Kanchenjungha by Satyajit RAY

jyotirmoy · Mar 10th, 2008, 14:50

Ray's Goopi Gyan Bagha Bayn is an example of Ray's versatility.

kishori_ray · Mar 10th, 2008, 16:05

Music World is a great shop, and the exact address should be Park Street 18 e in Kolkata's center.

BTW hard to come out of this shop once you entered, they have about everything one can think about. In my case I got a big collection of Indian Classical Music there, and I saw indeed many movies of Satrajit Ray there.

Dilliwala · Mar 10th, 2008, 20:07

Great thread.
I think I have to watch 'Kanchenjunga' sometime, what with my great fondness for all things Himalayan. This is the first I've heard of this film, I think, don't recall the name.
Still haven't been to the Eastern Himalaya either.

brishti · Mar 10th, 2008, 20:10

yyamdancer:
whilst you're in musicworld...
pick up a cd of chandrobindoo - its a bengali rock band - you just may like it

Quote:

NeeliAankhen: I'm going to hunt or watch for posts about Flury's, I've encountered it too in the movies - someone getting an important cake from there.

flury's aint what it used to be neeli

from ever since i remembered, flury's had furniture/design/ambiance from somewhere near the dinosaur-age, the bearers there also seemed to belong to that era.
it was a landmark. it had a certain personna. it had character.
with a makeover - its kinda gone 'pink'

everything looks pink in there! plastic spoons??? euckh.

you want a feel of what it used to be like - check out 'coffee house' on college street.
thats where all em greats of bengal used to meet and discuss.
that place is caught in a time warp [mostofcalcuttaisanyways!] - as i think all coffee houses are, all over india.

but flury's - you can skip it - it aint what it used to be - just like so many other landmarks i guess.

:brishti

Scandojazzbuff · Mar 11th, 2008, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by brishti

yyamdancer: you seem to enjoying kolkata - goodee

since you're going to buy ghatak movies, try and get a couple of movies of:

mrinal sen: [he is one of the most politically active film-makers]
bhuvan shome [mr shome]
akaler shandhane [in search of famine]
mrigaya [the deer hunter]
ek din pratideen [and quiet rolls the dawn]
khandhar [the ruins]

tapan sinha:
apanjan
sagina mahato
adalat o ekti meye
sabuj dwiper raja
safed haathi

as always - please check to see if they're subtitled.
my all time favourite ray movie is 'shonar kella' [the golden fortress] and of course 'charulata'... aami chini go chini tomaare ogo bidheshini

also highly recommend two books, which you'll get at oxford -
or better still - in the second hand bookstores in free school street - nothing like the musty smell of old books

the hungry tide - by amitava ghosh [about the sunderbans]
from heaven's lake - vikram seth [travelogue of his journey by foot from tibet into india - absolutely awesome]

peter cat - must-have: chello kebab
olympia - must-have: chateau briand steak [ spelling maybe

] ask for a CB - with a chilled kingfisher beer

:brishti

jyotida: shotti! few of us are so previleged as to watch the two masters at work - i AM envious - kee bolbo aapnake

You inspired me to take the river boat to 'Little India' here in Bangkok yesterday to my source for Indian DVD. Sunny Video where the woman who runs it never cracks a smile. Not one Satyajit Ray movie in stock! But, coming in a couple of weeks.

I was able to find:

Bhuvan Shome
Amu
Company

So, the trip was not in vain.

BTW, how much do you pay in Kolkata for Ray DVD's?

jyotirmoy · Mar 11th, 2008, 11:15

Bhuvan Shome is a great film and fantastic performance by Suhashini Mule.

Bhaswaran · Mar 11th, 2008, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyotirmoy

Since you love Indian cinema try Ritwik Ghatak. The black & white photography in Days and Nights in the Forest is simply superb.
Jalsaghar didn't go down too well with western viewers because of the long & ellaborate song and dance sequences but for those who like Indian classical music the value addition by these sequences to the film is aparent.
On the back page of this book that you have is a photo of Ray with Kurosawa.
I had the good fortune of watching both Ray & Ghatak at work. Their styles were totally different but each an institution by himself. For the western viewers Ray remains the "most suitable boy" though.

