khanna was appreciated by the commercial crowds. She even did a great job in a negative role in the film Godmother.

Her performance opposite Big B in the film Mai Azaad Hoon, in the role of a journalist requires special mention. She had created a benchmark which had been followed by actresses of the present era including Dimple Kapadia and Tabu. The viewers expect her to continue the high standard of work in the years to come.

Chabi Biswas is remembered on his birth anniversary.

Chabi Biswas is remembered on his birth anniversary.

The viewers of Indian cinema remembered Chabi Biswas, the towering actor on his birth anniversary on 12th July, 2009. The legend had been considered the greatest actor ever to grace Indian celluloid by Oscar Winning director Satyajit Ray. Had he not met with a fatal accident in 1962 and died, Ray could have experimented much more with the dignified actor.

Firstly Chabi Biswas was the pivot around whom the entire Bengali film industry revolved. Tapan Sinha relied on the majestic actor in playing the role of Kabuliwala in Tagore’s classic Kabuliwala. Ajoy Kar asked Chabi Biswas to present his dignity in the film Saptapadi where he played the role of the father of Uttam Kumar who could not accept his change of religion from being Hindu to Christian. At the end of the film Chabi Biswas acknowledged the greatness of Suchitra Sen who loved Uttam Kumar, yet sacrificed her affair as she gave word to Chabi Biswas about not meeting him in her entire life.

Chabi Biswas was equally majestic in Ajoy Kar’s classic Suno Boro Nari. His character of Udashin had the right combination of dignity, aristocracy and discipline. He was barrister of reputation who did not allow his daughter Supriya Choudhury to marry Uttam Kumar who was assumed to be a poor homeopathy doctor. But he was left speechless when the actual identity of Uttam Kumar was revealed as a renouned Professor of Literature.

Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar tested the range of performance of Chabi Biswas and delivered blood and flesh in the character of Biswambar Roy who was a feudal lord of West Bengal. In fact Chabi Biswas was an unparallel figure in the roles of zamindars during colonial regime. His performance in Karthik Chatterji’s Saheb Bibi Ghulam, Rajen Tarafdar’s Antarikha was equally brilliant, where critics argued that Chabi Biswas even did more than the expectation of the directors in portraying the aristocracy of the zamindars.

Chabi Biswas had acted in more than 250 films during a span of 25 years and articles after articles can be devoted on his different andaz that was displayed in celluloid. His performance in Shambhu Mitra’s film Manik could have brought him Oscar, had the film being send by India abroad. He played the role of a paralytic patient with such diction that the viewers and the directors thought the character from Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist had come out the pages of the book and appeared onscreen.

Raj Kapoor was astonished to see Chabi Biswas’s performance in his film Ekdin Ratre. The lips given by Chabi Biswas in Manna Dey’s song “ei duniyay bhai sabi hoi” compelled Raj Kapoor to agree that he was the greatest actor Raj Kapoor had seen in Indian films. He in fact regretted the absence of Chabi Biswas in bollywood films which could raised the standard of those films to another dimension.

Viewers still search Chabi Biswas in his unforgettable performances in films like Shashibabur Sangsar, Dada Thakur, Sabar Opore, Head Master, to name a few and never consider his death as a reality. His films should be preserved for the next generation to mark the level of excellence created by the greatest actor of Indian films ever.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar on his death anniversary.

The nation remembers Uttam Kumar, one of the greatest superstars of Indian celluloid on his death anniversary on 24th July, 2009. He has died almost 29 years ago, yet the viewers had not forgotten his films and still his presence is felt in the life bengalies in different parts of the world.

Oscar winning director Satyajit Ray acknowledged the dynamic presence of the legendary superstar in Bengali films and made a film Nayak based on the story of Uttam Kumar. His original name was Arun Kumar Chatterji, who was a clerk in Port Commission before joining Bengali films.

