Latest news with #SatyajitRay
India Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Kamal Haasan regrets not getting Satyajit Ray to score Pushpak music: He would have
Kamal Haasan's silent film 'Pushpaka Vimana' is one of the most iconic movies in his eclectic career graph. In a recent sit-down chat with India Today, the stalwart spoke about how legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray was to be approached for scoring music for the film. The 1987-film titled 'Pushpaka Vimana' stars Haasan and Amala in lead roles. It revolves around an unemployed man taking on the identity of an unconscious, drunk rich businessman. Critically acclaimed and highly successful, 'Pushpak' is a film that is very close to an anecdote with us, Haasan said, 'I must tell you a tidbit, which is a lost opportunity by everyone who made 'Pushpak'. We were on the very edge of contacting Mr Satyajit Ray to do music for 'Pushpak'. We missed it. We still regret it. But then market pressures were high, and we had to settle down and get the film done. Imagine that would have taken us places.'Kamal Haasan stated that had Satyajit Ray agreed to come onboard, he would have taken 'Pushpak' to a whole new level. "He would have advised us and the fact that he didn't know this was happening out of earshot. He mentions 'Pushpak' and that is truly is a missed opportunity. He would have worked," he added."We were thinking he 'could have', but he would have worked because of the way I heard him talk about that one scene in 'Pushpak'. He would have liked it and we missed an opportunity. This industry is full of lost opportunities like that," the actor Haasan's upcoming film 'Thug Life' with Mani Ratnam hits theatres on June InTrending Reel
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Wes Anderson reveals why he ‘stole' this famous Satyajit Ray scene for Asteroid City: ‘The concept is very odd'
It's no secret that American filmmaker Wes Anderson is a huge fan of the late Satyajit Ray. Talking to THR India on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, where he presented Satyajit's 1971 film Aranyer Din Ratri after spearheading its restoration, he admitted to copying a famous scene from it for his 2023 film Asteroid City. (Also Read: Sharmila Tagore, Simi Garewal attend Aranyer Din Ratri Cannes screening, hang out with Satyajit Ray fanboy Wes Anderson) When asked about the memory game scene from Asteroid City, Wes admitted it was 'copied' from Aranyer Din Ratri. 'Yes, well, stole it. The way that scene was done…it's the most beautifully…First of all, that concept of the scene is very odd because it's a game. But we learn about these characters so much while they play these games, and they're saying these things,' he explained. He also added that he loved the way the film was shot, and how it revealed so much about the characters, 'Then the way it's photographed. I mean, the cast is obviously a special cast. But the way it's photographed is very striking. And the moment when we choose to start going from face to face, there's more emotion in this scene than you would think there's any reason to be. My family and I began to play this game after I saw the movie.' In Aranyer Din Ratri, which stars Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Rabi Ghosh, Pahari Sanyal and Sharmila Tagore in lead roles, a famous scene shows the camera pan to different characters sitting in a circle as they play a memory game. Wes recreated the scene in his film Asteroid City, which stars Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Grace Edwards and others. Aranyer Din Ratri is considered one of the best films made in India. It received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.
NDTV
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Kamal Haasan Almost Got Satyajit Ray To Do Music For Pushpak. Why It Didn't Happen
New Delhi: Kamal Haasan who is currently busy promoting Mani Ratnam's Thug Life, spoke to India Today about the missed opportunity. Kamal Haasan said, "We were on the very edge of contacting Mr Satyajit Ray to do music for Pushpak. We missed it and we still regret it. But then market pressures and we had to settle down and get the film done." Precisely since Pushpak was a silent film, the background score and use of music in the film had a significant impact on the storytelling. Speaking of how Satyajit Ray would have taken Pushpak to a whole new level with his contribution, Kamal Haasan added, "But that would have taken us places. He would have advised us and the fact that he didn't know this was happening out of earshot and he mentions Pushpak is that it truly is a missed opportunity. He would have worked." "We were thinking he 'could have', but he would have worked because of the way I heard him talk about that one scene in Pushpak. He would have liked it and we missed an opportunity. This industry is full of lost opportunities like that," concluded the actor. The 1987 Indian black comedy Pushpak was led by Kamal Haasan, along with Samir Khakhar, Tinu Anand, K S Ramesh, Amala, Farida Jalal, Pratap Potan, Lokanath, P L Narayana, and Ramya in key roles. The film's plot revolves around an unemployed graduate whose path crosses with a drunk rich man who is unconscious. The story unravels when the graduate takes over the lifestyle of the drunk man after keeping him prisoner. On the work front, Thug Life is all set to hit the theatres on June 5, 2025. The film also has Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf, and Baburaj in key roles.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
