INTERVIEW/ Goutam Ghose, director
Edited excerpts:
Q/ Why is Pather Panchali considered to be the first modern Indian film?
A/ Before Pather Panchali, the Kolkata audience had never seen an Indian village in cinema. The movie had such a detailed structure and it was such a perfect art form. The social circle reviews and intellectual discussions in Kolkata, which were strong back then unlike today, gave the film a new life. It was a new cinematic experience, which ultimately became timeless.
Q/ Was Satyajit Ray the first Indian director whose works were shown abroad?
A/ No. Debaki Bose was the first director whose film was shown in Venice. Ray, however, took cinema to an international level in a different way as a classical art form. Bose was a cameraman before turning director. Another cameraman who became director was Nitin Bose. Then came Pramathesh Barua. They were ignored because of Pather Panchali.
Q/ Why was it so?
A/ Ray was a class act. He followed the advice of [French director] Jean Renoir and got influenced by [Italian director Vittorio] De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. His research on European and Hollywood films took his first film to a new level.
Q/ How was the interaction between Ray and Renoir?
This story is from the May 22, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 22, 2022 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
There Is A Wind Blowing Against The BJP, And It Will Only Pick Up Speed
Interview - Akhilesh Yadav, Former Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
Between hospital and home
Transitional care centres can add a lot to India's health care system
EFFORT VS EFFECT
The government's attempts to ensure quality drugs is evident, but how well new policies can be monitored on the ground remains to be seen
A way to let go of fear
Accepting the use of adult diapers is a journey with various stages-denial, concealment, rejection and reluctance
Mandeeps & a miracle
Two strangers, one deadly disease and an act of kindness. How Mandeep Mann saved Mandeep Singh, an acute leukaemia patient, by donating his stem cells
The A, B, C of cosmetic surgery
Between eight to 10 lakh cosmetic surgeries happen in India every year. Who is an ideal candidate, and what are the risks and results you can expect?
Vaccines and meningitis
In sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, and encompassing the northern part of Nigeria, there exists a region known as the African Meningitis Belt (AMB).
Celebrating diversity and inclusivity
As Indians battle it out in our nation's 18th general election, it is again time for voters to reflect on the \"Idea of India\"-or rather, on two duelling ideas of India that are now before us and between which the nation must choose at the ballot box.
Defendant: an Hermès handbag
When Hermès was hit with a class-action lawsuit last month for \"antitrust\" activities, it didn't see it coming. Most of the luxury world has all eyes on this suit, filed by two interested consumers who claim they were denied a purchase, and whether it would go to trial.
A legacy, bound
Amal Allana's biography of her father, Ebrahim Alkazi, is as much personal as it is historical