Satyajit Ray, the legendary director who changed the direction and condition of Indian cinema, is considered an institution for cinema students not only in India but also abroad. On his death anniversary, let us know the speciality of his films, which makes them different from others.
Satyajit Ray, the genius of Indian cinema, took his last breath on April 23, 1992. Even today, people learn from Ray’s films and even Hollywood directors use Satyajit Ray’s methods of direction in the making of their films. The Oscar-winning director, who gave a different perspective to Indian cinema, is called a walking institute of cinema. Making films based on social issues, politics and women was Ray’s USP. He was a director who considered cinema a bigger weapon. This is the reason why even today his films serve as an excellent guide for cinema students.
Apart from being a famous director, Satyajit Ray was also a great writer, artist, painter, filmmaker, lyricist and book cover designer and costume designer. The most surprising thing is that Ray did not go to any film school. He learned everything just by watching films and changed people’s perspective about movies with his first film ‘Pather Panchali’. It is the result of Satyajit Ray’s ability to direct and his amazing thinking about films that he has been honoured with the ‘Oscar Honorary Award’ at his deathbed. He is still the only Indian to win this award. Apart from this, Ray has received a record 37 National Awards, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Today is the 33rd death anniversary of Satyajit Ray, on this occasion, let us know those things about Satyajit Ray’s filmmaking that set him apart from others and made him an institution of cinema.
Films on social topics
Satyajit Ray’s films talk about social issues and through his stories, Ray used to raise those problems of the society, which perhaps other filmmakers of that time could not even think of raising. He gave a sample of this in his very first film, ‘Pather Panchali’. Even after this, he raised social issues prominently through films like Jalsaghar, Charulata, Devi and Shatranj Ke Khiladi.
There is a scene in his most memorable film ‘Pather Panchali’ in which Apu and Durga are running through the Kashphul flowers to see a train going to a city. The blooming of Kashphul announces the arrival of autumn, this change of season, the speed of the train and the speed of the characters, so much is happening and changing in a single scene. What a wonderful metaphor this scene creates of a village and a city, a moment and a journey.
Women-centric films with strong female characters
Satyajit Ray made films based on women in the 50s and 60s and showed strong female characters in his films. At a time when cinema meant hero and hero meant male actor, he brilliantly depicted the story of women and their struggle in not one but many films. At a time when the typical role for women in Indian films was either glamour and physical performance or eye-pleasing, Ray broke this tradition. He presented female characters strongly and showed their struggles. This list includes his films like ‘Devi’, ‘Charulata’, ‘Mahanagar’ and ‘Ghare Baire’.
Emphasis on human emotions and relationships
The importance of human emotions and relationships will be prominently seen in Satyajit Ray’s films. Through his films, he depicted emotions like love, sorrow, hope and despair, which connect the audience emotionally. Along with this, he has also presented human relationships and the complexities arising in them in a very elegant manner.
Emotions over words
The biggest speciality of Satyajit Ray’s films was that the scenes of his films used to convey more deeply than the dialogues and used to leave a deep impression on your mind. After watching Ray’s films, it seems as if he is trying to tell that words have a limit, not scenes. Be it the dream sequence of ‘Nayak’ or the touching conversation between Charulata and Amal in ‘Charulata’, which shows their feelings.
Relevance
If you watch Satyajit Ray’s films from the 50s-60s to the 70s-80s, you will find relevance in those films and you will be able to connect with them. He used to raise such issues in his films and show them in such a way that every class of viewers could feel connected to them.
Subtle political commentary
Along with social issues, you will also find a subtle political perspective in Satyajit Ray’s filmography. Through which he used to take a dig at the political system and present political corruption and social inequality very well. Something similar is seen in the film ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’, in which the game of chess players is very symbolic, which shows power and social inequality. Some of Ray’s films that show political perspectives include ‘Aranya’, ‘Jan Aranya’, ‘Ganashatru’, ‘Ghare Baire’ and ‘Pratidwandi’. In these films, Ray has highlighted social, political and economic issues in Indian society. He has also shown the political system that affects people’s lives.
Important and effective use of music
The music of Satyajit Ray’s films was also very effective and made the story even more powerful. Ray worked with classical music legends at the beginning of his career. These included Ravi Shankar, Vilayat Khan and Ali Akbar Khan. Later, Ray himself understood Western music and started composing music for his own films. After starting with ‘Teen Kanya’, Ray started composing his own music. A glimpse of many types of music can be seen in Ray’s films, in which types of music like sonata, fugue and rondo are prominent.
Artistry and Experimentation
Satyajit Ray was a filmmaker who loved to take risks and experiment in his films. That is why in the period after ‘Charulata’ in 1964, Ray changed the style of his films and made films of different genres. During this period, he also made films of genres like fantasy, science fiction, detective and historical drama. Ray also experimented during this period. His first major film of this period is Nayak (Hero), released in 1966, which is the story of a screen hero travelling in a train and meeting a young, sympathetic female journalist. In 1967, Ray wrote a script named ‘The Alien’. However, later this film could not be completed. During this period, Ray made many different genre films ranging from the children’s story ‘Goopy Gayen Bagha Byne’ to ‘Pratidwandi’, ‘Seemabaddha’, ‘Jan Aranya’, ‘Sonar Kella’ and ‘Shatranj Ke Khiladi’.
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