I totally agree with you Jyotida. Photographically, Ritwik Ghatak's films attract me more.

jyotirmoy · Mar 11th, 2008, 12:13

Both Ray's & Ghatak's photography are great, each in its own way.
Ghatak's camera captured the stark side as did his story line & dialouges.
The opening scene of Charulata is a rare example of expressive photography. Similarly Ghatak's camera has captured the starkness of the twisting rocky dune filled river bed of the river Subornorekha so similar to the twists and troubles that have gathered around the lives of the characters.

Bhaswaran · Mar 11th, 2008, 12:22

Yes that is where they stands out for...total with their individual styles and sense....to direct the viewers imagination

brishti · Mar 11th, 2008, 18:10

i have collated snippets from the net -
a tiny detail which i hope, will clarify ray's masterful photography in the films mentioned in the posts above:

Quote:

Jean Renoir was making ‘The River’ in Calcutta he tried to get a job as a camera assistant but failed. Stubborn as he was, he didn’t take no for an answer, hung around and followed the unit with his little notebook in which he wrote and made meticulous sketches. This paid off, for later the cameraman Claude Renoir was asking him for his notes on the film to check on his own lighting schemes. It was here that he met a young illustrator working in an advertising agency and planning his first feature film - Satyajit Ray.

Ray wanted to break away from the conventional lighting styles followed in the commercial cinema of Calcutta and looked towards the 21 year old science graduate to photograph his feature ‘Pather Panchali.’

In Aparajito, Ray’s second film he introduced ‘bounce lighting’ in cinema. He achieved his special quality of light by stretching a white cloth across the open courtyard of the set they had built in a studio. Placing studio lights below he bounced them off of the cloth to simulate a diffused daylight feel.

BOUNCE LIGHTING was born. He had begun a revolution. Today, bounce lighting is taken for granted and used in cinema the world over – and this is the man who invented it.

Years later, in New York, he was looking at a poster of one of the Ray films when a voice boomed from behind, 'I'd love to meet the man who shot this film.' He turned around and said quietly, 'that was me.' He was immediately swept up in a bear hug by a man who kissed him on both cheeks and said, 'You are truly a genius.' The man was Vittorio Storaro.

He photographed the famous Ray films, Pather Panchali, Aparajito, Apur Sansar, Charulata, Jalsaghar, Devi, Kanchenjunga - his first color film.

in 1992 became the only Indian to win the Eastman Kodak Lifetime Achievement for Excellence in Cinematography.

He was the master of light, a Jedi Master.

His name was Subrata Mitra.
So when you talk about photography in the above Ray’s films – this is the man who was responsible.

There was a time in this country when we made them good.

:brishti

brishti · Mar 11th, 2008, 18:20

scando: what kind of films do you like to watch? let us know - the recommendations will thus flow

dd: i could see the snow-topped kachenjunga range from my window, when in school -

and no - i aint specifically either a ray or a ghatak fan

so much for being bengali and therefore an intellect

:brishti

Scandojazzbuff · Mar 11th, 2008, 23:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by brishti

scando: what kind of films do you like to watch? let us know - the recommendations will thus flow

dd: i could see the snow-topped kachenjunga range from my window, when in school -

and no - i aint specifically either a ray or a ghatak fan

so much for being bengali and therefore an intellect

:brishti

Oooh, I like the sound of this! Let's see. I'll stick to Indian movies. And, the more modern ones as it will be difficult for me to find many of the older classics here in Bangkok.

Vanaprastham
Earth, Fire, Water Trilogy-Deepa Mehta
Mani Ratnam films like A Peck On The Cheek
Eklavya

I liked Bollywood features like Monsoon Wedding and Lagaan. Naseerudin Shah is a great actor. I can watch but am less impressed with actors like King Khan and many of the Big B's films. I don't mind the singing and dancing if the acting and storyline are first rate. These guys are good, no doubt, but, most of these productions are only about tugging on the emotions concerning the boy/girl thing.

