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TV Times

Evergreen Indian films on show
By Susitha R. Fernando
A festival of Classic Indian films will be held at the Elphinstone Theatre from September 29 to October 1. The three-day festival including films directed by the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray is jointly organised by Mahaweli Centre and Tower Hall Foundation.

Film lovers would have a rare opportunity to see three films made by Satyajit Ray including his maiden “Pather Panchali” (Song of the Little bird) and the last “Agantuk” (The stranger) in addition to “Sonar Kella” (The Fortress). The festival includes two other classic Indian films “Safrosh” directed by John Mathew and “Sanjeer” directed by Prakash Mehra.

Pather Panchali (1955, India. 115 min, B/W, In Bengali with subtitles) is Ray’s debut film, and the first film of his ‘The Apu trilogy’. The remaining two films of the trilogy, Aparajito and Apur Sansar, follow Apu as the son, the man and finally the father.

Based on the novel “Pather Panchali” by Bibhutibhushan Banerjee, Ray wrote the script and directed it. Music is by Pandit Ravi Shankar . In 1952 Satyajit Ray started work on the film but could not finish with the money given by his friends and had to seek the assistance of the government to complete it.
According to the title the government thought that it was a film on the development roads and released money from the budget allocated to develop village roads.

The film deals with a Brahmin family, a priest -Harihar, his wife Sarbajaya, daughter Durga, and his aged cousin Indir Thakrun -struggling to make both ends meet. Harihar is frequently away from home on work. The wife is raising her mischievous daughter Durga and caring for elderly cousin Indir, whose independent spirit sometimes irritates her... Apu is born. With the little boy’s arrival, happiness, play and exploration uplift the children’s daily life. Pather Panchali Won the Best Human Document at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956.
Agantuk 1991, 120 min., Colour, In Bengali with Subtitles) is based on the short story: ‘Atithi’ by Ray himself.

Anila receives a letter from a man who claims to be her uncle. This uncle had disappeared 35 years ago. He has written to her about his desire to spend a few days with her. He arrives and stays over... Anila’s husband is suspicious of the stranger. Driven by his suspicions, the family suspects that he might be an impostor who has come to claim the inheritance. Anila’s little son accepts the uncle from the beginning. The uncle leaves as unexpectedly as he arrived, leaving some insightful observations...

‘Sonar Kella’ ( 1974, 120 min, Color, In Bengali with subtitles) is based on the novel ‘Sonar Kella’ by Satyajit Ray. Sonar Kella is a bewitching comedy-thriller for children of all ages. Mukul, a young boy, is being haunted by memories of his previous life. He is taken to Dr . Hajra, a parapsychologist, for treatment. On discovering some drawings by Mukul that represent scenes from the past, Dr. Hajra believes that a fortress in the drawings may be in Rajasthan. Dr. Hajra decides to take Mukul on a trip to Rajasthan in the hope that it might be a cure.
A newspaper reports alerts some bandits. They kidnap Mukul in hope of getting their hands on the treasure.

The screening will be as follows ‘Pather Panchali’ at10.30 am, ‘Agantuk’ at 2.30pm and ‘Sanjeer’ 6.30 pm on September 29 (Monday), ‘Sonar Kella’ at 10.30 am, ‘Sanjeer’ at 2.30 and 6.30 pm on September 30 and “Safrosh” will be screened at 10.30 am-2.30 pm and 6.30 pm on October I. Tickets can be obtained at Sams Nugegoda and at the Elphinstone Theatre.

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