Anurag Kashyap to direct Manoj Bajpai

Manoj Bajpai, Anurag Kashyap: Friends again

KUNAL M SHAH , MUMBAI MIRROR, May 28, 2010, 11.10am IST

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap to work together again after falling out ten years ago

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap had clicked when they were working with Ram Gopal Varma. Anurag wrote three films for Manoj - Satya, Shool and Kaun. They both quit working with Ram Gopal Varma after they aired their differences with their mentor. Both the friends also fell out over a misunderstanding, but now they are set to work together after almost ten years.


Our source said, “After they fell out, they didn’t speak to each other for almost eight-nine years. They were extremely close until then. They recently caught up and Anurag offered him not one, but two films. Manoj is quite kicked and is looking forward to acting in both.”

Manoj Bajpai said, “All I can say is that I am doing two films with Anurag but I can’t share details. I have had a long standing relationship with him and he gave me some of the best films of my career. Finally, he will be directing me.”

Anurag is just as happy with the reconciliation. He added, “When I was writing the script, the first person I thought of was Manoj and I just called him. He was very happy and I asked him if he could come over right away and he agreed. After that, I narrated the script, he said yes, we got drunk and became emotional. It is a gangster film set in Bihar, but I can’t give you other details of the second film. The misunderstandings are a thing of the past and I want to do justice to him after our three films together.”

LINK

Anurag Kashyap to direct Manoj Bajpai

Manoj Bajpai, Anurag Kashyap: Friends again

KUNAL M SHAH , MUMBAI MIRROR, May 28, 2010, 11.10am IST

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap to work together again after falling out ten years ago

Manoj Bajpai and Anurag Kashyap had clicked when they were working with Ram Gopal Varma. Anurag wrote three films for Manoj - Satya, Shool and Kaun. They both quit working with Ram Gopal Varma after they aired their differences with their mentor. Both the friends also fell out over a misunderstanding, but now they are set to work together after almost ten years.


Our source said, “After they fell out, they didn’t speak to each other for almost eight-nine years. They were extremely close until then. They recently caught up and Anurag offered him not one, but two films. Manoj is quite kicked and is looking forward to acting in both.”

Manoj Bajpai said, “All I can say is that I am doing two films with Anurag but I can’t share details. I have had a long standing relationship with him and he gave me some of the best films of my career. Finally, he will be directing me.”

Anurag is just as happy with the reconciliation. He added, “When I was writing the script, the first person I thought of was Manoj and I just called him. He was very happy and I asked him if he could come over right away and he agreed. After that, I narrated the script, he said yes, we got drunk and became emotional. It is a gangster film set in Bihar, but I can’t give you other details of the second film. The misunderstandings are a thing of the past and I want to do justice to him after our three films together.”

LINK

Ten Indian classics craving digital restoration

by Raja Sen

We don't take care of our masterpieces.

While we look to the West for inspiration and themes and technique, we don't seem to be paying attention to our finest, most historically relevant films. Even Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy is only as spectacularly viewed as it is now because of a Criterion Collection restoration.

This is a time when technology has the power to reshape a masterpiece, even make The Godfather feel as good as new. Our films deserve the digital shine just as much.

Here, then, are ten films we don't get to see the way they deserve to be. Ten films that haven't been Criterion'd, digitally restored or retouched, with a couple lamentably not even in existence anymore.

Raja Harishchandra

India's entry to the Oscars this year was a clever Marathi film calledHarishchandrachi Factory, a fictional take on how Dadasaheb Phalke made the first full-length feature film. Ironically, this film itself is not available for viewing.

The National Film Archive has only the first and the last reel out of the film's four reels, and it is tragic that this monumental achievement has been lost to us, seemingly forever.

Alam Ara

Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara, made in 1931, was India's first talkie. Remarkably, it featured much music, its seven songs setting a template for Indian cinema to this day.

Inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein's Show Boat, the film is a love story. However, because of a 2003 fire at the National Archives, the film is no longer available for viewing.

Neecha Nagar

Chetan Anand's 1946 masterpiece was India's first film to be internationally recognised, winning the Grand Prix at Cannes that year.