Dilliwala · Mar 11th, 2008, 23:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by brishti

...dd: i could see the snow-topped kachenjunga range from my window, when in school -

Really? You went to school in the Darjeeling district? Lucky devil.

brishti · Mar 12th, 2008, 15:30

dd: good girls go to heaven -
bad girls go anywhere

and when you do decide to come to them eastern himalaya's ... do not forget one numbers monkey cap plis

it is being compulsory mountain gear... person/s without - mountaingods

:brishti

scando: here's a random mixmatch of starters for you:
[ them are personal likings... so please chip in all of you ]

new delhi times
deewar
company
bend it like beckham
chak de
manthan
aaradhana
aandhi
jewel thief
johnny mera naam
guide

[ for coffee-table discussions, the above are n/a. ]

this thread is about ray - it is sooo OT and criminal being here

incidentally, to combat piracy, moserbaer has begun to burn dvd's of indian movies, selling at Rs 30-40. cool.

Dilliwala · Mar 12th, 2008, 17:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by brishti

dd: good girls go to heaven -
bad girls go anywhere

Hmmm, don't know what to make of that. Considering that looking onto KJ everyday qualifies as being in heaven does that make u good, or being in Big Bad Bom makes u bad?

Quote:

and when you do decide to come to them eastern himalaya's ... do not forget one numbers monkey cap plis
it is being compulsory mountain gear... person/s without - mountaingods

Ah yes, the millenia-old traditional Bengali headgear, right? U can always pick em out from a distance, heheh.
But,
I've never worn a monkey-cap in my life! Even at 0 degrees in Muss this Jan I didn't need one.

Mar 10th, 2008, 16:05	#17
kishori_ray Kishori Ray Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Kolkata Posts: 64	Music World is a great shop, and the exact address should be Park Street 18 e in Kolkata's center. BTW hard to come out of this shop once you entered, they have about everything one can think about. In my case I got a big collection of Indian Classical Music there, and I saw indeed many movies of Satrajit Ray there. __________________ 'Vasudhaiva kutumbkam'- The universe is my family. http://www.youtube.com/kishoriray http://kishoriray.multiply.com/ [url]http://www.flickriver.com/photos/kishoriray/

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Mar 10th, 2008, 14:50	#16
jyotirmoy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 3,946	Ray's Goopi Gyan Bagha Bayn is an example of Ray's versatility.

Mar 10th, 2008, 20:07	#18
Dilliwala Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Dilli Posts: 2,747	Great thread. I think I have to watch 'Kanchenjunga' sometime, what with my great fondness for all things Himalayan. This is the first I've heard of this film, I think, don't recall the name. Still haven't been to the Eastern Himalaya either.

Mar 11th, 2008, 11:15	#21
jyotirmoy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 3,946	Bhuvan Shome is a great film and fantastic performance by Suhashini Mule.

Mar 11th, 2008, 12:13	#23
jyotirmoy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: India Posts: 3,946	Both Ray's & Ghatak's photography are great, each in its own way. Ghatak's camera captured the stark side as did his story line & dialouges. The opening scene of Charulata is a rare example of expressive photography. Similarly Ghatak's camera has captured the starkness of the twisting rocky dune filled river bed of the river Subornorekha so similar to the twists and troubles that have gathered around the lives of the characters.

Mar 11th, 2008, 12:22	#24
Bhaswaran Landscape Photographer Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Kolkata. INDIA bhaswaran@redifmail.com Posts: 880	Yes that is where they stands out for...total with their individual styles and sense....to direct the viewers imagination

Mar 11th, 2008, 18:20	#26
brishti Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: india Posts: 1,064	scando: what kind of films do you like to watch? let us know - the recommendations will thus flow dd: i could see the snow-topped kachenjunga range from my window, when in school - and no - i aint specifically either a ray or a ghatak fan so much for being bengali and therefore an intellect :brishti

Mar 12th, 2008, 15:30	#29
brishti Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: india Posts: 1,064	dd: good girls go to heaven - bad girls go anywhere and when you do decide to come to them eastern himalaya's ... do not forget one numbers monkey cap plis it is being compulsory mountain gear... person/s without - mountaingods :brishti scando: here's a random mixmatch of starters for you: [ them are personal likings... so please chip in all of you ] new delhi times deewar company bend it like beckham chak de manthan aaradhana aandhi jewel thief johnny mera naam guide [ for coffee-table discussions, the above are n/a. ] this thread is about ray - it is sooo OT and criminal being here incidentally, to combat piracy, moserbaer has begun to burn dvd's of indian movies, selling at Rs 30-40. cool.

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