Cinema of Satyajit Ray in the time of pandemic

When “Ray”, a four-story anthology based on stories by late Satyajit Ray, drops on OTT later this month, it will be an interesting attempt by a set of new-age artistes and filmmakers at exploring the thought process of an auteur who passed away nearly three decades ago, but who continues to topline any discussion on world cinema if it involves India.

For the record, the anthology has two films directed by Srijit Mukherji, and one each by Abhishek Chaubey and Vasan Bala. These are filmmakers who’ve garnered enough plaudits for displaying finer aesthetics in their works. Still, it could be a challenge bringing to life the writings of Ray — legions of admirers would settle for nothing less than flawless, and that’s something even the maestro’s son, the undeniably gifted Sandeep Ray, would vouch for from experience.

Yet, at one level, the essence of Ray doesn’t seem like something that is detached from contemporary realities. His cinema actually highlights many ‘isms’ that occupy the mindspace of the world today, long before it became socially fashionable to discuss these topics. Many conversations that have opened up now have found resonance in Ray’s cinema, directly or indirectly.