Written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on Maxim Gorky'sLower Depths, the film examined the great divide between the classes.

Much acclaim has also gone to the film's music, marking the first time Ravi Shankar worked on a film. Even now the film, about a tyrant hoarding water for a profit and then opening a hospital to treat those struck by contaminated water, feels alarmingly relevant.

While this film is available, the print leaves a lot to be desired, and this national treasure surely merits a proper digital spit-and-shine.

Read more from HERE

Ten Indian classics craving digital restoration

by Raja Sen

We don't take care of our masterpieces.

While we look to the West for inspiration and themes and technique, we don't seem to be paying attention to our finest, most historically relevant films. Even Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy is only as spectacularly viewed as it is now because of a Criterion Collection restoration.

This is a time when technology has the power to reshape a masterpiece, even make The Godfather feel as good as new. Our films deserve the digital shine just as much.

Here, then, are ten films we don't get to see the way they deserve to be. Ten films that haven't been Criterion'd, digitally restored or retouched, with a couple lamentably not even in existence anymore.

Raja Harishchandra

India's entry to the Oscars this year was a clever Marathi film calledHarishchandrachi Factory, a fictional take on how Dadasaheb Phalke made the first full-length feature film. Ironically, this film itself is not available for viewing.

The National Film Archive has only the first and the last reel out of the film's four reels, and it is tragic that this monumental achievement has been lost to us, seemingly forever.

Alam Ara

Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara, made in 1931, was India's first talkie. Remarkably, it featured much music, its seven songs setting a template for Indian cinema to this day.

Inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein's Show Boat, the film is a love story. However, because of a 2003 fire at the National Archives, the film is no longer available for viewing.

Neecha Nagar

Chetan Anand's 1946 masterpiece was India's first film to be internationally recognised, winning the Grand Prix at Cannes that year.

Written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on Maxim Gorky'sLower Depths, the film examined the great divide between the classes.

Much acclaim has also gone to the film's music, marking the first time Ravi Shankar worked on a film. Even now the film, about a tyrant hoarding water for a profit and then opening a hospital to treat those struck by contaminated water, feels alarmingly relevant.

While this film is available, the print leaves a lot to be desired, and this national treasure surely merits a proper digital spit-and-shine.

Read more from HERE

My father Satyajit Ray

On May 12, Satyajit Ray's first film, Pather Panchali, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the masterpiece's 50th anniversary.
To celebrate the occasion, Indrani Roy Mitra spoke to Ray's only child, Sandip, who, ironically, was not invited to Cannes.

"It's disappointing that the Cannes Film Festival authorities did not send me an invitation. I would be lying if I say I did not expect it. I wish at least Subir Banerjee (who played Apu in Pather Panchali) and Uma Dasgupta (who played Durga) were invited to be a part of the film's Golden Jubilee," he says.

On Ray, the father
Baba was a workaholic to the core and loved to keep himself busy. His days always started early with a cup of tea before he immersed himself in work.

Baba pouring over a heap of papers at his desk was a very familiar sight. Yet, with amazing skill, he managed to squeeze out time to have a scintillating session of adda (chat) with his friends over cha (tea).

When not shooting, he would have interesting conversations with the family over meals. Sunday mornings would have all of us in a marathon adda session for hours. His colleagues Soumitro Chatterjee (the popular Bengali actor who acted in many Ray movies) and Kamu Mukherjee (the fine comedian) would frequently join us.

Baba had an admirable skill of mixing with people of all age groups. He was as friendly with me as with his contemporaries. We could talk about everything under the sun. He had an insatiable hunger for information and would be all ears to whatever you talk to him.

Apart from being a great filmmaker, writer, music composer and painter, he was a great conversationalist. Conversation, apart from films, used to be our bond of union.

On Ray the director
I started working with him in 1976. I joined his crew as a still photographer. I was thrilled to see my name in the title cards of Seemabadhha. The world of camera started unraveling its mystery to me.

I learnt to explore the mind of a genius. Learnt to read the thoughts of my father. It was an unfathomable experience. As I ventured into the arena of films and saw a great director at work from close quarters, I realised what went into the making of a film of Pather Panchali's stature.