When he joined films with Drishtidaan in 1948, he had to struggle to create his image as against he established heroes like Asit Boron, Bikash Roy and others. In 1952, his film Basu Paribar struck at the box-office and he overtook Bosonto Choudhury, Asit Boron and became the leading superstar of Bengali films. All the qualities of a romantic hero was possessed by him, including a standard height, good complexion, manly voice, romantic hairstyle and unique dialogue delivery. Any dress suited the legendary superstar including Punjabi, dhoti, coat, Bengali dresses, etc.

He had acted in the films of all the legendary directors of the golden age including Satyajit Ray’s Nayak, Chiriakhana, Tapan Sinha’s Jhinder Bandi, Upahaar and Jotugriha, Ajoy Kar’s Harano Sur, Saptapadi, Suno Bara Nari, etc., Agradoot’s Bipasha, Surjo Toron, etc., Agragami’s Sagarika, Shonkhobela, to name a few. Uttam Kumar acted opposite all the leading actresses of Bengali celluloid including Suchitra Sen, Arundhuti Debi, Manju Dey, Sabitri Chatterji, Supriya Choudhury, Mala Sinha, and others. His combination with Suchitra Sen had given everlasting classics and both of them still remains the most romantic pair in Indian silver screen.

Uttam Kumar’s films were based on rich literature including Tagore’s Khokababur Protyaborton, Subodh Ghosh’s Suno Bara Nari, Samaresh Bose’s Kuhak, Sorodindu Bondhopadyay’s Chiriakhana, Shankar’s Chourangi. The films were related to different types of stories including comedy stories, tragic stories, soft romantic stories, etc.

Uttam Kumar had acted in around 205 films (including bollywood films like Amanush, Anand Ashram, Choti Si Mulakat, Dooriyan, Kitaab etc., ) in a span of 35 years, and all his films had remained everlasting treasures.

Even the singers who had sung for him including Manna Dey, Shyamal Mitra, Hemanta Mukherjee, etc., agreed that they did not find any actor who was parallel to Uttam Kumar in giving lips in songs. He made the viewers feel that he only sang the songs.

Articles after articles can be devoted to Uttam Kumar who was one –man –industry in Bengali films. His films should be revisited to create motivation for making better quality films in future.

Review of Satyajit Ray's Jalsaghar.

Review of Satyajit Ray’s Jalsaghar.

Satyajit Ray enlightened the viewers of the 50s with the end of feudalism in Bengal with the film Jalsaghar. The film was released in 1958. It was based on the epic literature Jalsaghar written by Tarashankar Banerjee.

Chabi Biswas gave the lifetime performance in the role of Biswambhar Roy in the film. He was an aristocrat zamindar whose 3 generations carried the legacy of the feudal legacy. Biswambhar Roy had passion towards music and brought established classical artists from Lucknow and Benaras to perform in his Jalsaghar.

While Chabi Biswas’s zamindari declined, Gangapada Basu’s zamindari thrived. He was a businessman whose fortunes did shine after 2nd world war. Chabi Biswas gave the thread ceremony of his lone son in front of his wife Panda Debi with pomp and grandeur. But the earnings of his estate decreased due to non- production of crops and increased poverty of farmers.

By selling his wife’s jwellery Chabi Biswas organized the last Jalsaghar in his house. Again the luminaries of the village and Gangapada Basu were invited. Roshanara Begum was invited to perform. Begum Akhtar gave brilliant performance of her classical song. Gangapada Basu tried to throw his jwellery at the feet of the performer, but Chabi Biswas stopped him saying the first person to award the performer in jalsaghar should be the host.

At the end of the film when Chabi Biswas came to realized from Kali Sarkar, his servant that there was no money to light his lamp (jhar lanthan), he travelled on the horse named Tufaan, and died out of horse-riding. Chabi Biswas’s dignity and aristocracy ended in glory with his death.

Satyajit Ray portrayed the film for the western world to show them the history of feudalism during the colonial rule. Zamindari ended after India’s independence. Satyajit Ray in his interview before Doordarshan had said in the 80s, that Chabi Biswas was the greatest actor who had graced Indian silver screen.

