Latest news with #Dungarpur
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Wes Anderson Powers Satyajit Ray's ‘Aranyer Din Ratri' Rescue for Cannes Classics
A six-year restoration journey spearheaded by filmmaker Wes Anderson has culminated in Satyajit Ray's 1970 masterpiece 'Aranyer Din Ratri' ('Days and Nights in the Forest') securing a slot at Cannes Classics. The restoration project began in 2019 when Anderson, through his position on the board of Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation, initiated discussions about preserving the film. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' director's passion for Ray's work drove the collaborative effort between The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films and The Criterion Collection, with funding provided by the Golden Globe Foundation. More from Variety BrLab Unveils New Dates, Co-Pro Forum and Regional Spread Ahead of 15th Anniversary Edition (EXCLUSIVE) Dakota Johnson Says Studio Bosses Don't Take Risks and 'It's a Constant Fight,' Recalls Being Shocked at Her Movie Premieres: 'That Is Not What I Thought We Were Making' Female Film Club Launches Global Short-Film Fund at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE) 'Anything signed by Satyajit Ray must be cherished and preserved; but the nearly-forgotten 'Days and Nights in the Forest' is a special/particular gem,' Anderson said. 'Made in 1970. Modern and novelistic. Ray worked in terrain perhaps more familiar to Cassavetes. A clash/negotiation between castes and sexes. Urbans and rurals. Selfish men and their hopes and cruelties and spectacular lack of wisdom. Women who see through them. The great Soumitra Chatterjee: lost but searching. The great Sharmila Tagore: mysterious, cerebral, mesmerizing. From the master, another masterpiece.' The restoration effort faced extraordinary challenges due to the global pandemic. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of Film Heritage Foundation, undertook a high-risk journey from Mumbai to Kolkata during strict lockdown conditions in 2020 to assess the condition of the original camera and sound negatives preserved by producer Purnima Dutta at her home. 'The restoration of 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been an incredible journey from Kolkata to Cannes that has taken almost six years,' Dungarpur told Variety. 'I managed to travel to Kolkata in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic to check the condition of the original camera and sound negatives of the film that were at Purnima Dutta's home. Once the producers gave their consent, we arranged to ship the elements to L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna for scanning and restoration. When I look back I am amazed that I was able to do this given the severe restrictions that were in place at the time.' The technical restoration process utilized the original camera and sound negatives as primary source elements, with work completed at the specialized facility L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. Dungarpur worked in close collaboration with the lab throughout the entire process, focusing on preserving the film's authentic visual characteristics. Throughout the restoration process, Dungarpur maintained close coordination with the Dutta Family and Ray's son, Sandip Ray, who actively participated in work-in-progress screenings and final reviews to ensure the restored version maintained fidelity to the original artistic vision. All restoration work was formally approved by both the Dutta Family and Sandip Ray. 'I worked closely on the restoration with Sandip Ray and the lab in Bologna on the whole process beginning from shipping the original negatives to the final restoration and I was struck once again by the mastery of Satyajit Ray as the beauty of the film emerged,' said Dungarpur. 'We worked hard on maintaining the grain and blacks to match [DoP] Soumendu Roy's original work as closely as possible.' The laboratory's digital restoration team addressed a comprehensive range of issues present in the original materials, including dust, scratches, stains, image instability, green mold and flickering. The sound restoration presented particular challenges, as the original sound negative exhibited varying degrees of quality across and within reels. Reels 9 through 12 presented the most significant audio challenges, which were successfully minimized through careful intervention. For a limited portion of the audio in Reel 2, a magnetic track preserved by the BFI National Archive was used to replace compromised sections. A crucial element of the restoration was creating new, accurate English subtitles. For this essential task, the team engaged Indrani Mazumdar, a longtime collaborator of Ray and the only person he entrusted with English subtitles during his lifetime. Mazumdar, who is also renowned for translating many of Ray's Bengali-language literary works, brought her intimate knowledge of Ray's intentions to the project. ''Aranyer Din Ratri' is, still today, one of my favorite films and the restoration work that has been done to it is absolutely stunning,' said Sandip Ray. 