As age started taking its toll on Baba, he sought assistance from me. I was too happy to comply. From being an assistant director, I got promoted to the post of camera operator for his last three films, Ganashatru, Sakhaprasakha and Agantuk.

He was a very hard taskmaster, a perfectionist. On the sets, his brilliance dazzled all, his commitment to perfection kept them on toes. He was indeed the captain of the ship sans the temperament. He was always cool and always had his way with people. He would want everything in order and will make sure to cross the T's and dot the I's himself. He was pretty easy going on the sets and made sure not to give his colleagues a tough time.

Absolutely clear in thoughts, he never had any problem conveying what he expected from us.

Thankfully, I never had to leave under his shadow. The media was not so active then and I did not suffer from journalists' onslaught. I was spared a quizzical look or an uneasy question at school. I thank my stars for that!

Back home too, I never felt uncomfortable being 'Satyajit Ray's son'. Baba was very simple and down-to-earth, a great friend to spend time with. Our friendship took an interesting turn when we started working together.

Special: Restoring Ray

On Pather Panchali
Great creations have great moments, and great moments touch all and sundry. I was a toddler when Pather Panchali was released. Yet, I have a faint memory of the pre-production gatherings that would take place at our home at Boral, South Kolkata.

Everyday as people gathered in our house, I could hear the steam engine puffing at the nearby Garia station. I was irresistibly drawn to the huge metal structure purging smoke and would crawl up to the verandah, as if to catch it. Baba, perhaps, read my thoughts. Why else did he immortalise steam engine in this masterpiece? Who can forget Apu and Durga of Pather Panchali running huge distances to get a glimpse of the elusive railgaari?

On the day of release, Ma (Bijoya Ray) had taken me to Basusree cinema. I was allowed to see the film only till intermission. I was angry and cried a lot to have been denied a full view. My cries, however, fell on deaf ears.

Time passed. I aged but the film did not. I have viewed Pather Panchali countless times. And every time, I have had a different interpretation. Neither time nor age could wither its charm. It's a classic, hence timeless.

The film is a conglomeration of several unforgettable moments strung together. It is difficult to make a choice of a few rare moments. Pather Panchali is an artistic reflection of a brilliant mind. It is as eloquent as poetry, as vibrant as a painting.

Its dialogues are so rich. Baba often acknowledged his indebtedness to author Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay for them. They touched the right chord with audience from the very first scene.

LINK

My father Satyajit Ray

On May 12, Satyajit Ray's first film, Pather Panchali, was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, marking the masterpiece's 50th anniversary.
To celebrate the occasion, Indrani Roy Mitra spoke to Ray's only child, Sandip, who, ironically, was not invited to Cannes.

"It's disappointing that the Cannes Film Festival authorities did not send me an invitation. I would be lying if I say I did not expect it. I wish at least Subir Banerjee (who played Apu in Pather Panchali) and Uma Dasgupta (who played Durga) were invited to be a part of the film's Golden Jubilee," he says.

On Ray, the father
Baba was a workaholic to the core and loved to keep himself busy. His days always started early with a cup of tea before he immersed himself in work.

Baba pouring over a heap of papers at his desk was a very familiar sight. Yet, with amazing skill, he managed to squeeze out time to have a scintillating session of adda (chat) with his friends over cha (tea).

When not shooting, he would have interesting conversations with the family over meals. Sunday mornings would have all of us in a marathon adda session for hours. His colleagues Soumitro Chatterjee (the popular Bengali actor who acted in many Ray movies) and Kamu Mukherjee (the fine comedian) would frequently join us.

Baba had an admirable skill of mixing with people of all age groups. He was as friendly with me as with his contemporaries. We could talk about everything under the sun. He had an insatiable hunger for information and would be all ears to whatever you talk to him.

Apart from being a great filmmaker, writer, music composer and painter, he was a great conversationalist. Conversation, apart from films, used to be our bond of union.

On Ray the director
I started working with him in 1976. I joined his crew as a still photographer. I was thrilled to see my name in the title cards of Seemabadhha. The world of camera started unraveling its mystery to me.

