Satyajit Ray Miscellany: On Life, Cinema, People & Much More

Exactly what you expect from Sir Satyajit Ray

A cine genius. Wish he had directed/produced more Hindi films.

Best enjoyed after watching Ray's films.

It's an amazing book, providing a lot of information on cinema and ray.

Ray has been my favourite creative personality. Besides his classic films , I am a huge admirer of his literary creations. About films he holds a philosophy which is drastically different from other film- makers of his times. He revolutionized the art of film - making in India. His theory of film- making , his idea of a perfect film , his take on the niceties of film- making are class apart from others. Ray had expressed his idea of film- making in countless short and long esssays written in his mother tongue or in English. In this book from the Penguin publication house as a tribute to this legend on his centenary birth anniversary, has been included some of those essays where Ray had discussed at length the different aspects of film-making. Thanks to the Penguin . It is because of them that we are privileged to have those immortal priceless essays within this single volume. The editor has done a stupendous job by unearthing some really rare essays of Ray. In this compilation many esssays which are originally written in Bengali , have been included after proper translation. In brief it is another feather in the publication of Ray.

It is really a collector's item, with many rare and unpublished writings , photos ,,manuscripts which enlighten even ordinary readers.You need not be a film buff to enjoy reading the collection.

This is, clearly, one of the best collections of Ray's writings. The book does not merely restrict itself to formal, academic pieces- written over many years- by the filmmaker, but also includes his casual ruminations and reminiscences of great value, sharp timely rejoinders to other contemporary publications, and short character sketches, all written in crisp and elegant prose.The facsimiles of the master's letters and his pencil sketches make this truly invaluable.

I am an ardent admirer of Satyajit Ray. I find him a complete communicator in all aspects. The clarity of his thought process and his uncompromising belief in the craft of film making with sound logic is all reflected in this excellent compilation. It was a pleasure reading this and the respect and admiration for the person stands ever vindicated.