'I worked closely with Shivendra Singh Dungarpur through the whole restoration process and was quite amazed by the meticulous approach that was taken to the restoration. I'm tremendously grateful to Martin Scorsese's 'The Film Foundation', Film Heritage Foundation, and The Criterion Collection for joining hands to make this restoration possible. My heartfelt thanks to Wes Anderson, who I know is a great admirer of my father's work.' Producer Purnima Dutta, who preserved the original negatives of the film at her home in Kolkata for decades, added: 'I am overwhelmed that 'Aranyer Din Ratri,' a masterpiece by Satyajit Ray, has been restored. As the producer of the film, it is a great honor and pleasure for me. I would like to thank The Film Foundation for restoring the film and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur of Film Heritage Foundation for his dedication and the time he spent to supervise and coordinate the restoration to ensure that 'Aranyer Din Ratri' is given a second life.' In parallel with the meticulous restoration work, Janus Films secured licensing rights for the film in the U.S. and U.K. through negotiations with Purnima Dutta. This collaborative effort between The Film Foundation (TFF) and longtime partner Fumiko Takagi of Janus Films/Criterion Collection, who had previously explored licensing the title with Dutta in Kolkata in 2013, ensures the restored film's availability to audiences in its highest possible quality. The Bengali-language classic offers a nuanced portrayal of post-colonial urban India through the lens of four young men seeking temporary escape in the forests of Jharkhand. The film features an ensemble cast including Sharmila Tagore, Kaberi Bose, Simi Garewal, Soumitra Chatterjee, Shubhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Samit Bhanja, Pahari Sanyal, and Aparna Sen, among others. Actor Simi Garewal, who played a memorable role in the film, reflected on the significance of the restoration: 'The restoration of 'Aranyer Din Ratri' is an extraordinary gift – not just to those of us who were part of the film, but to world cinema. I still remember the silence of the forests, the rhythm of the shoot… Working with Satyajit Ray was like stepping into the mind of a quiet genius – every word, every gesture mattered, and he had this rare ability to make you discover depths in yourself you didn't know existed. I'm so pleased that this masterpiece has been so lovingly restored by Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation, Film Heritage Foundation and the Criterion Collection for future generations to experience.' Lead actor Sharmila Tagore also shared her memories of the production: 'I remember I was shooting for 'Aradhana' when Manik Da [Satyajit Ray's nickname] approached me to shoot for this film for a month at a stretch. It was incredibly hot during the shoot and we could only shoot in the mornings and late afternoons. I have wonderful memories of the time spent with my co-actors and Manik Da's precision, especially in the way he shot the memory game sequence, was incredible. 'Aranyer Din Ratri' is such a contemporary film that I know it will resonate with new audiences across the world even today.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
Scroll.in
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Sensuous, delicate, poetic: The 1978 classic from Sri Lanka that is set to make a splash at Cannes
Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage was a teenager in 1978 when he first encountered one of the most beguiling chronicles of adolescence. Sumitra Peries's film Gehenu Lamai, about a young girl's formative experiences, resembled an Impressionist painting in its intricacy and beauty, said Vithanage. 