I learnt to explore the mind of a genius. Learnt to read the thoughts of my father. It was an unfathomable experience. As I ventured into the arena of films and saw a great director at work from close quarters, I realised what went into the making of a film of Pather Panchali's stature.

As age started taking its toll on Baba, he sought assistance from me. I was too happy to comply. From being an assistant director, I got promoted to the post of camera operator for his last three films, Ganashatru, Sakhaprasakha and Agantuk.

He was a very hard taskmaster, a perfectionist. On the sets, his brilliance dazzled all, his commitment to perfection kept them on toes. He was indeed the captain of the ship sans the temperament. He was always cool and always had his way with people. He would want everything in order and will make sure to cross the T's and dot the I's himself. He was pretty easy going on the sets and made sure not to give his colleagues a tough time.

Absolutely clear in thoughts, he never had any problem conveying what he expected from us.

Thankfully, I never had to leave under his shadow. The media was not so active then and I did not suffer from journalists' onslaught. I was spared a quizzical look or an uneasy question at school. I thank my stars for that!

Back home too, I never felt uncomfortable being 'Satyajit Ray's son'. Baba was very simple and down-to-earth, a great friend to spend time with. Our friendship took an interesting turn when we started working together.

Special: Restoring Ray

On Pather Panchali
Great creations have great moments, and great moments touch all and sundry. I was a toddler when Pather Panchali was released. Yet, I have a faint memory of the pre-production gatherings that would take place at our home at Boral, South Kolkata.

Everyday as people gathered in our house, I could hear the steam engine puffing at the nearby Garia station. I was irresistibly drawn to the huge metal structure purging smoke and would crawl up to the verandah, as if to catch it. Baba, perhaps, read my thoughts. Why else did he immortalise steam engine in this masterpiece? Who can forget Apu and Durga of Pather Panchali running huge distances to get a glimpse of the elusive railgaari?

On the day of release, Ma (Bijoya Ray) had taken me to Basusree cinema. I was allowed to see the film only till intermission. I was angry and cried a lot to have been denied a full view. My cries, however, fell on deaf ears.

Time passed. I aged but the film did not. I have viewed Pather Panchali countless times. And every time, I have had a different interpretation. Neither time nor age could wither its charm. It's a classic, hence timeless.

The film is a conglomeration of several unforgettable moments strung together. It is difficult to make a choice of a few rare moments. Pather Panchali is an artistic reflection of a brilliant mind. It is as eloquent as poetry, as vibrant as a painting.

Its dialogues are so rich. Baba often acknowledged his indebtedness to author Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay for them. They touched the right chord with audience from the very first scene.

LINK

Satyajit Ray - Documentary by Shyam Benegal

PART 0
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6
PART 7
PART 8
PART 9
PART 10
PART 11
PART 12
PART 13

Satyajit Ray - Documentary by Shyam Benegal

PART 0
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6
PART 7
PART 8
PART 9
PART 10
PART 11
PART 12
PART 13

Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjunga

Kanchenjungha is an enigmatic film that deals with a day in the life of an upper middle class family holidaying in Darjeeling. On the surface it is about family dynamics but at another level is a deep look at relationships. Each person in the family circle of Raibahadur Indranath Choudhary (Chhobi Biswas) is seeking something. Indranath rules his family with an iron fist, and wants his daughter Monisha (Alkananda Roy) to marry the upwardly mobile Mr. Bannerjee (N. Vishwanathan) just as he persuaded his older daughter Anima (Anubha Gupta) to marry the affluent Shankar (Haridhan Mukherjee). His wife Lavanya (Karuna Bannerjee) is ruled by his wishes and unable to speak her mind. The entourage is rounded out by Lavanya’s brother Jagadish Chatterjee (Pahari Sanyal) whose only wish it is to spot the rare bird he keeps hearing sing in the trees, and Indranath’s son played by Anil Chatterjee, whose desires to hook up quickly with some westernized woman in the tourist haven. We see Anima surreptitiously hiding a letter, while her husband Shankar is quite vocal about the ills of marriage without love when he talks to Monisha. Anima and Shankar have a child who is shown reciting nursery rhymes as she is riding round and round the streets of Darjeeling on a horse. The wildcard in the pack shows up in the from of Ashok (Arun Mukherjee), a “commoner" who is not westernized, has read Tagore instead of English Literature, and is hoping that Indranath will give him a job.



