A day after the maestro's birth anniversary, Satyajit Ray trilogy-inspired 'Apur Panchali', tracing the footsteps of 'Apu' Subir Bandyopadhay to his childhood village of 'Nischindipur' in grown-up stage reported full houses in plexes.
"I had watched Pather Panchali on the second day of its release on August 27, 1955 in Basusree cinema. Today watching Apur Panchalli by the present age actors evoked that nostalgia," says 80-something Kamal Sen, who was a college student at that time.
"It is more than a coincidence that a film named Apur Panchali is being screened on the legend's birthday week," director Kaushik Ganguly says.
"I am privileged that 59 years later, on the 93rd birth anniversary of the director, my film with reference point to Pather Panchali, enters its second week."
'Apur Panchali' is based on the true life story of the actor who played little Apu and uses clips from the Apu trilogy and documentary style footage, crafted beautifully in a fictional narrative, framing an interplay of fact and fiction.
The lead cast includes Parambrata Chattopadhyay as the adult Subir Banerjee, Ardhendu Banerjee as Banerjee in his dotage, Parno Mittra as Subir's wife Ashima and Gaurav Chakraborty as Arka, a student of SRFTI.
Ace cinematographer Sirsha Ray said the film brilliantly fused contemporary footage with the original and brought the retro feel with the shots taken in traditional 35mm film reel, an already lost form.
