RESTORED! Ray retro of originals next year

KOLKATA will be treated to a rare retrospective of restored Satyajit Ray''s original prints next year which could also see the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Salman Rushdie among other high-wattage celebs from the West coming for the screening.
From the Apu trilogy, to Nayak, Jana Aranya and Goopy Gayen Bagha Bayen, filmlovers will get an opportunity to take a peek into the world of 12 Ray classics on the big screen again.
The Ray Society and the Academy of Motion Pictures (Archives) will be jointly sponsoring this festival. According to sources at the Ray Society on Thursday, the maestro''s widow, Bijoya Ray, had rued sometime back, “I am in my 80s, when do you think I am going to see my husband''s restored prints?�
Professor Dilip Basu of California, who is the international coordinator for the Society and the founder trustee, was moved by this plea. “Yes, I think it''s only fair that Bijoya Ray and Kolkata get to see the original prints which were shot here,� said Basu who is currently in the city.
Basu and the Academy have been instrumental in restoring many of the maestro''s negatives which have even done the rounds of festivals overseas. In fact, a festival of restored Ray prints is currently on in Toronto. But the Academy is still trying to give life to films like Kanchenjungha and the controversial documentary Sikkim.
At the Society''s annual meeting in Kolkata this week it was decided that a film vault will be built to preserve the prints once they come to Kolkata. “Originally we were planning a vault at the Science City. But now we will do it on our own somewhere on the outskirts of the city where there is less pollution. The restored prints will be kept in sub-zero temperature. The blueprint of the vault is ready,� said a senior member of the Society.
Initially, Rs 50 lakhs will be needed. “A non-Bengali couple in Mumbai recently donated Rs 50,000 to the Society. Funds have also been forthcoming from NRIs. Very soon, we will be making a public request for funds,� said the member. The proposed festival in Kolkata could also see a fundraiser with many celebrities from the West participating.
Apart from the Academy biggies as also members of the Ford Foundation, quite a few highprofile names are being floated for the big event. “I am not promising anything, but I would also like to invite big names from the West who are Ray admirers,� said Basu. The names being touted are Coppola as also Rushdie. The exiled author is reported to be a diehard Ray follower. “But it all depends on their commitments and whether they can find the time,� added Basu.
“It would be wonderful to have a festival of this nature in Kolkata,� said Ray''s son Sandip, “but it needs a lot of planning. You have to select the theatres carefully as also the films.� The theatres where the films will be screened will be announced shortly through a Press conference. “But we will have to make sure that they are screened under archival conditions.
Since these are archived prints which means they are not loaned for commercial screenings, they have to be handled very delicately. Ideal would be the reel-to-reel projections,� said the member.