The narrative is non-linear as we move from group one to group two to group three and so on, and then back again to group one. The groups themselves dissolve and reform in a constant series of interactions that take place in real time, and there is no story that is told in the film. All we see on the surface is a group of people, and their inner desires and aspirations are slowly exposed though interactions and conversations.

The uncle character, played by Pahari Sanyal, begins as an inconsequential birdwatcher but turns into a catalyst for change as he interacts in turn with his sister, then Monisha, and then Ashok. Anima and Shankar have a chasm of differences between them, and one common goal of happiness for their daughter. To achieve this Anima has to give up her clandestine affair while Shankar has to give up his habits of drinking, and gambling. The son is a sort of buffoonish character but even he gets to hang out with yet another westernized girl and her dog! Indranath’s wife Lavanya gives up her easy though servile attitude as she wishes to save the second daughter from the fate of the first. Monisha is braver than her elder sister and will say no to Banerjee as she does not care for him. In his turn, Banerjee realizes that his past liaisons mean nothing and it is Monisha he wants, so he gives up his pride and asks her to let him know if she changes her mind. Thus this film moves far away from the traditional Pather Panchali mode as characters exhibit modern mores and attitudes. Until these situations are resolved the little girl is seen going round and round on her horse, representing people trapped in circumstances. The one person who gives up nothing and stays inflexible till the end is Indranath. But in the end he is completely undermined, and Ray judges a closed mind that is at fault. Indranath has in essence turned his back to those very things that he wants – the mist has lifted for all, the peak is shining through, but Indranath is walking away from it!!!


In a 1984 interview with Satyajit Ray, directed by Shyam Benegal and filmed by Govind Nihalani, Ray mentions that he has adapted the works of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (Apu trilogy), Rabindranath Tagore, and several modern writers, but when he writes a film (like Nayak and Kanchenjunga) he likes to write about subjects and characters he is personally familiar with. In Kanchnejunga he deals with the middle class. “I couldn’t write about workers in a factory. But I’d like to make a film about workers in a factory. For that I need material, I need a story, which I haven’t found yet!” Having spent many a summer in Darjeeling, and being of the middle class himself, that milieu and their morals and behavioral norms were most familiar to him.

By the time of Kanchenjungha, Ray was the one running the camera as he needed to see the scene through the lens! In this film he makes excellent use of the billowing mists and the circuitous paths that people walk on as they meet and part, to show confusion and finally when things begin to get resolved the mists slowly lift and the setting sun sets the mountain peaks glowing. He uses an ensemble of characters and interactions between them to bring out the individuality of each character, and rather than making the film a story about one person, it becomes an oblique look at the upper middle class and their changing values, an indictment of the old attitudes and a celebration of the new social order. The cast is excellent

READ MORE HERE

Satyajit Ray's Kanchenjunga

Kanchenjungha is an enigmatic film that deals with a day in the life of an upper middle class family holidaying in Darjeeling. On the surface it is about family dynamics but at another level is a deep look at relationships. Each person in the family circle of Raibahadur Indranath Choudhary (Chhobi Biswas) is seeking something. Indranath rules his family with an iron fist, and wants his daughter Monisha (Alkananda Roy) to marry the upwardly mobile Mr. Bannerjee (N. Vishwanathan) just as he persuaded his older daughter Anima (Anubha Gupta) to marry the affluent Shankar (Haridhan Mukherjee). His wife Lavanya (Karuna Bannerjee) is ruled by his wishes and unable to speak her mind. The entourage is rounded out by Lavanya’s brother Jagadish Chatterjee (Pahari Sanyal) whose only wish it is to spot the rare bird he keeps hearing sing in the trees, and Indranath’s son played by Anil Chatterjee, whose desires to hook up quickly with some westernized woman in the tourist haven. We see Anima surreptitiously hiding a letter, while her husband Shankar is quite vocal about the ills of marriage without love when he talks to Monisha. Anima and Shankar have a child who is shown reciting nursery rhymes as she is riding round and round the streets of Darjeeling on a horse. The wildcard in the pack shows up in the from of Ashok (Arun Mukherjee), a “commoner" who is not westernized, has read Tagore instead of English Literature, and is hoping that Indranath will give him a job.