Chabi Biswas proved his indispensability in the role of zamindars in the film Jalsaghar. Character artists like Kali Sarkar, Gangapada Basu, Padda Debi did well in their respective roles. The film received many national and international awards. The film should be restored for its filmic value.

Demise of magician of Sarod - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

Demise of magician of Sarod – Ustad Ali Akbar Khan.

The nation pays homage to the departed soul of Magician of Sarod – Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who died yesterday at an age of 87. He died in his own house at Sanfransisco due to failure of kidneys. He had glorified India’s face in the international arena with his brilliance in the classical instrument Sarod.

His father Alauddin Khan was a genius with maihar gharana. Ali Akbar Khan was born on 14th April, 1922 in the village Shibpur in Kumilla. He learned classical music at an age of 3 years. He learned it from his father and uncle Fakir Abtabuddin. He first performed in a show in Allahabad at an age of 13 years.

In 1956 he created Ali Akbar College of Music in Kolkata. Later he opened more branches of the same college of music in US and Switzerland. From 1965, he regularly took musical classes in US. At the same time with his unique creations in the world of classical music he attracted attention of legendary directors of India like Satyajit Ray and Tapan Sinha.

Satyajit Ray used the brilliant skills of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan in Chabi Biswas’s film Debi. In that film Ustad Ai Akbar Khan was the music director. Chabi Biswas saw Goddess Kali in the body of Sharmila Tagore, his daughter in law in the film. Ali Akbar Khan’s theme music in the film was appreciated within India and abroad.

In the early 60s, Ali Akbar Khan created wonders as music director in Tapan Sinha’s film Khudito Pashan. Tapan Sinha experimented with Tagore’s epic literature. Arundhuti Debi, the powerful actress in the film came in the dreams of Soumitra Chatterji. Ali Akbar Khan’s music reminded people of the medieval period during the rule of many nawabs.

Ustad Ali Akbar Khan also composed music in Bartalucchi’s film Little Buddha, Ivory Merchant’s film House Holders and Chetan Anand’s film Andhia. He left a lot of brilliant students of Sarod including Nikhil Banerjee, Ashish Khan, Alam Khan, to name a few, who are carrying forward his legacy.

Ali Akbar Khan created gems with Pandit Ravi Shankar, the magician of Sitar. Their combined performances made the intellectual audience speechless in different parts of the world. He even composed music for eminent classical singer Ustad Amir Khan. The listeners all across the world pay homage to the genius of Sarod who had made India proud with his brilliance in creative music.

Chabi Biswas was considered the greatest actor by Satyajit Ray.

Chabi Biswas was considered the greatest actor by Satyajit Ray.

Satyajit Ray, the Oscar winning director of Indian films considered Chabi Biswas as the greatest actor ever to have been born in Asian soil. Ray brought the neo-realistic movement in Indian films and whenever he made a statement about an actor that statement used to be considered the verdict of Supreme Court judge. In that perspective Ray’s comments about Chabi Biswas in Shamik Banerjee’s interview had justified the fact that Chabi Biswas was the only actor in Indian cinema whose improvisation in a Satyajit Ray film had flabbergasted international audience of US, Canada, France, Germany, etc.

Satyajit Ray was known as the greatest perfectionist of his age. His script had each and every dimension relating to the work of the actors and actresses and there was hardly any scope of improvisation. But Chabi Biswas was such a great actor who could hardly be directed, nor guided, as his own innovation relating to the respective role that he played was brilliant by every acting standard. Ray had cast Chabi Biswas in three films Jalsaghar, Debi and Kanchenjungha, and due to his tragic death in 1962, Ray never got the scope of experimenting with the legendary actor in his following films.

In Jalsaghar, the character Biswambhar Roy could not have been portrayed by any other actor better than Chabi Biswas. It was based on the epic literature of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, where Ray showed his brilliance in the depiction of Feudal System during Colonial period in Bengal. For Chabi Biswas, aristocracy got predominance in his life as a zamindar, and that dignity, personality, honour could not be sacrificed during his lifetime. As long as Chabi Biswas’s wealth matched with his aristocracy, the zamindar compromised with other aspects of life, but when the upcoming wealthy people in the village like Gangapodo Basu, by becoming rich through business, tried to equate themselves with the dignified landlord, they faced the tassles.

