Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes

by Arthy Muthanna Singh

Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes is a gorgeously illustrated, one-of-a-kind book to introduce the genius of Satyajit Ray to readers young and old .

· A collector's edition to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Satyajit Ray on 2 May 2021
· The book is an easy introduction to the genius of Satyajit Ray with short anecdotes presented in a wonderful package
· The book has gorgeous line arts that complement the text to create an engaging book that readers will enjoy reading

Tracing his magnificent life with 100 little-known and inspiring incidents as well as unusual trivia, this collectible edition pays homage to the maestro on his 100th birth anniversary.

A master filmmaker, a remarkable auteur, a writer par excellence, and an artist of immense reach and range, Satyajit Ray was an indefinable genius. This book is a classic tribute that celebrates his many accomplishments across literature, music, art, and more.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2021

Reviews

[Shivakukatla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cherishable read about the cine mastro. Utterly excellent.

[Amar Mudi]

A fascinating book. A must read for all Ray fans. Beautifully designed and illustrated.

[Samikshan Sengupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read !!! A delightful little book :)

[Ehab Elgingihy · Rating 4 out of 5]

لمحة لذيذة و مثمرة عن حياة ساتياچيت راي. لقيته في فندق الProject week في مومباي. و فخور إني خلصته في ظرف يومين (مش عظمة مني بل لأن الكتاب سهل و صغير جدا).

[Nidhi Srivastava · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satyajit Ray - An artist, unforgotten to date. A man who has given a different perspective to the cinema. He was born in the land of artists - Kolkata. He has been an inspiration to budding filmmakers across the globe. Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes - is a tribute to a legend born in India. A book that brings out Satyajit of various age groups to life. Satyajit was fondly known as Manik, similar to every Bengali household, he also had a pet name. His classmates never called him Satyajit, it was used only by his teachers. The book draws details of the child who was born an artist. He was good at everything, he was great at drawing. The details from his life have been drawn out perfectly, describing moments such as purchasing an autograph book and yearning to get it signed by Rabindranath Tagore first. The event has been described beautifully, where Ray got his notebook back with a Bengali poem written along with the autograph. There are various movies mentioned dating back to the golden era of cinema. A lot of them, young readers wouldn't be able to recognize. I wasn't able to recognize them myself (definitely worth Google search though). People learning fine arts would relate to the fact where Manik's journey in Santiniketan has been mentioned. Many people wish to turn into commercial artists, but Indians have been hesitant enough to pursue their passion as their career. The Chinese watercolors, miniature paintings, Indian sculptures - it transported me to my childhood days when I was getting my Fine Arts classes. The book describes the artistic influences Satyajit Ray had during his days at Kala Bhavan. Santiniketan played a role in shaping him further as an artist and for most, his mother was the reason who drew his passion to the doors of an institution perfect in itself. His love for Western music concerts was crazy, he mentioned in letters to his mother. "He asked her to send the newspaper clippings of Western music concert reviews. His journey from a graphic artist to a filmmaker is a historical event. I do recommend everyone to read about his journey in this book. The authors have done a terrific job, listed 100 anecdotes about the Legend. I am sure there is a lot written about him and found in the National Library, Kolkata, and Film Societies across the world.

[Harsha Bellur · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a delight and nostalgia that Penguin Books has come up with the idea of introducing Indians who excelled in their respective fields to kids between 7 and 14 years.

I used to love the Lady Bird series in my childhood, which in my opinion, pales before the current series undertaken by Penguin Books.

The book introduces the reader to the life of Satyajit Ray, the world he lived in, giving glimpses of the influences he had on others and many aspects that shaped him.

The anecdotes are fascinating: his home now a heritage building, western music he listened to, books on films which he read initially in Shanthineketan, his success in film making in the Ad profession where he developed a fascination for Typography and later developed four different fonts, two of which won the international award in 1971. Satyajit Ray also did the artwork of covers of books for Signet Press. And many more.

In short, the 100 anecdotes of Satyajit Ray bring out the stellar qualities of the polymath giant.

Kudos to the authors and Penguin!

[Tasnim Taj Abontee · Rating 4 out of 5]

1.The book itself is having in your collection worthy (c'mon it’s a collector's edition)

2.Most of the points are already known to Satyajit enthusiasts,I mean they are very basic.But it's good to have it chronologically in one single book.

3.Liked the cover. But inside the book,white ink on green background feels a little uncomfortable for the eyes.Same goes for the illustrations.

[Aritra Chattopadhyay · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Master and his Masterpieces.

For Ray fans, this book is probably the best gift ever. Through 100 known and unknown facts, with a gorgeous hardcover and beautiful illustrations inside, Satyajit Ray's life and his genius have been portrayed very briefly in this book.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title gives away the contents of the book. Those who wanted to know about Satyajit Ray in the short form will get to know about him. Well docuemnted contents.

[Zerin Oyishi (Free Palestine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Satyajit Ray in 100 Anecdotes' contains 100 little-known and inspiring incidents in Ray's life. If you're a Satyajit fan then it's a must-read.

[Anejana.C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple yet engaging collection.