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Indian Express
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
At Aranyer Din Ratri's Cannes' premiere, Sharmila Tagore says, ‘I, Simi Garewal are the only survivors'
If there was ever an evening to remember, it was the premiere of Aranyer Din Ratri—screened in a a glowing restored version as part of the Cannes Classics section. On stage were the two 'survivors' of the class of the Satyajit Ray classic, as Sharmila Tagore put it so eloquently, with Simi Garewal standing next to her, both resplendent, bringing back memories of an era when cinema was meant for theatres, to be experienced in the dark. 'Simi and I are the only survivors, everyone else has passed on,' said Sharmila, including the very handsome Soumitra Chatterjee, who made stylish dark glasses such a statement, as one of the four young men who fetch up in a forest guest house, for a short break away from their citified, stratified lives. Also Read | Cannes review: Wes Anderson ratchets up the whimsy in The Phoenician Scheme, doesn't stick the landing In Ray's hands, the story turns into something astonishing, where what we see is what we get, and much more: it is an allegory and a sharp comment, a jungle safari and slumming-it, and coming of age, all wrapped in his deceptively simple style, where everything comes together so beautifully, that you cannot imagine anyone else playing 'antakshri' in the forest again. The film has come to life again, with the help of Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur's Film Heritage Foundation. It took six years worth of co-ordination between the various stakeholders, the families of the director and the producers, who were kept in the loop at all stages. It also has fresh subtitles. Wes Anderson, who is in Cannes competition with his 'The Phoenician Scheme' was in attendance, fanboy personified, as he spoke of his well-known admiration for Satyajit Ray's work, and how he has happily 'stolen' from the music of the film. Instrumental in kickstarting the restoration about six years ago, Anderson's short but fulsome speech, calling Aranyer Din Ratri as one of the best in Ray's pantheon, was followed by both Sharmila (who disarmed the former completely by asking, 'May I call you Wes') and Simi in nostalgia mode. 'Exactly 56 years ago on this date, we were all in the forest, with no electricity, no loos, no phones, no communication,' said Simi Garewal, who plays a tribal girl in the film, so different from the roles she had done in the past, and would go on to do. She added, 'But it didn't matter because we were all in a state of heightened euphoria, and I had the honour of working with one of the greatest directors in the world.' A post shared by Film Heritage Foundation (@filmheritagefoundation) Also Read | Cannes review: Nouvelle Vague, a warm homage to the pioneers of French New Wave 'Films fade, as do memories. The film has not only been restored, but made immortal,' she said. So aptly put, for a film which spoke to its time in the way it looked at the differences of rural and urban living, of value systems under threat, of a startling modern take on relationships between men and women. It is also a film that has remained supremely ageless.
United News of India
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- United News of India
Indian cinema in Cannes Classics for fourth successive year
Cannes, May 19 (UNI) India's rich cinematic heritage is the focus of the Cannes Film Festival for the fourth successive year. Satyajit Ray's 1970 'Aranyer Din Ratri' (Days and Nights in the Forest), is a major highlight of the Cannes Classics section, which screens movies restored from ruins, at the festival this year. The restored version of 'Aranyer Din Ratri', the fifth Indian film to be screened in Cannes Classics in the past four years, will have its world premiere at the festival this evening. Actor Sharmila Tagore and American director Wes Anderson will present the Ray film at the Buñuel Theatre. Anderson is a member of the board of the Film Foundation, which has restored 'Aranyer Din Ratri' in collaboration with the Film Heritage Foundation from India. In 2022, India was the Country of Honour in the Cannes Classics section, which had two restored films from the country--- Ray's 1970 film 'Pratidwandi' (The Adversary) and Malayalam director G Aravindan's 'Thampu' (1978). In 2023, the Cannes Classics screened Manipuri director Aribam Syam Sharma's 1990 film, 'Ishanou' (The Chosen One), followed by the Hindi film, 'Manthan'(1976) directed by Shyam Benegal last year. 'Pratidwandi' was restored in 4K resolution by the National Film Archive of India (now merged with the National Film Development Corporation) while 'Thampu', 'Ishanou' and 'Manthan' were restored by the Film Heritage Foundation created by filmmaker and film conservationist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur. 