Ray admitted, the scene where Chabi Biswas brought baijee (classical singer) from Benaras to perform in his house and Gangapodo Basu tried to give her reward and Chabi Biswas prevented him, the diction, the aristocracy and dignity could only be portrayed by Chabi Biswas. He said a performer can be first rewarded by the host who called her, not the invitee. The scene where Chabi Biswas was told that due to lack of duty paid by the farmers, there was no money to light the jharlonthon, Chabi Biswas went upstairs and showed the photographs of his ancestors whose sacred legacy he carried forward, and that was the scene which shook international audience. Ray once said, had Chabi Biswas been born in US, he would have received Oscar award for his performance in Jalsaghar.

Chabi Biswas’s performance in the film Debi, based on the epic literature of Prabhat Mukhopadhay, was unparallel. He almost got the illusion of seeing Goddess Kali in Sharmila Tagore, who was his sister-in-law. The expression for the belief which was based on devotion to God, was very complex, which could be only played by Chabi Biswas. Ray admitted, that had Chabi Biswas not been there, he would not have made the film at all.

In respect of roles having dignified presence, Chabi Biswas could not be replaced. The best example was Kanchenjungha. There Chabi Biswas was a rich industrialist. He could not equate others with himself as he had money, power, recognition in society. But Ray experimented with the abstract subject of the greatness of Kanchenjungha creating an impact in the minds of all the passersby including an egoist of the stature of Chabi Biswas. That was the reason when Chabi Biswas called the name of his friend Banerjee, the film ended with the realizationof the greatness of the Himalayas.

All the films of Satyajit Ray where he exploited the majestic performance of all time great actor Chabi Biswas should be restored and preserved. Lessons of acting and film making cannot be learned in a better manner than observing the great works of the two giants together.

Remembering Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2009.

Remembering Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2009.

Viewers of international films all across the world remember Oscar Winning Director Satyajit Ray on 2nd May, 2009. Ray was born on 2nd May, 1921, and critics feel it was the birth of legend of legends and probably one of the greatest talents the world has ever produced after Rabindranath Tagore. Ray showed his excellence in every different of film making including script writing, costumes, music direction, costume designing, etc.

My father, Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor, Bankshall Court, North, Calcutta, represented Sandip Ray, the son of Satyajit Ray, in a case relating to recovery of manuscripts from Uday Acharya, the brother of Nirmal Acharya, a renowned critic. When the manuscripts of Ray’s films were seized from Udai Acharya’s house and opened from sealed trunk it was seen that they were pictographic in nature. Script of the film Pather Panchali, Gonoshotru had illustrations at every part which showed the secret of Ray’s brilliant characterization in films.

Probably some of the actors and actresses in Ray’s films rose to stardom through the images portrayed by Ray. Chabi Biswas mesmerized the film lovers with his dignified performance in the role of Bishambhar Roy in the film Jalsaghar. Charu Prakash Ghosh was unparallel in the role of Birinchibaba in the film Kapurush Mahapurush. Anil Chatterji was unparallel in the role of Post Master in the film Teen Kanya. Utpal Dutt gave his performance for his life in the character Maganlal Meghraj in the film Joy Baba Felunath.

Similarly Om Puri and Smita Patil were sublime in their roles in the film Sadgati. Sanjeev Kumar entered the skin of the character played in the film Shatranj Ki Khiladi. Uttam Kumar could not have been replaced by any other actor in the film Nayak. Karuna Banerjee had made the role of mother of Apu immortal in the film Pather Panchali. Sharmila Tagore was outstanding in the film Debi. Tapen Chatterji and Robi Ghosh are still remembered by filmlovers through their character Goopi Bagha.

