An Ode to the Extraordinaire Director/Writer Ray

I have been a Satyajit Ray fangirl for the longest time. I have read and re-read his books. Watched and re-watched his movies umpteen times and yet I would never leave the opportunity to watch or read his works again. The Sonar Kella DVD and the Feluda Samagra are the most treasured of my possessions.

Gupi Gayen Bagha Bayen, Hirok Rajar Deshe, Jai baba Felunath, Sonar Kella, Teen Kanya, Ghore Baire, Apur Sansar, Aguntuk, Shakha Proshakha are some my all time favourite films.  He handled difficult subjects with simplicity and subtlety. Who can forget Charulata sitting on her swing and looking at Amal?  Or in Shakha Proshakha, when an ailing Ananda Majumdar’s grandson asks him what is black money? Or the Magoj Dholai (brain washing) machine from Hirok Rajar Deshe Or the last scene from the same movie where the now enlightened villagers pull down the huge statue of the King? Or Jatayu’s introduction in Sonar Kella ‘dur moshai ami gorparer lok Hindi ki keu shadhe mare naki?’  [Which translates simply to I speak Hindi by compulsion, but when combined with Jatayu’s delivery and the extraordinary Hindi that he speaks, etches it in your memory]

And the most amazing thing about his movies are that every time you watch it, it will have a different meaning for you, a classic example is the Gupi Bagha series about these two good for nothing, buffoons with a golden heart, who end up teaching you so much.

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