skills, the love for films continued as | ||||||||||||||||||
a hobby and passion. He along with | ||||||||||||||||||
his |
friends |
would |
screen |
and |
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critically discuss films on weekends. | ||||||||||||||||||
In |
1948 |
Ray |
and |
his |
friends |
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established |
the |
Calcutta |
Film |
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Society.
The Battleship
Potemkin
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was the first film they screened. | ||||||||||||||||||
Soon, |
Ray |
started |
writing |
and |
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publishing articles on cinema in | ||||||||||||||||||
newspapers and magazines. Who | ||||||||||||||||||
|
would have known that these addas
( leisurely discussion) on films would one day produce
India’ s best film maker. Not only that, it would also give India its foremost art director in form of
Bansi Chandra
Gupta and cinematographer
Subrata
Mitra, both friends of Ray and part of his team which shot the path breaking
Pather
Panchali. Ray,
Gupta and
|
Left: Subir
Roy then a boy of nine played the role of Apu in
Pather Panchali
Right: Subir now in his sixties retired as a provident fund officer with an engineering firm. Never did he do any other movie after
Pather Panchali. It is luck that Subir played
Apu. Subir’ s family used to live at 31 Lake
Avenue and
Ray was their neighbour. One day
Ray’ s wife Bijoya chanced upon
Subir playing in the neighbourhood and suggested to Ray that the young boy would best fit as Apu
. Till then Satyajit had tried in vain to find his perfect Apu. Ray met Subir’ s father who was initially reluctant to allow Subir to act in films. Satyajit convinced with some prophetic words ' Today, no one knows your son or me. But I ' ll make a film that will change
Bengali cinema. Then
, all of Bengal will know both of us.' Subir’ s father agreed, moved by the conviction in Ray’ s voice and the rest is history.
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Mitra, all three without any formal | ||||||||||||||||||
training, |
would |
prove |
to |
be |
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pioneers in their area of expertise. | ||||||||||||||||||
One wonders is it providence, | ||||||||||||||||||
environment or the right company | ||||||||||||||||||
which |
produces |
brilliant |
workall |
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three. probably it is the mix of | ||||||||||||||||||
A well paid job in one of India’ s | ||||||||||||||||||
leading advertisement agency and a | ||||||||||||||||||
|
film society to manage
, life was
| ||||||||||||||||||
moving along predictable lines for | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Ray.
Becoming a filmmaker till then had never crossed
Ray’ s mind.
However three things happened which would change the course of his life.
|
Left: Uma
Dasgupta then 12 years old and student of class
VIII played the role of
Durga to perfection. Right: Uma Dasgupta now.
Uma was discovered by
Ashish Burman a friend of Ray who knew the headmistress of the school where Uma studied. Ray met Uma’ s father
, an ex-footballer, and selected
Durga on the spot.
The stills Ray took of Uma at the terrace of her house fitted perfectly to Durga in
Ray’ s mind.
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First was a request by his senior at
Jean Renoir the famous
French film the DJ
Keymer, DK
Gupta, who ran a director. It so happened that in bangla publishing house
Signet to
1949 Renoir had come to Calcutta design the cover of its publications. to scout locations for his film The
One of the books Ray illustrated
River( which incidentally went on was the abridged version of Bibhuti to win a prize at
Venice Film
Bhushan
Bandhopadyaya’ s Pather
Festival). Ray an admirer of Renoir
|
films.
Impressed Renoir asked Ray if he was planning to be a film maker, and Ray found himself nodding in the affirmative and narrated the story of
Pather
Panchali. Renoir encouraged
Ray. Getting a pat from one of world’ s finest film director
|
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|
Panchali.
The book made a lasting presented himself at the Great
|
convinced Ray |
of becoming a film |
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|
impression on Ray, and a chance
Eastern
|
Hotel |
and |
sought |
an |
maker. |
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remark by
DK, who had once been audience with Renoir. The last thing
The third event was Ray being sent an editor of a film magazine, that that Renoir had expected was to in
1950 by his employer DJ Keymer the abridgedd version would make a meet someone in
Kolkata who to the firm’ s
London office for a 4 great film got Ray thinking. could with great authority discuss months stint.
Ray in these four the entire body of his
( Renoir’ s)
Second was a chance meeting with months saw
999 films at a rate of one
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