'Working on the restoration of Satyajit Ray's 'Aranyer Din Ratri' has been an incredibly moving experience. Seeing the film's beauty and artistry revitalised after 56 years – from its haunting score and the captivating chemistry of its cast, to the unforgettable grace of Sharmila Tagore and Ray's sensitive portrayal of the Santhal tribals – has been a true privilege," says Dungarpur, who directed the 2012 documentary, 'Celluloid Man', on the life of film conservationist P K Nair. "I remember I was shooting for 'Aradhana' when Manikda (Satyajit Ray) 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 Manikda's precision," says Sharmila Tagore, one of the actors in 'Aranyer Din Ratri'. The 4K restoration of 'Aranyer Din Ratri' was completed using the original camera and sound negative preserved by the film's Kolkata-based producer. The Film Foundation was formed by celebrated American filmmaker Martin Scorsese in 1990 for preservation of cinematic heritage across the world. An introspective portrayal of post-colonial urban India, 'Aranyer Din Ratri' subtly unravels the complexities of class consciousness, gender relations, and the enduring weight of tradition in a rapidly changing Indian society. Besides Sharmila Tagore, the cast included Simi Garewal, Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen. "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," says Simi Grewal. "To have it premiere at Cannes Film Festival is a beautiful tribute to Satyajit Ray's timeless brilliance," she adds. Among the restored films from around the world screened in Cannes Classic this year is Charlie Chaplin's 'Gold Rush' to mark the centenary of its release, and 'Amores Perros' by Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu. UNI XC PRS
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Martin Scorsese's Favorite Movies: 86 Films the Director Wants You to See
'The clouds lifted' for cinema's future recently. At least that was how Martin Scorsese felt after he saw 'TÁR,' on which he lavished praise at the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner in early January 2023. That kind of praise means a lot. Scorsese is not just one of the greatest filmmakers of all time: he's one of its greatest cinephiles. In recent years, he's become known for the movies — or, as he might say of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 'theme parks' — he doesn't enjoy. But the Oscar-winning director's favorite films are as wide-ranging in genre, year of release, and national origin as you might imagine, from Ti West's 'Pearl' to the horror flicks of Val Lewton and the works of Senegalese master Djibril Diop Mambety. He's such an avid movie buff that, in a recent interview with Time Magazine, he admitted he's against 10 best movie lists due to finding them limiting. More from IndieWire Acting Is More Than Performance: The Stars of 'Sinners,' 'Nickel Boys,' and More Offer Guidance How Chilling Sound Design, POV Shots, and an Uncanny Creature Create a Cinema of Perception in 'April' Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson Run a Western Town in Revenge Thriller 'The Unholy Trinity' - Watch Trailer 'I try to make lists, over the years, of films that I personally feel are my favorites, whatever that means,' Scorsese told Time. 'Then you find out that the word favorite has different levels. Films that impressed you the most, as opposed to those you just want to keep watching, as opposed to those you keep watching and learning from. They're varied.' Of course, that didn't stop him from joining Letterboxd. Scorsese has also been an unflagging champion of film preservation and discovery, helping to restore many films through his Film Foundation and World Cinema Project. He's also talked at length about his personal favorites in his documentaries 'A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies' (which it must be noted, has supplied a great deal of the films below), 'My Voyage to Italy,' and 'Letter to Elia.' You can screen many of these titles for free on the Film Foundation's website. Scorsese's knowledge of film history suffuses his filmmaking as well. Many have noted how Joe Pesci's Tommy DeVito shooting into the camera at the end of 'Goodfellas' is a nod to the final shot of 'The Great Train Robbery.' Meanwhile the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring 'Shutter Island' throws back to film noir, and even something like 'The Wolf of Wall Street,' with its heady mixture of depravity and moralism, seems inflected by his love of Cecil B. DeMille. There's even 'Hugo': a historical fiction adaptation anchored in the transcendent, turn-of-the-century silent short 'A Trip to the Moon' from Georges Méliès. Below is an incomplete collection of 86 of Scorsese's favorite movies, listed in no particular order. It was compiled from years of interviews with the director, as well as clear cinematic references from Scorsese's filmography and his ballot for the 2022 Sight & Sound poll. With editorial contributions from Christian Blauvelt, Alison Foreman, and Zack Sharf. [Editor's note: The following was originally published in July 2020 and has been updated multiple times since.] Best of IndieWire Christopher Nolan's Favorite Movies: 44 Films the Director Wants You to See The 25 Saddest TV Character Deaths of This Century Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies: 64 Films the Director Wants You to See
