Introduction for Sukumar Ray (1987) is being prepared.
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Based on the life of Sukumar Ray, a scientist, author and reformist belonging to the Brahmo Samaj, also the father of the legendary Bengali director Satyajit Ray. Interested in writing and publishing since a young age, Ray during his studies at the Presidency College Calcutta, established the group, Nonsense Club. They published a hand-written magazine on humour by the name of "Thiry two and a half fries." It was here that Ray published his first humorous poetry and the play Jhala Pala (Cacophony).
Here is a scene, reenacted from the play, asked to explain the meaning of "I go up, we go down" in a classroom. Utpal Dutt as the teacher explain the meaning with deducing the English quote by its Bengali phonetic counterparts as the sentence "I go up" becomes, "The cow's eye water" or "the cow is crying" and "We go down" is explained as "termites have destroyed the warehouse."
Raha, Barun (Cinematographer), Sukumar Ray, 1987 | Photographic Still
CinematographerBarun Raha
Document TypePhotographic Still
Film TitleSukumar Ray, 1987, India, Bengali
Scene DescriptionScene from another of Ray's play, Laxmaner Shaktishel (The Magic Spear of Laxman) also published in the Nonsense Club. The first scene of the play depicts Ram with his brother Laxman and the vanar sena (monkey army), after having invaded the Lanka, recounts his dream of seeing Ravana climbing the tree and subsequently falling to his death, to which Rama's army replies that the dream must be true since the king has witnessed it himself. However, the army sees Ravana's chariot passing by, to which the king deduced that he must have 9 lives and it was Hanuman's fault of not having thrown his body in the sea, which was clearly dead in Rama's dream. (2/6)
DirectorSatyajit RayBannerGovernment of West Bengal, Satyajit Ray Productions