The Impact & Influence of Ritwik Ghatak on his 42nd Death Anniversary...........
Along with prominent contemporary Bengali filmmakers Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak's cinema is primarily remembered for its meticulous depiction of social reality. Although their roles were often adversarial, they were ardent admirers of each other's work and, in doing so, the three directors charted the independent trajectory of parallel cinema, as a counterpoint to the mainstream fare of Hindi cinema in India.
At the time of his death (February 1976), Ghatak's primary influence would seem to have been through former students. Though his stint teaching film at FTII was brief, one-time students Mani Kaul, John Abraham, and especially Kumar Shahani (among many others), carried Ghatak's ideas and theories, which were further elaborated upon in his book Cinema And I, into the mainstream of Indian art film. Other students of his at the FTII included the acclaimed filmmakers Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Ghatak stood entirely outside the world of Indian commercial film. None of the elements of the commercial cinema (singing and dancing, melodrama, stars, glitz) featured in his work. He was watched by students and intelligentsia, not by the masses. His students have tended to work in the art cinema or independent cinema tradition.
While other neo-realist directors like Satyajit Ray succeeded in creating an audience outside India during their lifetime, Ghatak was not so fortunate. While he was alive, his films were appreciated primarily within India. Satyajit Ray did what he could to promote his colleague, but Ray's generous praise did not translate into international fame for Ghatak. For example, Ghatak's Nagarik (1952) was perhaps the earliest example of a Bengali art film, preceding Ray's Pather Panchali by three years but was not released until after his death in 1977. His first commercial release Ajantrik (1955) was one of the earliest Indian films to portr
Remembering Farooq Shaikh on Death Anniversary--Shatranj Ke Khiladi and Satyajit Ray.
"Shatranj Ke Khiladi" - a story by Munshi Premchand. Iconic on many levels, especially after the book got adapted into a film by Satyajit Ray, narrated by Amitabh Bachchan, starred Richard Attenborough, Amjad Khan and Sanjeev Kumar.
But what I find most remarkable is the poster designed by Ray himself. Distinctive art direction and typography.
The Film casted Rare Legends of the Indian Film Industry like Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Farooq Shaikh, Amjad Khan, Victor Banerjee, Tom Alter and many more.
Farooq Shaikh was a rare choice made by Ray in the movie wherein at the time of audition Farooq Shaikh thought of him might getting rejected by Manik Da/Satyajit Ray. But Farooq Shaikh was ultimately selected and played an important character in the movie cherished by all Indian Movie Lovers till date.
Shyam Benegal's new genre in Indian Cinema--on Very Happy and Prosperous 83rd Birthday to the living legendary filmmaker.............
Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur (1973), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976) and Bhumika (1977) he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India. He has expressed dislike of the term, preferring his work to be called New or Alternate cinema. Benegal was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. On 8 August 2007, Benegal was awarded the highest award in Indian cinema for lifetime achievement, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2005. He has won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi seven times.
Ankur (English: The Seedling) is an Indian colour film of 1974. It was the first feature film directed by Shyam Benegal and the debut of Indian actors Ananth Nag and Shabana Azmi. Ananth Nag was introduced in Ankur by Shyam Benegal after his higher education in Mumbai. The film was shot in Hyderabad.Though Shabana Azmi had acted in other films as well, Ankur was her first release. Like many others of Benegal's films, Ankur belongs to the genre of Indian art films, or more precisely, Indian Parallel Cinema. The plot is based on a true story that occurred in Hyderabad, apparently in the 1950s. It was filmed almost entirely on location. Ankur has won three National Film Awards and 43 other prizes, both in India and abroad. It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival. This film includes one whipping scene and more profanity than is usually found in Indian films. The movie dealt with social issues like alchoholism, Rich vs. Poor, parent vs. Child, Dowry, Religiousness, etc.
