The Cinema of Satyajit Ray

by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

Satyajit Ray is the tallest Indian figure in world cinema. Retrospectives across the globe, perhaps even more than at home, have kept his legacy alive. But how do we understand his cinema in the context of a vastly different world? What keeps great cinema from becoming dated? What are the particularities of Ray’s movies that cause them to endure?

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay’s literary engagement with Ray’s cinema spans years. In this book, he revisits each one of Satyajit Ray’s thirty-nine feature films, shorts and documentaries to investigate their cinematic and social context. He also speaks to a number of the master’s collaborators as well as other directors and critics to truly understand Ray and his work.

Packed with delightful anecdotes and fresh insights, and rare photographs from and of his films, The Cinema of Satyajit Ray is an essential book for every cinephile’s library.

‘Ray’s greatest strength was his power of suggestion’ – Aparna Sen

‘Satyajit Ray did not believe in God’ – Dhritiman Chaterji

‘In his films, Satyajit Ray has never shown any ugliness.’ – Madhabi Mukherjee

‘Agantuk was the culmination of one of the most illustrious careers in cinema history’ – Mamata Shankar

‘Ray never compromised his narrative for the sake of his politics’ – Neeraj Ghaywan

‘Ray was a polymath talent, but the flip side of that is being a bit of a control freak’ – Oliver Craske

‘Whenever I travel abroad, wherever there is good cinema, people know me because of Devi’ – Sharmila Tagore

‘Satyajit Ray was not a documentarist by choice.’ – Shyam Benegal

Genres: Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

Published March 4, 2024

About the author

Bhaskar Chattopadhyay is an author, translator, columnist and screenwriter. He is best known for the Janardan Maity series and for the translation of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's iconic novel 'Aranyak'. His primary research interest is the life, literature, art and cinema of Satyajit Ray, and he has written several books on Ray. Bhaskar has also written several screenplays, all of which are in production. He teaches screenwriting to film students and aspiring filmmakers. Bhaskar lives and works in Toronto.

Reviews

[Gorab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satyajit Ray is a genre in itself. There are books by Ray, and then there are books on Ray!
Abundance of creative art with top notch perfection. I keep falling in love with Ray's work all over after reading any of his books about films.

Coming to this book. Divided in two parts, it is a commentary on all of his films. Second part contains excerpts from interviews with folks who have worked with Ray in different capacities.

I loved going through the first part. Theme, plot and anecdotes about each of his 36 films, with one inset picture from one of the scenes of the film.

⚠️ It has spoilers, so skip the chapter if you want to watch that film.

Overall:
It's a must read for Satyajit Ray fans. The more number of films you've seen, the better you'll connect with this book.

P.S.: After Apur Sansar, my favorite film is the underrated Nayak. There's a whole book dedicated to Nayak. Quite a delight!
"Our Films, Their Films" still stands as my favorite book by him.

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most insightful, witty and beautifully crafted books. Oftentimes, books on cinema are more like a critical analysis but this one is a simple plain essay form and is quite interesting.

[Nadia Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really could not care about the last three chapters though.

[Antariksh Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my own sweet time to finish this one, and I’m honestly glad I did, because this book doesn’t just tell you about the films, it slowly pulls you into the world and mindset of maybe the most important figure in Indian cinema. The way Bhaskar ji presents an engaging and almost affectionate overview of each one of Manik Da’s 46 works makes you feel a strange mix of excitement and regret, as if you’ve spent years watching movies without ever truly knowing what real cinema is supposed to feel like. His writing never tries to sound overly academic or complicated; instead, it makes you pause and rethink scenes and characters in Ray’s films with a fresh sense of wonder. The interviews are a treat on their own, the way different artists talk about their understanding of the legend feels like listening to thoughts that a common viewer like us might never even imagine, yet the way Bhaskar ji presents them keeps everything grounded and accessible.