Satyajit Ray can be rightfully classified as one of the finest filmmakers Indian cinema ever witnesses. With his death in 1992, he left behind an indelible mark and an unmatched legacy that nobody dared to come close to. Now, as fans of him await his birth centenary on May 2 next year, his son Sandip Ray found a hidden treasure of his father's memorabilia tucked into the attic of his Kolkata's residence. According to reports of a leading daily, Sandip, during a clean-up session amid Coronavirus Lockdown, discovered the negatives of 100 unseen photos clicked by Mr. Ray, nearly 1,000 unseen negatives of working stills from the sets of his initial films along with letters and telegrams from stalwarts of cinema namely Frank Capra, Arthur C Clarke, Akira Kurosawa and Richard Attenborough.
Talking about finding the memorable collection during the lockdown, Sandip told the daily that though a clean-up of the loft would take place once in a while but he never got time to check for important things lying up. “We used to clear a bit of the loft once in a while, but there was never this kind of uninterrupted time to check if there was anything important lying there,” Sandip told.
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Speaking of the negatives that were discovered, Sandip said he never saw them printed and among the lot, there are working stills from Pather Panchali. He further added that they have managed to retrieve 25 wallets of negatives which could provide valuable information about the making of the classic. “I don’t remember seeing them printed. Among them are working stills from Pather Panchali. During those days, one exposure meant 36 photos. We have managed to retrieve at least 25 such wallets," Sandip added.
Apart from Pather Panchali, unseen negatives of the Apu Trilogy and Jalsaghar were also found and they need to be cleaned and scanned for best use. "These will need to be cleaned and scanned. Some have decayed. Films, unfortunately, suffer from what is called vinegar syndrome. But what is left remains absolutely priceless," Sandip said.
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Given the fact that Mr. Ray was an admirer of the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, he would click pictures during his International visits. The attic had the photos too. "These photos show Baba as a photojournalist. In some cases, the colour has faded. With the current technology that is available, I am sure we will be able to restore them. But the ones we have retrieved now have never been seen. I think we can host at least three exhibitions of Baba’s photography from what we have retrieved. Besides, we have also found some photographs that were clicked by me on the sets," Sandip recalled.
"Arthur C Clark had written to Baba about the stories he was writing and the kind of research he was doing. I had read some of these letters. Most of these communications were about cinema. Baba had met Frank Capra at the Delhi Film Festival. He was a jury member there. Subsequently, they developed a friendship and started writing to each other," said Sandip while sharing priceless stories about his father and the memories he found hidden in the attic.
"This is a terrible and uncertain time. Nobody knows if the lockdown will get extended. The future is also very uncertain. Chancing upon this treasure trove has been a ray of hope for us," Sandip concluded.
(Source: Times Of India)
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