Docu celebrating Satyajit Ray’s life & legacy to premiere at Nandan

KOLKATA: In 2022, as part of the special section dedicated to Satyajit Ray at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), director Jaydip Mukherjee screened his 34-minute non-feature film ‘Other Ray: The Art of Satyajit Ray’ in the Indian Panorama section. The film celebrated Ray’s multifaceted artistic genius as a sketcher, calligrapher, music composer and director. Now, returning to Ray once again, this time Mukherjee has delved deeper into the maestro’s life and the myriad experiences that shaped his cinematic works. On Friday, Mukherjee’s latest 40-minute non-feature documentary, ‘Something like Cinema – Exploring Ray’, will premiere at Nandan.

“I never wanted to make a biographical film on Ray. Filmmakers such as Shyam Benegal, Gautam Ghose, and Utpalendu Chakraborty have already made such impactful films on Ray. My focus has been on exploring various facets of Ray for quite some time. Three years ago, I completed ‘Other Ray,’ which centered on his artistic contributions. I began contemplating how his life’s experiences are reflected in his films, such as the echoes of his father Sukumar Ray’s death in Harihar’s passing in ‘Aparajito.’ When I shared this idea with Tapan Biswas of Cinemawalla, he encouraged me to dig deeper,” said Mukherjee.

Biswas, who has produced award-winning films of late Rituparno Ghosh like ‘Utsab’, ‘Titli’ and ‘Arekti Premer Galpo’, was impressed by Mukherjee’s idea on Ray. He recalled a missed opportunity to meet Ray which veteran actor Haradhan Banerjee had arranged due to the iconic filmmaker falling ill. “I was impressed by Jaydip’s poetic portrayal of Ray, offering a new aspect of his life and legacy. I plan to submit the film to the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2024,” he said. At the premiere of the documentary, filmmakers like Sandip Ray and Gautam Ghose will be present.