Satyajit Ray retrospective opens in Dhaka

Dhaka: A retrospective of Satyajit Ray`s films opened in the Bangladesh capital Friday to mark the 18th death anniversary of the master filmmaker who is regarded as a towering figure of 20th century cinema. The Indian high commission has organised the week-long event where six of Ray`s movies will be showcased as part of the ‘Satyajit Retrospective’ at the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre in downtown Gulshan.

‘Satyajit Ray Introspections’ by Indian documentary maker K Bikram Singh and Ray`s own ‘Kanchenjunga’ are being showcased, while the documentary ‘Pa’ and Ray`s all time classics ‘Apur Sansar’, ‘Aranyer Dinratri’ and ‘Seemabaddha’ will be screened over the week, reports New Age newspaper. Born on May 2, 1921 in Kolkata in a renowned Bengali family, Ray started his career as a commercial artist. He was drawn into independent filmmaking after he met French filmmaker Jean Renoir and watched the Italian neo-realism film ‘The Bicycle Thief’ during a London visit. The master craftsman directed 37 films, including documentaries, features and short films. He was also a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and a film critic. He died on April 23, 1992. IANS