All the Indian directors like Shyam Benegal, Adoor Gopalakrishnan ,had agreed that they learnt the art of story-telling from Ray’ films. Even the theme music of the legendary director had moved the directors all across the world. Audrey Hepburn, the Oscar winning actress while awarding the Oscar award for lifetime contribution of Ray, said in her speech that Ray’s direction had the soul of Apu in the Apu Trilogy march out from the village of West Bengal and explored India and expressed the struggle for existence of every middle-class individual of the country.

Whenever classic literature of novelists and writers were used in films, Ray created his own dimension in those films, including the standard of excellence in the films Charulata and Ghare Baire which were based on the epic literature of Tagore. Films made by Ray from his own literature like Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, Agantuk, etc., were equally brilliant.

The films of Ray should be preserved to disseminate the art of script writing, costume designing, theme music, camera work, neat direction, etc.

Happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan

Happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Jaya Bacchan on 9th April, 2009. She was considered to be one of the most powerful actresses of films during the 70s and 80s. Her effortless performance in different types of roles had inspired other actresses to follow her later on.

Jaya Bacchan started her career with an impressive role in Satyajit Ray’s film Mahanagar in 1965. She played the role of younger sister of Anil Chatterji and adapted herself in the role of realistic actress who show least amount of mannerisms in that film. In the bollywood film Guddi, she played the role of a common girl who was inspired by bollywood films. Utpal Dutta, her uncle took her to film studios to show that actors like Dharmender and others were made stars by the sheer effort of the cameraman, make-up man, director, producer and others and larger than life image is created by the technicians. Jaya Bacchan showed the innocence required from the role of a common teenager in the film.

In the 70s, Jaya Bacchan acted in refined commercial films opposite Sanjeev Kumar and got appreciation from the mass and the critics. She was sublime in Gulzar’s film Koshish, where she herself along with Sanjeev Kumar played the role of a deaf and dumb couple who educated their child and learned communication by attending classes in deaf and dumb schools. She acted in the film Naya din nayi raat, opposite Sanjeev Kumar, where Sanjeev Kumar played 9 roles of 9 different persons. She left her house and met all the nine separate persons and met her husband which was also played by Sanjeev Kumar. She had very peculiar experiences of meeting drunkards, persons suffering from leprosy, smugglers, etc. and expressed her emotions very well.

She was sublime in Gulzar’s film Parichay in 1972, where she played the role of the eldest sister of Sanjeev Kumar. She and her brothers and sisters became orphans after the death of their parents and were brought by Pran, their grandfather to their ancestral house. Jeetender was invited to teach the children and she got involved with Jeetender at the end of the film. She expressed her love for her father and hatred towards grandfather for not accepting her mother in the house like any intellectual actress. Her lips in the song “biti na bitai rehna” sung by Lata and Bhupinder Singh require special mention.

Jaya Bachhan was equally sublime in commercial films like Sholay, Zanjeer, etc., opposite Big B. If her performance opposite Sanjeev Kumar in films like Anamika, Nauker, showed her class of acting, her performance opposite Big B in films like Bangsi Aur Birju or Abhimaan or Milli showed her spontaneous presence before the commercial crowd.

In Abhimaan, all the songs of Lata like “teri bindiya re”, “tere mere Milan ki yeh raina”, etc., almost appeared like songs of Jaya Bacchan. Critics feel that she even did better than Big B in Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s classic film.

She became a myth in the 70s, after performing in any time of film including Manoj Kumar’s Shor to Yash Chopra’s Silsila. Even the medium-budget films like Piya Ka Ghar did business due to sheer brilliance of performance of Jaya Bacchan. In the late 90s, she again made a comeback in character roles in films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Fiza, etc., and showed the audience that she had not lost her touch in acting.

The viewers expect her to continue the great work in bollywood films, as there is no doubt that she had equal potentiality like Shabana Azmi or Smita Patil and could have been chosen for any art film made by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini and others during the 80s, had she not left films for bringing up Abhishek Bacchan and her daughter.

Big B's comments on Slumdog Millionaire are baseless.

Big B’s comments on Slumdog Millionaire are baseless.