'Sumitra had a distinctive vision and used the cinematic language in a poetic manner,' observed Vithanage, who is among his country's most prominent filmmakers. He was mesmerised enough by Gehenu Lamai to watch it two more times in the cinema. Decades after its release, Gehenu Lamai still casts a spell. Peries's Sinhala-language debut feature, which she also wrote and edited, is a masterpiece of rhythm and mood. Gehenu Lamai (Girls) will be screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24) in the section devoted to classics and restored titles. Gehenu Lamai will be presented along with Satyajit Ray's Aranyer Din Ratri (1970) by the Film Heritage Foundation, the Mumbai-based organisation dedicated to the preservation of cinema. The Sri Lankan contingent for Gehenu Lamai will include lead actors Vasanthi Chaturani and Ajith Jinadasa. The Aranyer Din Ratri screening will be attended by, among others, lead actor Sharmila Tagore and Wes Anderson, the Hollywood director and Rayphile. It's an emotional moment for Film Heritage Foundation founder Shivendra Singh Dungarpur – and not only because he is taking two projects to Cannes this time. The restoration of Gehenu Lamai caps years of efforts to bring the treasures of Sri Lankan cinema to the world, Dungarpur told Scroll. Dungarpur first met Sumitra Peries and her husband, filmmaker Lester James Peries, in 2009. Dungarpur was in Sri Lanka to shoot a commercial. Popular actor Ravindra Rendeniya, who had acted in Lester James Peries's Desa Nisa (1975), introduced Dungarpur to the director reputed as one of the chief architects of Sri Lankan cinema. Dungarpur had watched a few of Peries's movies as a student at the Film and Television Institute of India. When Dungarpur set out to make the documentary Celluloid Man (2012), about the legendary archivist PK Nair, he knew he had to interview Peries, who had spoken fondly of Nair during the 2009 visit. 'During the conversation about Nair saab, Lester said that none of his films had been restored and were poorly maintained,' Dungarpur recalled. Dungarpur put Peries in contact with the World Cinema Project, founded by Martin Scorsese to preserve neglected films, and the Italian film archive Cineteca di Bologna. This resulted in the restoration of Peries's 1972 classic Nidhanaya (Treasure). Dungarpur kept meeting with the Peries couple during subsequent visits to Sri Lanka. 'They were wonderful – their house in Colombo was filled with warmth and Sumitra's laughter,' Dungarpur said. At some point, the conversation veered to the films that Sumitra Peries had directed. Might the Film Heritage Foundation help restore her features, starting with Gehenu Lamai? 'Sumitra sent me six DVDs with handwritten notes describing the order in which she wanted the films restored,' Dungarpur said. Although the DVD copy of Gehenu Lamai gave little indication of its technical prowess, Dungarpur was hooked. 'It's a work of pure cinema,' Dungarpur said. 'It's structurally very well put together and doesn't feel like a first film. It has beautiful textures and compositions, which remind me of the Malayalam films being made in India in the same period.' Gehenu Lamai is indeed special. The film is suffused with the intensity of feeling perhaps unique to adolescents, and especially to girls. Kusum (Vasanthi Chathurani) is in love with Nimal (Ajith Jinadasa) despite the differences in their social status. While Nimal is fired up about Sri Lanka's post-colonial present and future, Kusum is obedient, proper and mindful of her responsibilities towards her mother and sister. When Kusum's sister enrols in a beauty contest and later becomes pregnant, Kusum is forced to choose between love and duty. The story, adapted from a novel of the same name by Karunasena Jayalath, unfolds through lyrical passages and realistic performances. Sumitra Pereis's portrait of girlhood has a sensuous quality, especially in the scenes revolving around Kusum and Nimal. Kusum is often framed against lush foliage, the backdrop a reflection of her emotional state. The dappled lighting and intimate close-ups were the handiwork of MS Ananda, who had previously worked with Lester James Peries. Ananda was one of the leading cinematographers in Sri Lankan cinema, Prasanna Vithanage pointed out. Ananda's daughter Shyama – whom Ananda later directed in a series of films – plays Kusum's school friend Padmini in Gehenu Lamai. The film subtly suggests that Padmini's heart beats for Kusum – a radical idea in the 1970s. ' Gehenu Lamai relies entirely on visuals to bring out the sexuality of the characters and their feelings for each other,' Vithanage observed. 'Before this film, nobody had depicted the relationship between men and women in this way. It was quite revolutionary'. Sumitra Peries, who died in 2023, was one of Sri Lankan cinema's earliest female directors. (Her husband passed away in 2018.) There had been three women who had made films before Sumitra Peries, according to Vithanage, but none of them had Peries's artistry or longevity. 'Before Gehenu Lamai, Sumitra had been Lester's life companion as well as artistic companion,' Vithanage said. 'With this film, she came out from under his shadow and created her own identity. We would frequently talk to each other over the phone. Right until the end, she was planning her next project.' In an essay on Sumitra Peries in the anthology Asian Film Journeys – Selections from Cinemaya, Sri Lankan critic Ashley Ratnavibhushana writes that Peries started out as an editor of her husband's acclaimed film Gamperaliya (The Changing Village, 1963). 