Rajasthan govt to soon bring out a policy to boost film production
Rajasthan is planning to come out with a policy soon in a bid to boost film and television production in the state. Diya Kumari, the state's deputy chief minister who also holds the tourism portfolio, has directed officials to finalise the policy, alongside working on plans to boost adventure tourism in the state. This will be the second attempt at such a policy — according to a tourism department official, the first dedicated policy for film tourism had been issued in 2022 to attract film shootings and production. The new policy will include ways of easing the processes involved in obtaining approvals for shooting and disbursement of subsidies. The state has consistently attracted filmmakers from around the world due to its scenic locales like forts, palaces and sand dunes. 'Classics like Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Guide (1965) were shot in the state. Endless scenes of dunes, drying chillies and village locations are commonplace for films with a rural setting. Even some of the blockbuster television serials and advertisements have Rajasthan as their backdrop,' a tourism department official said. He added that Hollywood has also utilised Rajasthan's locations, with films like Octopussy (1983) and Holy Smoke (1999). Globally renowned director Satyajit Ray also shot a large portion of Sonar Kella (1971) in the state. The tourism department is also planning to map the potential of adventure tourism activities (water-based, air-based, and land-based), in consultation with concerned departments and prepare a dedicated policy to provide a framework to entrepreneurs to set up relevant projects in the state. According to an initial plan, the department will work closely with the forest department, the Rajasthan State Forest Development Corporation, local bodies, and the irrigation department for the development of adventure tourism activities. Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) will be the implementing agency for these activities.
Mint
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Lounge Loves: A film club, ‘Toward Eternity' and more
There are two titles restored by Film Heritage Foundation in the Cannes Classics selection this year. One is Satyajit Ray's 1970 film with Soumitra Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore, Aranyer Din Ratri. The other is a lesser-known film, though just as accomplished, only now getting the refurbishing it deserves: Sri Lankan director Sumitra Peries' Gehenu Lamai (1978). This was Peries' debut, but the direction is assured and intimate. Set in a village, this delicate black-and-white film is about the lives of two teenage sisters dealing with the complications of first love and societal pressure. Wasanthi Chathurani, also making her debut, is tremendous as Kusum. I'd seen breadfruit in carts and stalls in Goa, but hadn't tasted it till the personable bartender at Petisco in Panaji, Sherwin, recently suggested it as a pairing for his 'Imli pop', a tangy cocktail made with seasonal urrak, jaggery and a brine spiced with jalapenos and chilli. Breadfruit, like jackfruit of which it is the more elegant cousin, is the new favourite of chefs looking for inventive non-meat substitutes. Its versatile potato-like flavour and bready texture lends itself to all sorts of dishes, including the breadfruit fritters with a salad that Petisco has on its menu. But breadfruit made the shift from 'nice' to true favourite when Sherwin opened up his tiffin box and made us taste his mother's nirponos, or shallow-fried breadfruit lightly coated with rava, which she'd packed for his dinner. Old style hospitality beats fine-dining any day. Writer and translator Anton Hur's debut novel Toward Eternity has been an absolute joy to read. Curing cancer by replacing human cells with inorganic 'nanites' that not only makes the recipient cancer-free but also immortal? An AI trained on Victorian poetry that develops consciousness, and an appreciation for Christina Rossetti? A far future scenario with Biblical undertones? Inject it directly into my veins! I may sound flippant but this is a novel absolutely bursting with ideas. It feels like Hur (who I was delighted to discover was on the panel of judges that has just bestowed the International Booker Prize on Heart Lamp)—could have spun three or four books out of this cornucopia, but somehow they all fit together in one perfect novel. A friend co-runs a movie-screening initiative in Mumbai, @Secret7Cinema on Instagram, and it has become my favourite weekend activity of late. Each session begins with two iconic films pitched against each other. Everyone in the room gets 1-2 minutes to present their case—why this film, why now—and then we vote. The majority gets to decide if they want to flip a coin, otherwise, the losing team sits through the winning title. Last week, it was a fight between two Sanjay Dutt anti-hero flicks, Khalnayak and Vaastav. I voted for Vaastav, and that's what we watched, although someone else made a better case to swing votes in our favour. It's a playful but passionate exercise in debate, far from the noise of social media hellsites. No quote tweets, no hot takes, just voices in a room, arguing for the love of cinema. Paradiso.
