Ray’s legacy lives on

Satyajit Ray, a towering figure in the world of cinema, showed his talent as a director, producer, writer, composer and even a graphic designer. His height notwithstanding (he was 6 feet 4 inches tall), Ray’s cultural stature has been so daunting that even today, 17 years after his death, his body of work dominates any major discussion on films, which was evident at a recent event. This is what a few people associated with films had to say about the legacy of Satyajit Ray and whether Indian cinema has measured up to it or not.

Govind Nihlani (film-maker): It’s surprising when people accuse him of selling poverty to the West through his cinema. But he has made movies on every possible subject – comedy, musical, family drama, detective story or children movies.

Nihlani also quotes Ray’s contemporary Ritwik Ghatak saying, “Every film-maker should know how to use silence. If you want to know how to use silence, watch Pather Panchali where silence plays a key role and a recurring theme.”

Rachel Dwyer (professor of Indian culture and cinema at SOAS, London): Till the 90s, the only person through whose eye we have seen India is Ray. Unlike any other film-maker from the East, Ray’s films represented India almost every year at the London film festival. Be it Charulata’s mystique or the innocence of Apu in the trilogy, Ray has defined the cinematic idiom. He is a great artist and will always be remembered for his cinematic brilliance.

Sharmila Tagore (actor and a Ray protégé): When it comes to Ray, I just cannot stop. She reads out Ramesh Sippy’s famous remark about Ray that says, “In our country nobody, not even Ray, has tried to bridge the gulf between art and entertainment.”