Satyajit Ray
Hugo Weaving on how Satyajit Ray introduced him to Indian cinema
Hugo Weaving celebrated for his unforgettable performance as the enigmatic Agent Smith in “The Matrix” saga, recently reflected on his newest cinematic endeavour, “The Rooster”.
‘Pather Panchali’ actress Uma Dasgupta passes away
Uma Dasgupta, the actress who portrayed Durga in Satyajit Ray’s “Pather Panchali” has passed away at the age of 84 after a prolonged illness.
Hindi cinema used to operate in an alternative reality: Shabana Azmi
Indian veteran actress Shabana Azmi has recently captivated the audience during a masterclass moderated by actress Vidya Balan at the 2024 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The two icons shared insights on their journeys, the challenges of acting across different mediums, and their thoughts on the evolution of Hindi cinema.
Movies and Miles / From ‘Feluda’ to ‘Derry Girls’: Why we seek out fictional places
One of my earliest adventures into culture-based tourism was following the trail of Feluda in Kolkata, tracing the steps of Satyajit Ray’s famous detective. Since organised culture-based tourism wasn’t really a thing in this part of the world, I had to piece together the trail on my own.
Satyajit-Soumitra's memorial house lost to corporates
Satyajit Ray and Soumitra Chatterjee once shared a three-story flat at 3 Lake Temple Road in South Kolkata. This house holds a place of remembrance for two iconic figures in Bengali cinema, has now changed ownership and is in the hands of a corporate body. Anandabazar Online, an Indian media outlet, has published a report on the current condition of this historic residence.
ESSAY / Chronicling the ’70s through Satyajit Ray
The Calcutta trilogy withstands the test of time and seems relevant to us even today, perhaps because Satyajit Ray was keen to ask questions rather than suggest a solution to the audience
Birthday Special / Into the multiverse of Satyajit
Satyajit Ray and his brilliance have been a quintessential part of Bengali cinema and its representation worldwide for decades. Talking about why and how his masterpieces are legendary never seems enough, and perhaps it never will be.
The lesser-known facets of cinematic maestro Satyajit Ray
Born on May 2, 1921, Ray’s artistic journey began in the realm of commercial art before he became a filmmaker. His encounter with French filmmaker Jean Renoir and his experience with Vittorio De Sica's groundbreaking film “Bicycle Thieves” during a trip to London were pivotal, steering him toward independent filmmaking.
‘Feluda’ actor Sabyasachi Chakraborty hospitalised
The “Feluda” famed actor might be admitted to the hospital for the placement of a pacemaker in his heart. However, his family members didn’t reveal anything regarding Sabyasachi’s illness or the reason behind his hospital admission, stated the newspaper.
A tribute to Satyajit Ray's film-making techniques
He used the various technicalities of filmmaking to express this language to the fullest. His preference for using lights and shadows in various angles to dramatise certain situations in the story was evident from his very first film. Exploring the appropriate use of different types of shots, close shots, pan shots, long shots to frame the flow of events in a lyrical manner with the limited technology available at that time was his speciality.
The Craft of Ray's Cinema
The nature of filmmaking in the 1930s and '40s was quite interesting. It was a time when movies in the Indian subcontinent were entirely dependent on music. A single feature length super hit movie sometimes contained even 60 to 70 songs.
Screening of Satyajit Ray Films
The Daily Star is honoured to arrange a film screening and discussion of Charulata and Kanchenjunga, marking beloved author Satyajit Ray's 97th birthday.
Ray: The Man Behind Bengali Cinema
Around 1948, cine clubs were flourishing in Kolkata. A new wave of intellectuals was on the rise. These people thought of cinema to be the voice of the commoners, of the middle class and not just a studio dependent entertainment medium.
Satyajit's “Professor Shonku” coming to the big screen
Satyajit Ray's Feluda, Sharadindu Bandopadhyay's Byomkesh Bakshi, Nihar Ranjan Gupta's Kiriti Roy and Syed Mustafa Siraj's Colonel Niladri Sarkar are some of the biggest names in Bangla adventure-mystery literary genre, and their appeal has often transcended pages of the books and onto other media.
Feluda's journey to Bangladesh
Prodosh Chandra Mitra, otherwise known as Feluda, is one of the most popular fictional detective characters in Bengali literature, and was brought to the silver screen by Satyajit Ray himself.
A new Feluda TV series is coming to Bangladesh
Satyajit's son Sandip Ray, who has the rights to the Feluda series, recently gave the TV rights to Bangladesh's Candy Productions...
A Hindi reimagining of Ghare Baire
More than three decades after Satyajit Ray made a film on Rabindranath Tagore's “Ghare Baire”, young filmmaker Reema Mukherjee is making a Hindi movie inspired by the famous novel.
In memory of Ritwik Ghatak
Happy Birthday to Ritwik Kumar Ghatak, the man behind the creations like “The Golden Thread”, “The Cloud-Capped Star”, ”Titas Ekti Nodir Naam”.
The genius making sense with his 'nonsense'
In remembrance of Sukumar Ray, the great Bangalee poet, story writer and playwright Bangla literature will forever be indebted to.