Very recently Big B has commented that the western world had recognized the efficient work in Indian films relating to realistic subjects. They did not appreciate the quality work done in mainstream cinema where the directors and techinicians also showed their expertise in the respective fields of cinema and the films had been appreciated by the people at large as well.

The reference was made in respect of the awards and recognition given in Anil Kapoor’s film Slumdog Millionaire. The story of the film was related to the life of a slumdweller in Mumbai. He participated in a competition in Television channel where by answering questions a person could be a millionaire. There had been similar competitions in the past like Kaun banega crorepati, dus ka dum, etc. The slumdweller one huge amount of money and it changed his life. A R Rehman had been awarded golden globe award and his background music in the film had been appreciated in US.

Big B’s reference relating to Satyajit Ray’s recognition in US and Europe does not make any sense. Firstly Ray was the first intellectual director of India who could make the nature speak for itself in the film Pather Panchali. There was a scene where Apu dropped the neckless alleged to have been stolen by Durga, his sister in the film, in a pond. The ripples were shown in the pond which came together to hide the truth and the end the story relating to the stealing of the necklace.

Satyajit Ray made the audience think about the ripples and understand that each of his scenes had inner meanings beyond the characters and the dialogues. Similarly when Kanu Banerji, the father of Apu, showed the sari that he bought from the market to his wife, she showed her outburst in tears, as Durga died few days back and it was known to her father. Satyajit Ray played the theme music played by Pandit Ravi Shankar to fade away the sound of the outburst of Karuna Banerji, the mother of Durga in the film.

Satyajit Ray was a path-breaker in contemporary cinema and giants of Indian films like Shyam Benegal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan had referred the number of times they had seen Pather Panchali to learn the art of film making from the legend of legends Satyajit Ray.

Recognition of Satyajit Ray during his illustrious career in US and Europe had hardly anything to do with the poverty existing in Bengal or the realistic subject matters. The recognition was based on the level of excellence that he had reached in each and every film in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

Ray had dealt with classic literature of Tagore in films like Teen Kanya, Charulata, Ghare Baire, he had worked on crime thrillers written by himself like Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, he had worked on contemporary problems lying in Kolkata in films like Mahanagar in 1965, and Pratidwandi in the early 70s, he had also worked on the fading of rule of feudal lords (zamindari) during colonial rule in films like Jalsaghar.

Ray had been an institution by himself in inventing new grammer of story-telling, working outside the studio, using non-professional actors, experimenting with eastern and western classical music, believing in reflections, etc. Whenever discussions are made in respect of realistic films or art films in India and abroad, it is better if Satyajit Ray’s name is not used for comparison, because he was unparallel, uncomparable and much ahead of his time. In that respect Big B’s comments are absolutely baseless.

If India had given birth to one novel prize winning poet like Rabindranath Tagore, India had given birth only one oscar winning director like Satyajit Ray. Legends of the contemporary period had just learned and learned from these maestros whose works had reached a level of perfection which cannot be matched.

Remembering Tapan Sinha - the legendary storyteller.

Remembering Tapan Sinha – the legendary story – teller.

Tapan Sinha, the legendary story-teller and path-breaker in Bengali cinema had died recently at the age of 84 years. Very recently he had been awarded the highest award Dada Saheb Phalke for his notable contribution to films for more than 50 years. Being a big admirer of John Ford and Billy Wilder, Tapan Sinha worked under the dynamic personility Charles Cryton in Pinewood Studios in London.He returned back to India with a vision of merging the environment, mystery, tribal reality, social concerns with literary flavour and his dynamism shaped and nurtured silver screen from its infancy to a field of exhibition of work of art.

Most of his films received awards in India including national awards and also international awards. He had used the immortal literature of legendary writers of Bengal including Rabindranath Tagore, Jorasondho, Sorodindu Bandhopadhyay, Subodh Ghosh, to name a few and mesmerized the audience with his powerful script, outstanding camera work, meaningful casting and innovative story-telling.

The subjects with which he had made films never matched with each other showing the dynamism of the legend of legends. The story of Kabuliwala was based on Tagore’s realization of affection of an afghan father for his small daughter. Chabi Biswas astonished the viewers with his dynamic performance and created a standard which was not reached by even stalwart actor of bollywood Balraj Sahani in Bimal Roy’s Kabuliwala.

