No colour

There is a countrywide protest brewing against the colouring of classics, with support from Hollywood stars like Meryl Streep, reports Soumyadipta Banerjee

It all started with legend Satyajit Ray’s son Sandeep Ray, who turned aghast at the prospects of his father’s Oscar-winning film Pather Panchali being coloured and re-released. Incidentally, a Mumbai-based firm has sought the ‘colour’ rights of Ray’s classic.

Sandeep is of the opinion that certain classics should remain untouched. He says, “I’m shocked. Can you ever imagine Hollywood classics getting coloured? I’m am totally against the idea. I’ve spoken to a lot of directors. We will soon be working out on an action plan. We will go hammer and tongs against the government, if it allows this. How can they touch a classic like Pather Panchali?” Incidentally, the property rights of the film lie with the Kolkata Government.

Legendary director Mrinal Sen backs the movement saying, “Some of the movies I’ve directed are in black and white. I had conceptualised them that way—just like Charlie Chaplin who made all his movies in black and white.”

Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor too concurs, “When you remake a black and white movie into colour, you are destroying the work. I couldn’t bring myself to watch Mughal-e-Azam in colour. I wouldn’t let anyone touch my black and white movies.”

Director Gautam Ghose rebukes the trend too. “It’s ridiculous. Sandeep told me about this a month back. The project should have been abandoned by now. Hollywood tried doing this years back and the audience rejected it too.”

There are protests pouring in from Hollywood too.

Meryl Streep, who has always maintained that Satyajit Ray is her favourite director says in a press release, “I have seen some of Ray’s earlier classics and always wanted to work with him.  Who on earth will like to see a Pather Panchali or a Charulata in colour?  Simply ridiculous!”

Oscar-winning director Sir Richard Attenborough joins the angry protests and puts across his views in the same release. “I am a convener of the Satyajit Ray Society in Europe.  I worked with Ray in Shatranj Ke Khiladi and still cherish the experience.  It will be a blasphemy if any of his classics are coloured.  It will kill the eternal essence of his films.  Are  the black and white classics of Sir Charlie Chaplin, Vittorio D’Sica, John Ford or Alfred Hitchcock being touched?  Will anyone like to see Modern Times, Bicycle Thieves or Rebecca in colour?  Then why even think of colouring Pather Panchali?”

Some of the directors have apparently already approached the I&B Ministry to stop classics from being tampered with in this manner. The I &B Minister, Priyaranjan Das Munshi is yet to take a decision on this matter.
s_banerjee@dnaindia.net