The narrative is non-linear as we move from group one to group two to group three and so on, and then back again to group one. The groups themselves dissolve and reform in a constant series of interactions that take place in real time, and there is no story that is told in the film. All we see on the surface is a group of people, and their inner desires and aspirations are slowly exposed though interactions and conversations.

The uncle character, played by Pahari Sanyal, begins as an inconsequential birdwatcher but turns into a catalyst for change as he interacts in turn with his sister, then Monisha, and then Ashok. Anima and Shankar have a chasm of differences between them, and one common goal of happiness for their daughter. To achieve this Anima has to give up her clandestine affair while Shankar has to give up his habits of drinking, and gambling. The son is a sort of buffoonish character but even he gets to hang out with yet another westernized girl and her dog! Indranath’s wife Lavanya gives up her easy though servile attitude as she wishes to save the second daughter from the fate of the first. Monisha is braver than her elder sister and will say no to Banerjee as she does not care for him. In his turn, Banerjee realizes that his past liaisons mean nothing and it is Monisha he wants, so he gives up his pride and asks her to let him know if she changes her mind. Thus this film moves far away from the traditional Pather Panchali mode as characters exhibit modern mores and attitudes. Until these situations are resolved the little girl is seen going round and round on her horse, representing people trapped in circumstances. The one person who gives up nothing and stays inflexible till the end is Indranath. But in the end he is completely undermined, and Ray judges a closed mind that is at fault. Indranath has in essence turned his back to those very things that he wants – the mist has lifted for all, the peak is shining through, but Indranath is walking away from it!!!


In a 1984 interview with Satyajit Ray, directed by Shyam Benegal and filmed by Govind Nihalani, Ray mentions that he has adapted the works of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (Apu trilogy), Rabindranath Tagore, and several modern writers, but when he writes a film (like Nayak and Kanchenjunga) he likes to write about subjects and characters he is personally familiar with. In Kanchnejunga he deals with the middle class. “I couldn’t write about workers in a factory. But I’d like to make a film about workers in a factory. For that I need material, I need a story, which I haven’t found yet!” Having spent many a summer in Darjeeling, and being of the middle class himself, that milieu and their morals and behavioral norms were most familiar to him.

By the time of Kanchenjungha, Ray was the one running the camera as he needed to see the scene through the lens! In this film he makes excellent use of the billowing mists and the circuitous paths that people walk on as they meet and part, to show confusion and finally when things begin to get resolved the mists slowly lift and the setting sun sets the mountain peaks glowing. He uses an ensemble of characters and interactions between them to bring out the individuality of each character, and rather than making the film a story about one person, it becomes an oblique look at the upper middle class and their changing values, an indictment of the old attitudes and a celebration of the new social order. The cast is excellent

READ MORE HERE

Satyajit Ray - born May 2nd 1921

No blog dedicated to movies should have missed this day - but we at RL did, and to atone for that now we should talk about the Maestro for a few days in a row! To start off this Ray retrospective I want to share a clip of Martin Scorsese introducing Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players! He talks of Pather Panchali - have a listen to Martin's description of how the distinction between poetry and cinema dissolves in Ray's films (and he pronounces it right - RAI!!1):

Satyajit Ray - born May 2nd 1921

No blog dedicated to movies should have missed this day - but we at RL did, and to atone for that now we should talk about the Maestro for a few days in a row! To start off this Ray retrospective I want to share a clip of Martin Scorsese introducing Satyajit Ray's The Chess Players! He talks of Pather Panchali - have a listen to Martin's description of how the distinction between poetry and cinema dissolves in Ray's films (and he pronounces it right - RAI!!1):

Satyajit Ray receiving Oscar

Satyajit Ray receiving Oscar