Probashi- Cover Story
Probashi- Cover Story
film every second day. This was his first real exposure to world cinema. The film which struck Ray the most was Vittorio De Sica ' s classic Bicycle Thieves( 1948). In the movie De Sica had broken many myths about film making which echoed many of the ideas Ray had for Pather Panchali. De Sica had shot only on location, cast non actors, allowed no makeup, worked on shoe string budget and brilliantly used light and sound for stunning visuals. Bicycle Thieves is ranked amongst the top ten movies ever produced. Ray had found his framework in Bicycle Thieves which he would use to telling effect in Pather Panchali.
Back in India in later half of 1950 after his 4 months stint in London Ray was clear that he wanted to make a film which would have a treatment never before been tried in Indian films. He was ready to sail the uncharted waters, he was ready to challenge the conventional wisdom and write poetry on celluloid.
Ray now went about tying up the logistics. First was to get the filming rights for Pather Panchali, for which he approached the widow of Bhibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyay. Rama Bandhopadhyay was an ardent admirer of Ray’ s father and grandfather and was privy to Ray’ s skills as a book illustrator and immediately gave the filming rights for the movie to Ray. She did not budge even when other lucrative offers were made by established film producers. To one who had offered her Rs. 15000 she politely replied“ one does not sell ones son”. If the film had to be made of the book it had to be by Satyajit Ray. Confident Ray now went about in search of funding for the film. It was then that he hit his first major roadblock. Ray’ s towering presence, his family background and
Making of Pather Panchali
Chunibala Devi( 1873- 1955) played the old aunt, Indir Thakrun, to Apu and Durga. Formerly a theatre actress, Chunibala Devi made her film debut with Bigraha in 1930, though after her second film, Rikta in 1939 she retired. She was brought out of her retirement at the age of 80 by Satyajit Ray to act in the pivotal role of her career. Chunibala was living in the red light area of Kolkata and Ray paid her a visit and instantly found her suitable for the role. She asked for a very small salary but made a request that her daily quota of opium be provided for at the shooting location. The day the production crew forgot the give the daily dose Chunibala fainted. She became the first Indian to win an award in the best actor / actress category in an international film festival- The Manila Film festival, for her role of Indir Thakrun. Pather Panchali took three years to make; Ray would often wonder what he would do if Chunibala Devi died before the film was complete. She died in Kolkata, of influenza, in the year 1955 aged 82, before the release of Pather Panchali. Chunibala had completed the film!
Left: Kanu Banerjee( 1905-1985) played the role of Harihar, the father of Durga and Apu, who is a priest and a wannabe poet in the film. On the first day of shooting, Kanu turned up with an expensive haircut. Ray was shocked; obviously a village priest cannot afford such a haircut. The days’ shooting was cancelled and Kanu was asked to grow his hair again. One of the few professional actors in the cast, Kanu had acted in a number of films previously, but it was Pather Panchali which made him famous. His statue can be seen at Banamali Chatterjee Street in Tala neighbourhood of North Kolkata, where he used to stay. Right: Karuna Banerjee( 1991-2001) played the role of Sarbajaya, the mother of Apu and Durga. Subrata husband of Karuna and colleague of Ray recommended her. Although she had acted a good deal in the Indian People’ s Theatre Association( IPTA) she viewed cinema as unsuitable for respectable women and at first instance refused to act. Though an urban socialite she was outstanding in her role of a suffering village wife. Later she went on to do number of movies with critically acclaimed directors.