Outlook – June 29, 2019

This can virtually be a bible for

the Indian fan ogling the World

Cup—crammed not only with stats

and detailed match reports of all of

India’s WC matches, but also with

history, colour, characters and the

mellow half­tones that comprise

the backcloth of the game. Ray

achieves the near­impossible: infu­

sing classicism (say, an exchange

between John Arlott and Neville

Cardus) into ODIs.

The latest thriller from “America’s

favourite storyteller” features

Woody, a child from a broken

family who is arrested as an accom­

plice for a crime he didn’t commit.

Theodore Boone, who wants to

become the best lawyer in the state,

decides to help him. There’s one

catch though—Theodore is just 13,

years away from a law degree. Can

he rescue Woody from juvenile jail?

As an adolescent, Amartya Sen

saw a victim of sectarian violence

bleed to death on his lap. At the age

of 15, Kailash Satyarthi became an

“untouchable” in his family. When

she was six, Sania Mirza used to

play on courts made of cow dung.

Journalist Sonia Singh delineates

a portrait of the nation through

conversations with 15 prominent

Indians from diverse fields.

Ashis Ray

Cricket World Cup:

The Indian Challenge

| Bloomsbury

John Grisham

Theodore Boone:

The Accomplice |

Hodder

Sonia Singh

Defining India

Through Their Eyes |

Penguin Viking

ON THE RACKS

by Sathya Saran

T

HIS book adds to the body of
critical work around Satyajit
Ray’s films. Nag ’s earlier book
had Soumitra Chatterjee talk-
ing candidly about twenty of
his best roles. In this book, Nag
continues the thread to include the
voices and roles of other actors/act-
resses in Ray’s films, exploring their
characterisations and the reasons
some stand out in memory.
So, readers will reacquaint themselves
with Apu and Durga, Charu, Arindam
and Siddhartha, among others. Wher­
ever he has access, Nag includes excer­
pts from interviews he has conducted,
or from reference material, letting the
actor talk about his interactions with
Ray and his own approach to a role.
Adding to our understanding of the
characters and the artistes are Ray’s
own statements. So we learn that Ray
wrote the screenplay for Jalsaghar
keeping the great Chhabi Biswas specif­
ically in mind to play Biswambhar Roy,
despite initially being wary of his acting,
because he had, “that tenor of an aristo­
cratic patriarch”. Interestingly, Ray is
dismayed to know during shooting that
Biswas cannot ride a horse, and the man
being portrayed as a connoisseur of
classical music is tone deaf.
In the chapter on Biswas, Nag compa­
res his famous roles—as Biswambhar
Roy, as Indranath Choudhuri in Kanch­
enjunga and as Kalikinkar Choudhuri
in Devi. He points out how the three

roles amply demonstrate the actor’s

“ext raordinary theatrical abilities”, as he

moves from playing a decadent aristo­

crat to a industrialist to a father figure

whose religious fervour and feudal

ways border on madness and throw the

life of his daughter­in­law in disarray.

Nag analyses Ray’s treatment of the

three characters, explains where Ray’s

sympathies lie and how he sug gests

lat ent political statements in their int­

eractions with other characters.

Madhabi Mukherjee, Sharmila Tag­

ore, Rabi Ghosh, Uttam Kumar, Tulsi

Chakraborty and Ray’s ‘blue­eyed boy’

Soumitra are among the actors and

act resses whose work is discussed in

detail. While main artistes get sections

dedicated to themselves, villians and

actors in comic roles are clubbed toge­

ther in chapters on the genres. The

chapter on the mother figure is particu­

larly interesting. Nag discusses the

roles played by Karuna Banerjee in

Pather Panchali and Aparajito and the

evolution of her relationship with her

son. He includes excerpts from an int­

erview in Andrew Robinson’s Satyajit

Ray: The Inner Eye which details the

impact working with Ray had on her as

a person and actress. Chunibala Devi’s

segment has touching references to the

octogenarian’s reaction to being chosen

for the role in Pather Panchali.

Nag also discusses Ray’s films made

for, or starring, children. There is a

chance that Ray fans may find much of

the information here familiar. But the

book does create scope for a non­Bang­

la movie audience to find a new reason

to watch, or rewatch the films, and app­

roach them not only with precondi­

tioned awe, but with fresh understand­

ing. Some editing glitches do cause a

few stumbles, and the obvious idolisa­

tion of Soumitra by the author rankles,

but this is a book that treats its subject

with balance and insight. It should add

to our field of vision of the master’s

mind as seen through his cinema. O

On Charu’s Swing

Ray was a master of casting. This examines how

his characters moved through the narratives.

Satyajit Ray’s Heroes and Heroines | Rupa | 232 pages | Rs 295

Amitava Nag

Nag analyses Chhabi

Biswas’s characters in

Jalsaghar, Devi and

Kanchenjunga, explains

where Ray’s sympathies

lie and how he suggests

latent political stands.

1 July 2019 OUTLOOK 63