In that respect, no other director other than Satyajit Ray had such a strong casting sense that was exhibited by Tapan Sinha. His team of actors varied from film to film and the audience found that the actor or actresses he chose in the respective film matched the literary character that was depicted in novels. Nirmal Kumar, the jailor in the film Louhakapat was matchless with his poetic eyes which expressed his compassion towards the prisoners.

His casting of Uttam Kumar in the film Jhinder Bandi, the adaptation of Anthony Hopp’s Prisoner of Zenda, stormed Bengali films in the early 60s. Uttam Kumar looked like a European actor on horseback which was required in the film considering the chivalry that was required from Shankar Narayan Singh, the prince of Jhind, a land of warriors. The same Uttam Kumar was used in a different way by Tapan Sinha in the film Jotu Griha.

Uttam Kumar was a notable engineer in the film, who married Arundhuti Debi, but could not beget any child due to deficiency of Arundhuti Debi. He had property, pomp, grandeur, recognition in the society, yet due to lack of children ultimately the relationship ended up in separation. In their separation also the relationship between Uttam Kumar and Arundhuti Debi was divine, and their feelings for each other touched the souls of the audience when in the last scene their trains crossed one another thereby providing a new path for the spouses. The depiction of Anil Chatterji, a middle-class worker in Uttam Kumar’s firm who had many children and was needy, yet happy with his struggling life, had not been forgotten by cinematic audience.

The same Tapan Sinha brought out the best from Tragedy King Dilip Kumar in the film Sagina Mahato, which was remade in hindi as well. Dilip Kumar was tribal leader and leader of worker’s union in the hilly districts of West Bengal. He was used by the local political leaders including Anil Chatterji for mobilizing the ideal youth of the place, but when Dilip Kumar gained popularity, his powers were taken away and he was proved to a traitor. The powerful performance of both Dilip Kumar and Anil Chatterji had not been forgotten by cinematic audience even after 40 years of the date of creation of the film.

He used Ashok Kumar and Vaijayantimala in style in the film Hate Bajare, where the notable contribution of a compassionate doctor attracted the attention of the viewers. Villains like Ajitesh Banerjee and comedians like Chinmoy Roy surprised the viewers with a different style of acting. Again in Nirjan Saikate, Anil Chatterji’s performance as an observer questioned the fate of five widows in the film namely Sharmila Tagore, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Bharati Devi, Chaya Devi, Renuka Debi, all of whom received National awards for their individual performance.

When the works of Tapan Sinha are analyzed it becomes a question to the historians in respect of where to start and when to end. The work of Kali Banerjee, a compounder in the film Arohi, with an emotional relationship with his master played by Bikash Roy, requires special mention. The feelings of a semi-educated rural person was displayed in style by Kali Banerjee who sacrified his earnings for the education of his master’ son.

Tapan Sinha’s other landmark films include Khudito Pashan, Khaniker Atithi, Golpo Holey Sotti. Tapan Sinha even showed the unrest existing in Kolkata during the naxalite period in films like Ekhoni and Aponjon. Besides there were films based on reflections like the film Atithi were Tagore’s complex observations were highlighted. His comedy films like Bancharamer Bagan and Baidurjo Rahasya addressed the interests of common audience of the country.

Radhamohan Bhattacharya, an eminent scholar and versatile personality was used by Tapan Sinha in dynamic roles like the royal diwan in Jhinder Bandi, the medical expert in Khoniker Atithi, the noted novelist in Kabuliwala and the urdu poet in Khudito Pashan.

In the late 90s, Tapan Sinha even made films based on antisocial activities like Antardhan and Atonko, where Soumitra Chatterji depicted the concerns of middle-class father in a complex society. Most of Tapan Sinha’s films were remade in hindi and provided fresh ideas for other directors in bollywood industry like Bimal Roy, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, etc.