Nishant (English title: "Night's End") is a 1975 Hindi drama film directed by Shyam Benegal, based on an original screenplay by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar, with dialogues by Sat
End of an era. Rest in peace Sashi Kapoor! Shashi Kapoor-The actor who i think was far ahead of actors of his time when it comes to maintaining balance between mainstream cinema and off beat movies.As a producer he had done english movies with james Ivory with bold and offbeat scripts,though they were not for masses yet they placed shashi kapoor in a different bracket.with a charming smile and a unique dialogue delivery he was loved by all.The actor didn't have any qualms to be casted in the second lead be it AB Dharmendra.New delhi times,kalyug,vijeta and junoon were too good.His contribution to the indian cinema can't be ignored.
Remembering evergreen 'Dharam Devdutt Pishorimal Anand' who is popularly and fondly known as 'Dev Anand', on his 6th Death Anniversary.
He was an Indian Film Actor, Writer, Director, Producer known for his landmark work in Indian cinema.
Happy 87th birthday to Jean-Luc Godard!
TRIBUTE TO ::
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Santosh Dutta , a Bengali actor, best known for immortalizing the character of Jatayu in Satyajit Ray's Feluda movies viz. Sonar Kella and Joi Baba Felunath ---- a lawyer by profession ---- essentially a comedian, he elevated comedy acting to the levels of character role ---- Satyajit Ray gave him the first break with a small role in his immortal film Paras Pathar ---- after Sonar Kella, he became so associated with the role of "Jatayu" that Satyajit Ray later reframed the appearance of Jatayu and started making the sketches of Jatayu resembling Dutta in Feluda novels ---- after the death of this actor, Ray once remarked that there will be no further movies in the Feluda series as Jatayu cannot be thought of without Santosh Dutta ----though the role of Jatayu was later played by artistes like Anoop Kumar, Rabi Ghosh and Bibhu Bhattacharya, these actors agreed that it was impossible to play the character without the influence of Santosh Dutta in mind...................
On his Birth Anniversary today!
Food for thought in Indian Cinema. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne, Golpo Holeo Sotyi, Bawarchi, Cheeni Kum, Charmurti, Machher Jhol !
Films of which directors shown here?
RABI GHOSE WAS EXTREMELY SIMPLE: WIFE BAISHAKHI GHOSE
(Sharing the interview published in TOI)
What was your reaction when you first met Rabi Ghose?
--When I first saw him at a friend’s place, I could not control my laughter. My friend’s husband, Pronobesh Mukherjee, was a friend of his. Back then, they used to stay at Monohar Pukur Road. I planned my visit to their place so that I could meet him in person. We got married within 15 days of our first meeting. After marriage, I had told him how I had laughed when I first saw him. Though it was not uncommon for people to laugh at him, he’d get irritated and ask: Ami ki joker? He’d often be flooded with requests to mouth funny dialogues. But, he would say funny dialogues were meant for movies and shows only.
Did he come across as a romantic person?
--Though he was mostly seen in comic roles, in reality, he was quite serious. I would not particularly call him a romantic person. Rather, he was affectionate and caring. We had driven down to Puri for our honeymoon. That was also his favourite holiday destination. But his popularity was such that it was difficult for him to ask for privacy even on personal occasions.
Since his father was not keen on him becoming an actor, did he talk about how difficult it was for him to take the plunge?
--Yes, his father was not too keen. Like any other middleclass family, my father-in-law wanted my husband to finish his education and get a decent job. He was interested in plays from childhood and was greatly inspired by Utpal Dutt. The latter was his guru. Initially, he would help build the stage. After he started doing plays, he’d often get late in returning home. My father-in-law would bolt all doors at night and my husband had a tough time sneaking in. The whole idea was to quietly sneak in without his father getting wind of his arrival. That’s how he rehearsed before the staging of his first play titled Angar. That had won him the Best Actor Award too. But the sad part was t
Amitabh Bachchan speaking at the Kolkata International Film Festival 2017
