A multi-faceted individual, Satyajit Ray is mostly known for his brilliant film making. Not many know that he was also a screenwriter, author, calligrapher and also a music composer. Born on 2nd May 1921, Satyajit Ray has to his credit not just award winning films but dozens of short stories too. Some of them have already been adapted into short films while some into anthologies. Graced with Bharat Ratna and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Satyajit Ray bid goodbye to the world on 23rd April 1992. Interestingly, Satyajit Ray was presented with an Honorary Academy Award by Audrey Hepburn via video-link just days before his death.
Some of the most popular and acclaimed feature films of Satyajit include –
Devi – A film which revolves around Dayamoyee ( Sharmila Tagore ) married to Umaprasad ( Soumitra Chatterjee) against her wish. Dayamoyee’s father-in-law believes that she is an avatar of Goddess Kaali. Over a period of time even Dayamoyee starts believing that she is actually an incarnation. Unfortunately it ends up in a tragedy.
Charulata – Yet another master piece from Satayjit Ray. This one too is based on a strong woman character. Charu is married to Bhupati who has little time for her, as he is busy with his newspaper office. The ease some of his wife’s loneliness he sends his cousin Amal. Soon the two fall in love. However, they never get together.
Shatranj Ke Khilari – Based on Munshi Premchand’s acclaimed short story, it is a tale of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh ( Amjad Khan ), Sajjad Ali (Sanjeev Kumar) and Mir Roshan Ali ( Saeed Jaffrey ) the two distinct noblemen of the former’s court. It depicts their love for art and artistry, especially the game of chess and how in spite of being ousted continued to bathe in the glory of game. It is this love for the sport which prevents them from serving their kingdom, their people and even their families.
Two – Actually, a short film which was released in 1964 it is Satyajit Ray’s earliest short film. This 12 minute silent movie narrates the story of two boys; one rich and the other poor through their individual prisms. It is a tussle between two distinct classes of societies. Although the film is devoid of dialogues, the expressions of the lads make up for that absence.
TRIVIA – Satyajit Ray’s Extremely Popular Character Feluda
Feluda or Pradosh Chandra Mitter ( Mitra ), an extremely popular character in Bengali Literature was created by Satyajit Ray. He is a fictional Bengali private investigator. Satyajit Ray directed two Feluda movies — Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath and innumerable stories ( 35 Feluda Narratives ) based on this character.
Recently ( 2021 ) Netflix released an anthology titled RAY on its OTT platform. It consists of four stories – Bahrupiya, Hungama Hai Kyon Barpa, Forget Me Not & Spotlight. Directed by Abhishek Chaubey, Srijit Mukherji and Vasan Bala, the anthology series was premiered exclusively on Netflix on June 25, 2021.
Check out our reviews of Satyajit Ray films –