'Rather than work toward a feminist cinema, she preferred to strive for a feminine sensitivity, a trait she retained throughout her career,' Ratnavibhushana writes. Despite its reputation, Gehunu Lamai was in a poor condition when Film Heritage Foundation and the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation embarked on its revival. A grant provided by FISCH: France-India-Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders aided the 4K restoration from prints preserved at the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. 'It was one of the most challenging restorations because the material was in critical condition,' Dungarpur said. 'There were embedded subtitles that had to be removed.' The restoration was carried out by the L'Immagine Ritrovata restoration lab in Bologna, Italy. Technicians who had worked on the 1978 production were consulted, as also were the lead actors. 'Several reels had tears, broken sprockets, blockage, shrinkage, emulsion damage, buckling and warping,' according to a press note. 'The sound restoration was particularly challenging. The quality of the sound was generally low and varied with issues such as click and crackle noises and hiss present across all reels, physical gaps, damaged optical sound tracks that rendered the sound inaudible in parts, high electrical noise and distortion.' The new version is bound to be a discovery for the Cannes delegates. Gehanu Lamai will be screened alongside such classics as Mikio Naruse's Floating Clouds (1955), Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) and Edward Yang's Yi Yi (2000). In its delicate evocation of unsaid feelings and its dexterous use of cinematic tools, Gehanu Lamai chimes with Payal Kapadia's Cannes-winning All We Imagine As Light (2024). Kapadia is among the jury members at Cannes this year, making Gehanu Lamai 's presence at the festival apposite. 'The film has sensuality without making it evident,' Vithanage said. 'There is a strong sense of nature in the film, which gives the feeling of innocence.'
New Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Shaji N Karun: A framer of stories who minted magic from world of reality
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The setting is quite in keeping with the dim-lit, aesthetic and poignant frames that To filmmaker and film archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Shaji was the mentor he could call up for any advice. Their familiarity dates back to Dungarpur's student days at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). The bond deepened when Dungarpur shot Celluloid Man, a documentary on veteran archivist P K Nair. 'It was my first interaction,' says Dungarpur, who went on to restore two of the movies Shaji worked on as a cinematographer — Kummatty and Thampu. 'Both those movies bore his stamp so much that I would say Aravindan's brilliance as a director shone forth due to Shaji's camera work. The films lived in his frames; they spoke the story emphatically,' he notes. But, what he would miss the most is Shaji's guidance, the way he was hand-held during a workshop on film preservation that he organised last November. Dungarpur wants to explore ways to preserve Piravi, Shaji's directorial debut that bagged several awards. The film's originals are lost but Shaji himself has spoken of copies preserved at the Fukoka Archives in Japan. 'We need to look into it,' says Dungarpur, excusing himself to mourn his friend and mentor. For Girish Kasaravalli, his recollections of Shaji are from their student days at FTII, where Shaji was one year his senior. 'His room at the hostel was next to mine and every morning, I would go to him for coffee powder. We became good friends. He was respected even then for his aesthetics. Later, they got translated into mesmerising frames that have defined cinematography in India. Plots came alive in his frames that spoke the theme of movies — brilliantly and silently,' he observes. 'I began admiring him as a director too, after watching Piravi. It showed his full calibre,' Kasaravalli says. The Kannada veteran met a 'fragile' and 'frail' Shaji at the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) last December. 'Malayalam cinema owes a lot to him,' Kasaravalli notes. Music composer Sreevalsan J Menon, who worked on two of Shaji's movies — Swapaanam and his final directorial venture Olu — feels the filmmaker had aesthetics that were way different from others. For his friends and associates, Shaji will always remain a pleasant memory; his demise an irreplaceable loss. But they take comfort in the certainty that his legacy will live on.
