THE SATYAJIT RAY COLLECTION Vol. 1

Satyajit Ray is internationally acknow- ledged as one of the great masters of world cinema. From his extraordinarily accomplished debut ‘Pather Panchali’, his films – many of them masterpieces – have won him legions of admirers, among them Akira Kurosawa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, V.S. Naipaul and Martin Scorsese. MAHANAGAR (The Big City) - Set in the mid ‘50s, Ray’s often humorous story of conflicting social values in India’s lower- middle class stars Madhabi Mukherjee as a housewife whose growing independence alarms her traditionalist family. India 1963, Bengali with English subtitles, 122 minutes approx. CHARULATA (The Lonely Wife) - Neglected by her ambitious journalist husband, the onely Charulata (Madhabi Mukherjee) be- friends his cousin (Soumitra Chatterjee), a sensitive aspiring writer, and almost inevitably their feelings for each other begin to deepen. Adapted from a story by Rabindranath Tagore, Ray considered this sesnitively realised drama one of his finest achievements. India 1964, Bengali with English subtitles, 115 minutes approx. NAYAK (The Hero) - This beautifully observed character study was one of Ray’s earliest original screenplays. En route to an award ceremony, a famous and egocentric Bengali movie star finds that he is com- pelled to re-evaluate his life after encountering a disapproving young journalist (Sharmila Ta- gore). India 1966, Bengali with English subtitles, 114 minutes approx., produced by R.D.B. & Co (R.D.Bansal)