Satyajit Ray > Quotes

“The only solutions that are ever worth anything are the solutions that people find themselves.”
― Satyajit Ray

“Last, but not least -- in fact, this is most important -- you need a happy ending. However, if you can create tragic situations and jerk a few tears before the happy ending, it will work much better.”
― Satyajit Ray, The Bandits of Bombay

“জানোয়ারের মন মানুষের মত জট পাকানো নয়। মানুষের মধ্যে যে সবচেয়ে বেশি সাদাসিধে, তারও মন একটা বাঘের মনের চেয়ে অনেক বেশি প্যাঁচালো।”
― Satyajit Ray, The Royal Bengal Mystery

“I mix Indian instruments with Western instruments all the time.”
― Satyajit Ray

“Somehow I feel that an ordinary person–the man in the street if you like–is a more challenging subject for exploration than people in the heroic mold. It is the half shades, the hardly audible notes that I want to capture and explore. […] My films are about human beings, human relationships, and social problems. I think it is possible for everyone to relate to these issues. On a certain level, foreign audiences can appreciate Indian works, but many details are missed. For example, when they see a woman with a red spot on her forehead, they don’t know that this is a sign showing that she is married, or that a woman dressed in a white sari is a widow. Indian audiences understand this at once; it is self-evident for them. So, on certain level, the cultural gap is too wide. But on a psychological level, on the level of social relations, it is possible to relate. I think I have been able to cross the barrier between cultures. My films are made for an Indian audience, but I think they have bridged the gap.”
― Satyajit Ray

“Dominus Omnium Magister. It means God is the master of all things.”
― Satyajit Ray, The Complete Adventures of Feluda: Volume I

“Ray doesn’t go into lengthy descriptions. Yet, you can see—even feel—it all happening. That’s enough to bring out the goose pimples!’ Clearly, here the filmmaker in Ray gave him an edge over other writers. His words were brief, simple, lucid. But the impression that emerged was extraordinarily rich in detail.”
― Satyajit Ray, Best Of Satyajit Ray

“When a new character appears in your tale, you must describe his looks and clothes in some detail. If you don’t, your reader may imagine certain things on his own, which will probably not fit whatever you say later on.’ So”
― Satyajit Ray, The Complete Adventures of Feluda: Volume II

“If you take some words at random and put them together, it becomes gibberish, and everyone who knows the meaning of words knows it as such. But if you take unrelated moving images and string them together, there will always be some people who will hold that the resultant strip of celluloid aims at some profundity.”
― Satyajit Ray, Satyajit Ray on Cinema

“Andar aaiye,”
― Satyajit Ray, The Complete Adventures of Feluda: Volume I

“[W]hile devices cannot replace imagination, they can certainly influence it and even mould it. Devices are there for the artists to use if they so wish. With them they can say new things in a new way, or even old things in a new way. Or, if they choose, they can ignore the devices and say new things in an old way, or old things in an old way.”
― Satyajit Ray, Satyajit Ray on Cinema

“আমার বৈজ্ঞানিক মনের একটা অংশ আক্ষেপ করছে যে, তাকে ভালো করে স্টাডি করা গেল না, তার বিষয়ে অনেক কিছুই জানা গেল না। সেইসঙ্গে আরেকটা অংশ বলছে যে, মানুষের সব জেনে ফেলার লোভের একটা সীমা থাকা উচিত। এমন কিছু থাকুক, যা মানুষের মনে প্রশ্নের উদ্রেক করতে পারে, বিস্ময় জাগিয়ে তুলতে পারে।”
― Satyajit Ray, The Final Adventures of Professor Shonku

“Then the problems of film making began to fade into the background, and you found yourself belittling the importance of the camera. After all, it was merely an instrument. The important thing was the truth. Get at it and you had your great masterpieces. But how wrong we were! The moment you are on the set, this three-legged instrument took charge. Problems came thick and fast. Where to place the camera? High or low, near or far, on the dolly or on the ground? Was the thirty-five okay? Would you rather move back and use the fifty? Get too close to the action and the emotion of the scene spilled out -- get it too far back and the thing became cold and remote. To each problem you had to find a quick answer. If you delayed, the sun shifted and made nonsense of your uncertainty.”
― Satyajit Ray, My Years With Apu

“কোথায় শুটিং হবে, বাবারা?" প্রশ্নটা চুনিবালার।
বললাম, "স্টুডিওতে নয়, একটা কুঁড়েঘরে। গল্পটা এক পুরুতঠাকুরের সংসার নিয়ে। সম্পর্কে আপনি তার দিদি। সেই বুড়ি দিদির ভূমিকায় আপনি অভিনয় করবেন। জায়গাটা এখান থেকে মাইল-পনেরো দূরে। গাড়িতে করে সরাসরি আপনাকে নিয়ে যাব আমরা, তারপর সন্ধের মধ্যেই কাজ শেষ করে এখানে আবার ফিরিয়ে দিয়ে যাব। ধকলটা আপনি সহ্য করতে পারবেন তো?"
"তা পারব। বোধহয় ঠিক এই রকমের একটা সুযোগের জন্যেই শরীরের শেষ শক্তিটুকুকে ধরে রেখেছি।”
― Satyajit Ray, My Years With Apu

“Feluda.”
― Satyajit Ray, The Complete Adventures of Feluda: Volume I

“of the”
― Satyajit Ray, The Collected Short Stories

“donald duk.”
― Satyajit Ray, The Collected Short Stories

“Satyajit Ray was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and composer.

Regarded as one of the greatest Indian filmmakers in history. He was known for directing The Chess Players, Distant Thunder, and The Stranger.He was the recipient of an honorary Academy Award in 1992 for his masterful filmmaking.He directed the acclaimed 1977 film The Chess Players, which starred Sanjeev Kumar.”
― Satyajit Ray

“Thankfully, great works of art are way beyond the reach of critics”
― Satyajit Ray, Speaking of Films

“I did not look for a work of art every time I went to a cinema. In fact, I doubt I could have learnt very much if I had seen nothing but masterpieces. - Satyajit Ray in Deep Focus.”
― Satyajit Ray, Deep Focus: Reflections On Cinema