Babydoesymposium

Satyajit Ray, one of the greatest filmmakers of all times was a multitalented personality with a strong flair for art and painting. He was not only endowed with ingenious prowess for film direction but moreover he was equally adept with paint and brush.

Being a student of the late Binodbehari Mukhopadhay of Shantiniketan for some time helped him immensely to brush up his skills and experiment with forms. Belonging to a lineage of legends like late Upendro Kishor Ray and Sukumar Ray, Satyajit was already privileged genetically and under the wise mentorship of great maestros like Binod-da and Nandalal Bose, his skills enhanced in leaps and bounds.

Readers of his books used to go gaga over the jacket layouts made meticulously by this Renaissance man himself. His self portraits still preserved in archive are very awe inspiring indeed and it was quiet a wonder to see him draw almost anything and everything under the sun with a few simple, bold and confident strokes of paintbrush.

While shooting “Sonar Kella” or the “Golden Fortress” he wanted to put a Jamini Ray painting in the drawing room of super sleuth Feluda but even after searching a lot, the production team could not ultimately procure an original painting of the great master. Determined to show it through the camera’s eyes, he himself started making a copy of the painting.

It was a brilliantly done work and next times if you see “Sonar Kella” don’t forget to spot the painting which contributes a lot to the scene aesthetics.

The red note book Ray used is very much talked about by the dabblers of cinema. Apart from the regular scene by scene cross section, it also contains quick sketches of camera and light position, costume design of characters and orientation of set wherewithal. It is comprehensive yet concise, detailed yet trim and considered as an exemplary planner for many young directors in the making

Tags: film director, film making, film production, film school, filmmakers, filmmaking, independent film