The Hindu
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Shaji N. Karun, creator of everlasting images, passes away
Prolific is a word one would not associate with film-maker and cinematographer Shaji N. Karun, who passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday at the age of 73, after a prolonged battle with cancer. Over the five decades that he was active in cinema, he has made only six films and done cinematography for close to 30 films. But, almost every time he cranked the camera, everlasting images were born, deeply moving stories were told and the films won accolades on the world stage. In G. Aravindan's Kanchana Sita (1977), one of his first major works as a cinematographer, he had to make the images speak, for the characters had hardly any lines to utter. It was the beginning of a fruitful partnership, which reached its pinnacle in Kummatty (1979), in which Shaji evocatively captured the innocence of childhood and village life in rich colour palettes. A recent restoration of Kummatty by the Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, a programme created by filmmaker Martin Scorsese, became a testimony of the timelessness of those images. Aravindan's Esthappan (1979) also had some of his magical images. With K.G. George Most of his best works as a cinematographer were in the independent and middle of the road cinema that elevated Malayalam cinema in the 1980s. He also forged a memorable partnership with K.G. George, especially in capturing the complicated bridge collapse sequence in Panchavadippalam (1984) and in portraying the film industry's dark underbelly in Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback (1983). Shaji shot M.T. Vasudevan Nair's Panchagni and Padmarajan's Koodevide as well as Arappatta Kettiya Gramathil, along with Venu. Darkness of 'Piravi' After over a decade as a cinematographer, he made his directorial debut with Piravi (1988), a moving portrayal of the real life story of a father's search for his son whom the police detained illegally and later murdered during the Emergency. Although the filmmaker later denied the connection to the real life story of engineering student Rajan, the film is still counted among the best cinematic portrayals of the Emergency. Piravi became a landmark for Malayalam as well as Indian cinema, winning the Camera d'Or at Cannes and the Silver Leopard Award at the Locarno International Film Festival. Steeped in sorrow A deep sense of sorrow ran as a common theme through most of his films. Swaham (1994), his second film, had a mother and sister grieving for the loss of a young man, who goes for military recruitment to save the family from poverty. The film was chosen for the Palme d'Or competition at the Cannes Film Festival 1994. Shaji scored a hat-trick at Cannes when Vanaprastham (1999) was chosen to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. He inspired Mohanlal to bring out one of his greatest performances, as the backward caste Kathakali artist whose art is pushed into darker territories, forced by trials he faced in life. The National Award-winning Kutty Srank (2010) turned into an interesting experiment with multiple narratives about a dead man, set against the colourful background of Chavittu Nadakam. His later works Swapaanam (2013) and Oolu (2018) did not quite manage to touch the heights attained by his first four films. As important as his achievements as a filmmaker and cinematographer are his contributions as an institution builder for the Malayalam film industry. Along with film critic V.K. Joseph, he prepared the draft model for the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy in the late 1998, the first such government initiative in any State in India. He helmed the Academy during its initial years, when he also played a key role in the organising of the first few editions of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK). At the time of passing away, he had been helming the Kerala State Film Development Corporation for six years. The stint was marred by controversy after he faced criticism for the way he handled the government's project to promote films by women filmmakers and those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities. His last public appearance was to receive the J.C .Daniel Award, the Kerala government's honour for lifelong contributions to cinema, two weeks ago in the capital. In a way, it was a fitting finale for a life dedicated to cinema.
