Satyajit Ray
Charulata: His Allegorical Women
Kaveree Bamzai
When the woman made a radical choice, Ray was uncomfortable. He was more comfortable showing women taking a stand against institutional orthodoxy
The Mind of Bengal
It is easy to see why Ray’s films were classed as arthouse in the West. In Calcutta, they were screened in cinemas which showed regular Bengali films, whose audiences in the 1950s and 1960s didn’t watch much Hindi cinema
The Inner Eye
Ray obsessed about the tiniest detail. A sceptic of the time had grudgingly admitted: ‘How did a city boy know that when a frog dies, it floats on its back?’
A Humanist Behind the Camera
Ray chose his stories with the dexterity of a jeweller picking his diamonds. And he was far from naïve on politics
From Genius to Divinity
Satyajit Ray never touched alcohol, and listened to a sonata by Beethoven on his turntable gramophone at breakfast. What else could possibly be required for the biodata of a Calcutta god?
He Kept You at Arm’s Length
But you could always trust Satyajit Ray to say what he meant. His opinions were sharp, to the point
Soumitra Chatterjee (1935-2020): Rays of Light
Satyajit Ray and Soumitra Chatterjee showed what it is to be a man in modern India
Soumitra Chatterjee (1935-2020): A Global Humanist
From his debut as an adult Apu, Soumitra Chatterjee taught generations of Bengalis, especially the men, how to be at home in the world
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