Soundtrack snag in rare Ray screening leaves organisers shame-faced

KOLKATA: It was to be the high point of the first day at the 14th Kolkata Film Festival. Instead, it turned out to be a huge embarrassement for the organisers. The much-awaited public screening of Satyajit Ray���s short film Two at Nandan III on Tuesday afternoon had a soundtrack failure. Even as dignitaries such as US consul-general Douglas G Kelly, the director of American Centre and several other foreign delegates waited in anticipation, the 10-minute film rolled on silently.It had to be replayed after making a technical adjustment.
���The audience had been really looking forward to it since this was the first screening in Kolkata. It is a silent film, in which the background score is very important. Without it, you can���t follow the drift of the story. But here, the film went on without the soundtrack and strangely, no attempt was made to restore it even after some members of the audience pointed it out,��� said Sanjoy Mukhopadhyay, film analyst.
With just two minutes remaining, the screening was stopped and the film was replayed. ���It was a shame and we were left thoroughly embarrassed,��� said a film festival official. Soumendu Ray, chairman of the festival���s technical committee, said he was unaware of the soundtrack failure. ���I know they are going to screen it but when I have no idea. It is sad if this has happened, but I am not aware of it,��� said Ray, who was the cinematographer of Two.
���There was nothing wrong with the print except that the soundtrack was not functioning initially. I believe there had been a minor technical glitch that was sorted out later,��� said Kelly.
Made in 1965 for the Esso World Theatre, Two had strangely remained in the shadows. It has so far had just one public screening last January at the Academy of Fine Arts. But experts rate the film as one of Ray���s best. The dialogue-less film depicts two children ��� one playing inside a luxurious home and the other on the pavement.
While the former plays with his toys, the street child flies a kite and plays a flute. ���The rich kid tries to intimidate the other one by making loud noises with his toy machine gun. He even shoots down the kite with his air gun. The film ends with the poor kid���s flute drowning the sound of expensive toys. It makes a strong anti-war statement and is often regarded as a prelude to Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. The poor kid has shades of Goopy���s character,��� explained Ujjal Chakraborty, teacher of animation at Roop Kala Kendro and an expert on Ray���s films.
The film, Chakraborty added, was made when the Vietnam War was raging. ���Also, it is important for the wonderful background score that Ray had composed. The film revolves around it and the ambient noises,��� added Chakraborty.