Rare photographs taken by Satyajit Ray in the 80s and 90s, during his worldwide travels, will fascinate aficionados at Asia’s largest festival that celebrates this art form. By Uma Nair
The world knows him as a master of celluloid. KIPF is providing a rare treat — Satyajit Ray as the photographer — some unseen works of the master from his travels across the world. The photographs will give you a peek into the master’s mind — the way he saw and understood the world. No other festival in India has got their hands on this repertoire before. The gallery that ultimately shows this work will be filled to the brim every day for sure. The black and white work has such soul in them that it will both inspire and teach.
These photographs taken by Satyajit Ray in the 80s and 90s, during his worldwide travels will fascinate photography aficionados at Asia’s largest photography festival taking place in India at the end of February. Festival directors Madhuchhanda Sen and Kounteya Sinha have got hold of the director’s unseen photographic work which will form one of the main verticals of the festival.
Creative brilliance of Ray
The photographs pan across the world and India as they were taken in Jodhpur to Stockholm and London. These have been in the vaults of the Ray family for years.
The Oscar winning filmmaker’s son, Sandip Ray, who is himself one of India’s most celebrated and revered story tellers and is part of KIPF’s highly illustrious advisory body has handed over the collection to be showcased at the festival.
Madhuchhanda Sen said, “Just when you think, you know enough about Satyajit Ray, the maestro, you are surprised. What makes him truly great is how much there was to the man. He was the epitome of creative brilliance in every medium possible. The world is aware of what he could do through films. Ray is now all set to touch the corners of your heart through his brilliant photographs. The photographs are a raw beauty”.
Kounteya Sinha Director states, “India has a very rich tradition of photography dating back to centuries. Erstwhile royal families hold a treasure trove of unknown and unseen works that have long languished in their vaults. However families such as these are now keen for the world to see those treasures. What you will see at the festival are both — traditional rare photo works, many of the repertoires have never been shown in public space and the best of contemporary photography from the modern masters.”
Ray was one of Indian cinema’s greatest stalwarts who received numerous awards and honours, including India’s highest award in cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1984) and India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna (1992).
He received the honorary Oscar in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world, at the 64th Academy Awards in 1992. He was given the award by Hollywood legend Audrey Hepburn. He also received the Lègion d’ Honneur from France and in 1978, the organising committee of the Berlin Film Festival ranked him as one of the three all-time best directors.
Power of portraits
Ray unravels as a master of portraits with a deep understanding of the dynamics of people and places. His photographs talk to us about the intrinsic tenors of the choreography of a setting. The little girl peering out of a window is as engaging as a set of canoes moored in the waters of the canal at Venice. A man and woman in conversation with their little dog in the foreground makes for a tete e tete that is winsome and warm. Oxford Street opposite Selfridges becomes a scene of marvellous moorings in terms of the human predicament.
For the maestro who made the world change its view of Indian cinema, his hand behind the shutter is as elusive as it is enigmatic. As a photographer Ray is both an insider and an outsider, his practiced eye never intruding on his subjects. He also understands the nuances of paradoxical locations and gives us images that lay bare the essential humanism of natural moments that are full of magic and caprice.
Just as Ray’s characters lived in an instantly recognisable middle ground so are his subjects in these images. Here these men and women too move in a layered landscape of a variety of human emotions and motivations. If it was the struggle of the ordinary person that interested him, these images tell us that Ray was a man of empathy. There were no heroes in Ray’s films; instead, you had the brave heroism of the ordinary individual battling with the problems of their day-to-day lives and this is so vital in these images too. Ray created human archetypes that were easily identifiable but not easily forgotten and these images speak in the same ethos. Consider the sweep his characters represent in films and in life’s reality through these images that are sure to brings in the crowds by the droves.
(The Kolkata International Photo Festival opens on February 28, 2019 in various venues across the city and the author is curatorial adivisor for the same.)