Bisay Chalachitra (Bengali)

Bisay Chalachitra, a collection of essays written by the Indian film director Satyajit Ray, presents the intricate craft of film-making through the thoughts, memories, and experiences of the noted filmmaker.

Summary Of The Book

Satyajit Ray earned much national and global acclaim as one of the masters of the art of film-making. In this compilation, he draws upon his prolific writing talent to offer the readers an extensive view of every aspect of cinema.

Beginning with a glimpse into the history of film-making, Ray weaves a rich narrative exploring topics such as Russian cinema, Bangla cinema, the challenges to creative expression in cinema, his experiences with background music, his association with other creatives, and his dislike for theatre.

His perspective on the advent of colour and sound in cinema and their subsequent influence on directorial approaches, is particularly intriguing. From justifying his methods in response to a critic, to expressing his fear of the deteriorating quality of Indian cinema, Ray rewrites the reader’s idea of the silver screen.

Bisay Chalachitra, written in Bengali, was published by Ananda Publishers. It received highly positive reviews for its fascinating insight into the journey of a superb filmmaker and the brilliance of his craft. The book’s English translation, Speaking Of Films, is credited to Gopa Majumdar.

About Satyajit Ray

Satyajit Ray was an acclaimed Indian filmmaker and writer, and a slightly less known graphic designer and calligrapher.

He was a versatile writer who penned down numerous novels, short stories, screenplays, and essays. His written works include Today Bandha Ghorar Dim, Ekei Bole Shooting, Jakhan Choto Chilam, and Our Films, Their Films.

Apart from science fiction and cinema, his writing explored his love of suspense, humour, puns, and puzzles.

Ray was born on May 2, 1921, in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India. He graduated with a BA in Economics from the University of Calcutta. To fulfil his mother’s wish, he joined the Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan. He began his career as a graphic designer at an advertising agency. In 1947, he co-founded the Calcutta Film Society where they screened various foreign films. An encounter with the French director Jean Renoir encouraged him to pursue independent filmmaking. Over the course of his long and fruitful filmmaking career, Ray’s work won him numerous awards and honours, including a Bharat Ratna from the Government of India in 1992. Ray was married to Bijoya Das. Their son, Sandip, is now a film director. In 1983, Ray suffered a heart attack that severely hampered his productivity for the remaining nine years of his life. He succumbed to heart-related complications on April 23, 1992.