Kolkata:

That ‘Pather Panchali’ is a film of international repute is a foregone conclusion but very few know how much labour it took for Satyajit Ray to come up with the masterpiece. A facsimile edition of the ‘Pather Panchali’ sketchbook, which has collated original contents of the film – sketches, notes and post-scripts, will now give an insight into how Ray had visualized and planned the film. It was released on the eve of Ray’s 95th birth anniversary on Sunday.

The sketchbook, as Ray’s son Sandip Ray has written in the preface, formed the very foundation of the filmmaker’s maiden film. Sandip Ray writes on the history of the book: “…Father donated it to the ‘Cinematheque Francais’ in Paris at the request of Georges Sadoul, the eminent French journalist and film scholar. In his final days, he expressed a desire to have a look at the visual script he had made for Pather Panchali. I contacted the Cinematheque Francais management, but they said the sketchbook had been missing. However, it was our good luck that last year we got hold of a scanned copy of it…and decided to bring out this facsimile edition,” Sandip Ray mentions in the preface.

The book not only gives the readers a rare glimpse into original sketches and notes made by Ray for the film, it also has several reviews and previews, original drafts, posters, booklets, letters written by eminent film personalities and some photographs and commemorative stamps.

The book also contains a few articles written by Satyajit Ray on the inspiration behind his maiden film. “I have no hesitation in saying that Aam Aantir Bhenpu, a childrens’ edition of Bibhutibhusan Banerjee’s novel ‘Pather Panchali’, was the source of the script of my film. I illustrated that edition. So I had to go through the book minutely,” writes senior Ray in his article ‘The Whole Film Was In My Head’.

“The sketchbook is the product of a painstaking effort put in by the ‘Society for Preservation of Satyajit Ray Archives’, also known as ‘Satyajit Ray Society’,” said Society CEO Arup Kumar De.

Sharmila Tagore, who has written an introduction for the sketchbook, says that the film holds a special place in her heart. “I owe my life in cinema to this film….No doubt impressed with the resounding international success of ‘Pather Panchali’ and the critical acclaim for its maker, my father took the extraordinary step of allowing me to work in Apur Sansar.,” she reminiscences in the introduction.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kolkata / Suman Chakraborti / May 03rd, 2016