The five Rays of Satyajit

IN PERSPECTIVE

May 2, 2021 marked the birth centenary of Satyajit Ray. Mostly known for his highly acclaimed films, Ray was a remarkable polymath whose contribution is not restricted to just filmmaking.

Ray the Writer: Ray had said, “My family runs on royalty from my books.” Among Bengalis, is Satyajit Ray more popular as a writer or as a filmmaker? Perhaps, most are proud of his films, while he is dearer for his books. Feluda, Ray’s detective, is a household name, and Feluda books have been sitting atop bestseller charts for five decades now. Amitabh Bachchan had said that his one regret is never having played Feluda on screen, which his compatriot Shashi Kapoor did.

Science fiction is another genre of Ray’s expressive best. His protagonist, Professor Shonku, the inventor of Evolutin — a drug that makes people evolve ten thousand years in a jiffy — and such wonder products, is as comfortable in the rarified academic circles of Germany and Sweden, as in his adventures in Bolivia and Congo, chasing inexplicable phenomena or fighting evil forces.

Ray’s short stories, other than detective and sci-fi ones, are both fascinating and intriguing. Interestingly, while rationalism and realism reign in his films, many of his stories explore the occult and the supernatural.

Ray has also written a few weighty books on films.

Master Filmmaker: Award-winning director Rituparno Ghosh said Satyajit Ray showed us how to create poetry with the camera. There are volumes written and reels of films shot on Ray’s filmmaking. From Shyam Benegal to Adam Low to Goutam Ghose, acclaimed film and TV producers across the globe have captured Ray the filmmaker.

Starting from Pather Panchali to his last film Agantuk (The Stranger), Ray has received countless awards, including the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. Akira Kurosawa, one of the greatest filmmakers, said, “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.”

Insightful Artist: Ray was lucky. After graduating in Economics from Presidency College, on Rabindranath Tagore’s insistence he reluctantly enrolled in Shantiniketan’s Art Department — Kala Bhavan. During his brief stay, his artistic finesse sharpened under some of the greatest modern artists of India — Nandalal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Benode Behari. Ray acknowledged the lasting effect of this serendipitous twist in his life, how Shantiniketan shaped his way of looking at nature and his understanding of human sensibility. On a lighter note, Nandalal Bose, the departmental head, got a longer cot made in the dorm for the 6 foot 4 inch Manik — Satyajit’s nickname to family and friends.

Ray’s artistic manifestation spattered wide — from being a visualiser in advertising to designing posters for his films, delightful illustrations for his stories, and book covers for Signet Press, which revolutionised printing and publishing in 1940s’ India.

Ray learnt calligraphy from Benode Behari while in Shantiniketan, which he applied extensively in Bengali fonts. He eventually created his own font of Roman alphabets, internationally known as Ray Roman.

Ray’s Music: Satyajit Ray had one international and two national awards for music under his belt. Artist Annada Munshi said Ray was Beethoven in his previous life. He could identify any Western Classical piece by listening to any part for a moment. While in Shantiniketan, Ray and Alex Aronson, professor of English Literature, spent countless evenings listening to Bach and Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Vivaldi. Sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who scored music for four of Ray’s films, said Ray’s mastery over music has no parallel in the world of film direction.

From the trilogy of Teen Kanya (Three Girls), filmed in 1961, Ray started scoring music for his own films. He also scored music for Merchant Ivory’s Shakespeare Wallah. Ravi Shankar profusely praised Ray’s music in Piku, a film Ray made for French Television. In his penchant for realism, Ray made Kishore Kumar — untrained in Tagore-Songs — sing one in Charulata, arguably Ray’s finest film.

In his long spell in film music, Ray created two full-scale musicals in which he wrote the lyrics too. Songs of Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (GGBB), a fantasy adventure, and Hirak Rajar Deshe (Land of Diamond King), a political satire in the form of a children’s film, are still sung in carefree and concerned moods.

Using a mix of western and Indian musical instruments, Ray created a signature genre for himself. Which music would he carry to a remote island? Ray had quipped, Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute.

Ray for Children: The intellectual halo and the baritone voice obfuscate the voluminous work Ray has done for children. To think of it, most of his writings are for children. He resurrected the children magazine Sandesh, and wrote, edited and drew for it amid hectic film shootings. Four if his films are for children, and in one of them, GGBB the musical fantasy, Ray lent his deep voice, singing as Bhuter Raja (King of Ghosts).

Satyajit Ray wore his laurels lightly and remains an icon reflecting the finest flavours of a modern man.

(The writer is a Bengaluru-based software entrepreneur)