The British Film Institute (BFI) is celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema with a retrospective of legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s complete work here.
The two-month Satyajit Ray Season started at BFI Southbank on Wednesday in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who have restored many of the titles to be screened in new prints. The highlight of the season will be the UK-wide release of newly-restored “Mahanagar” (The Big City) on Friday.
“Ray is probably India’s finest cultural export and his unique cinematic legacy is renowned and revered by directors across the world. This is a season that will inspire and move audiences and promises to be just too good to miss,” a BFI statement said.
An illustrated talk by Manishita Dass, lecturer in World Cinema at Royal Holloway, University of London, will set the scene, followed by screenings of Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Apur Sansar among others. “Two decades ago Ray received an Academy Award for his Lifetime Achieve-ment just before his death in Kolkata. Since then India has become vastly wealthier but the dir-ector’s films have lost none of their power, humanity, humour and topicality for both Indians and the world,” the BFI statement said.