He is probably the most unsung, unrecognized, unlamented maestros of golden age of Bengali cinema, but the intellectuals of India and abroad consider Tapan Sinha as the greatest director of all times after Satyajit Ray and had remained an institution by himself.

The viewers pay their regard and respect to the departed soul.

Review of the film Tintorretor Jishu.

Review of the film Tintorretor Jishu.

Sandip Ray, the son of renowned director Satyajit Ray, the only Indian director who received Oscar award for lifetime contribution to motion pictures, created his new film Tintorretor Jishu based on the detective story written by Satyajit Ray. His characters Prodosh Mitra (Feluda), Tapesh Mitra (Topshe) and Lal Mohan Ganguly (jatayu) all were created on screen in the film Tintorretor Jishu.

Satyajit Ray introduced his viewers with these characters with his epic film Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath in the mid-70s. After that he could not make any new episode on Feluda due to the sudden death of Santosh Dutta, the actor who played the role of Lal Mohan Ganguly in Sonar Kella and Joy Baba Felunath. His son Sandip Ray had experimented with these characters and in the last few films he had stuck to one team consisting of Sabyasachi Chakravarthy playing the role of Feluda (the private investigator), Parambroto Chatterji playing the role of Topesh, and Bibhu Bhattacharya playing the role of Lal Mohan Ganguly (the writer who is an admirer of Feluda).

As Satyajit Ray’s films had always been made for international audience and whenever they have been send in International Film Festivals, English subtitles are created for the non-bengali viewers. Sandip Ray’s films also are catered to the viewership of Bengali and non-bengali audience and for those who had previously watched Satyajit Ray’s films the expectations are huge.

He had made two episodes of Satyajit Ray previously with the title Bombaiyer Bombete and Kailashe Kelenkari and both were appreciated. The story of the film revolves around the mystery relating to the painting of famous Italian painter named Tintoretto which gets stolen. Feluda chases the perpetrators of the crime from Kolkata to Hongkong to solve the mystery.

The producers had spend a lot of money on international location if compared with the other episodes of Feluda, where the scene of occurrence was related to Indian places like Jaisalmer, Benaras, Mumbai, etc. For those reasons the exotic locations had created new dimension for the Feluda-lovers across the world.

The performance of Sabyasachi had been impressive along with the performance of Bibhu Bhattacharya in a serio-comic role. Paran Banerjee had also done well in his respective role. The script had been ideal and the theme music also worth mentioning.

The only concern lies with respect to the fact that the viewers these days are posted with updated version of Hollywood films, and in that perspective whether the detective story relating to Tintorettor Jishu could update the viewers with the modern gazettes that are expected to be used by a detective of 21st century. The story is brilliant and can be compared with any successful stories of Arthur Conan Doyle or Agatha Christie. The viewers should watch the film to educate themselves with thoughtful literature based on science fiction and powerful story telling.

Music in Satyajit Ray films.

Music in Satyajit Ray films.

Satyajit Ray had been a trend-setter in different spheres of film making. The use of music in his films had been grammatical and meaningful.

For example in the film Pather Panchali, he used the expertise of Pandit Ravishankar to use the theme music at the time when Kanu Banerjee, the father of Durga, the girl who died due to lack of medical treatment, returned home. Her father never knew anything about the incident. There was a severe storm the last night which destroyed property in the village.

Kanu Banerjee saw the destructive picture of the village and realized that there was bad news for him. He came to know about the death of the daughter. When he gave the clothes that he bought for the family including the saree that he bought for Durga, his wife cried. The weeping sound was faded away by the theme music of Ray.

The same theme music was carried forward in Aparajito and Apur Sangsar, the following parts of Apu Trilogy. There was royal class of music used in the film Jalsaghar, where Chabi Biswas played the role of the feudal lord during the colonial period.

The ustadi gharana of music was exhibited in the film which was appreciated by the Zamindars of that time. Ray composed his own music in the films Goopi Gayin Bagha Bayin and Hirok Rajar Deshe.


Modern directors can learn a lot from the realistic use of music in the films of Ray and for that reason the films and the music should be restored.