Tag: Film

Satyajit Ray’s colossal presence in Indian cinema is in no need of commendation. His centenary is expected to further illuminate Ray as a storyteller, author, graphic-artist, publicist and illustrator. Despite sporadic efforts, the different manifestations of Ray’s work have so far been seen in segregation, refusing as it were, to probe into an omniscient meta-narrative that could have, undetected, informed his harvest. Are we only to contend then, with the different faces of a polygonal genius? Or is there in…

Tales of the arch tippler In a recent press release, spirit maker Diageo has announced the re-launch of the legendary VAT69. According to company sources, the iconic dark green, sherry-shaped bottle is a tribute to its creator William Sanderson. Is it? We all thought it was a tribute to Ajit and to Ranjeet, the arch filmy villain and his ‘rape-happy’ sidekick. Or may-be even to Pran, Prem Chopra and oh yes, even to the red-eyed, drooling, baritoned slosh of one…

Ranjan Palit is so soft speaking that in between the first and the fifth row at Max Mueller Bhavan’s partly refurbished auditorium, his voice was almost lost. But he is not a singer but a cameraman and filmmaker, a maker of some of the most well-received and critically acclaimed documentary pour une cause in the last three decades, and hence it was film and his camera that did all the talking. And what a cracker of a film he showed! He…