Cannes 2025: Satyajit Ray's ‘Aranyer Din Ratri' to make a full circle after 55 years with Sharmila Tagore, Simi Grewal

Mint

12-05-2025

Cannes 2025: Cinema buffs, hold your breath, for it's a full-circle moment. Satyajit Ray's 1970 classic 'Aranyer Din Ratri' (Days and Nights in the Forest) is returning to the spotlight—this time on the world stage at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.
More importantly, the Satyajit Ray creation will be screened for the first time at Cannes, and in the presence of the movie's cast, Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal, and director Wes Anderson.
From stealing the stage back in 1970, as the main competition in the 20th Berlin Film Festival, to being screened 55 years later at the Cannes 2025 — Satyajit Ray's Aranayer Din Ratri — evidently, is anything but eternal.
Based on the novel of same name, penned by emnient Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay, Aranyer Din Ratri movie's cinematic journey revolves around four young men escaping to the dense forests of Jharkhand in search of a brief escape from urban monotony. But what begins as a carefree retreat soon unravels into a quiet exploration of class tensions, gender dynamics, and the enduring tug-of-war between tradition and the creeping tide of modernity.
Alongside Satyajit Ray's direction, it is the movie's cast including Sharmila Tagore, Simi Grewal, Soumitra Chattopadhyay, Aparna Sen, among others that make Aranyer Din Ratri go high on subtlety, technically brilliant and hauntingly scored.
Asim (Soumitra Chattopadhyay), meets his match in Aparna (Sharmila Tagore), a poised and intelligent young woman who dismantles his ego with disarming grace. Meanwhile, Sanjay (Subhendu Chatterjee), the affable and laid-back soul is thrust into a moral crossroads that shakes the foundation of his quiet convictions.
At the same time, Hari, the reserved athlete (Samit Bhanja), finds himself drawn to the raw, unfiltered allure of a tribal girl whose presence stirs something primal within him. And then there's Shekhar—lovably eccentric and played masterfully by Rabi Ghosh—who, despite being the group's comic relief, quietly becomes its moral anchor, ever-ready to support his friends through moments of emotional reckoning.
The restoration of Aranyer Din Ratri was made possible with the support of the Golden Globe Foundation, using the original camera and sound negatives carefully preserved by producer Purnima Dutta.
Adding to the glit and glam of the Cannes, devout Satyajit Ray admirer, director Wes Anderson will introduce the film at Cannes, paying homage to one of his greatest cinematic influences.
Aranyer Din Ratri's screening at the Cannes marks the fourth consecutive year that an Indian film restored by the Film Heritage Foundation has been featured in the Cannes Classics section, following previous restorations like Thamp, Ishanou, and Manthan.
For many Satyajit Ray fans, Aranayer Din Ratri is the favourite over the much acclaimed Apu Trilogy. Amid a long list of awards that Satyajit Ray had achieved over the course of his career, what stands out is when he was awarded the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 1987 by the French government, which is the highest decoration in France.